After a very busy weekend the quietness of the country park was a welcome relief.
This Saturday we held a beach clean as part of the Great British Beach Clean set up by the Marine Conservation Society. Marine wildlife is under threat from rubbish and litter in our sea. Hundreds of species are accidently eating or getting entangled in litter. Although it is a massive global problem the tide is turning and this Saturday saw 20 volunteers join us to clean a thorough section of North Beach. I have to say that on the surface our beach was looking very clean, but as this time we were concentrating on micro plastics the amount we did find was still huge. In the 100mtrs we surveyed and cleared we collected 18kg of litter, including over 300 pieces of small plastic and 280 cigarette butts.
In between the dark grey stormy sky the morning sunlight was beaming down along the hedge line illuminating the berries and fruits of Blackthorn, Hawthorn and Brambles. Jumping and flitting in between were Blackcaps, Blue Tits, Warbler, Stone Chat and Linnet. High in the tree canopy of Corsican Pine, Beech, Holm Oak and Sycamore was a gentle breeze just rustling the top leaves. The Corsican Pines deeply grooved bark is fantastic tree for bark rubbing and woodland art pictures.
Swallows are still swooping overhead, a Robin sung loudly from the Hedgerow covered in Old Mans Beard and three Jackdaws crocked as they flew over the large copse. In Saxon the curious little plant of Autumn Lady’s Tresses with its white flowers arranged spirally up its stem, the latest of our Orchids to appear and possibly one of the hardest to find. Their average height is 2-3 inches making for interesting survey last week where we counted a total of 164 in 150 mtr sq.
Out over the channel a fully laden container moved slowly along the horizon, framed beautifully by a dark stormy sea and a strip of sunlight breaking through the clouds.
The vivid green of Torr grass is prominent amongst the dry grasses. I took a moment to look and listen, sitting still and shaded from the breeze. I could hear Crickets deep within the Tall Fescue and Colts Foot, Jackdaws swooped above, a gentle rumbling of the waves in the distance and the swaying of Holm Oaks behind me.