We have arranged some events especially for families and young people so why not come along and explore the wildlife of Beds. Visitors are always welcome so why not bring your friends along?
Author Archives: Carol
Jordans Mill Family Day: 18th May 2014
It was a lovely sunny day for our Family Day at Jordan’s Mill and great fun was had by all.
- Moth traps and Pitfall Traps were opened to see what had been caught overnight.
- Sweep nets were swung and pond nets were dipped to catch beasts that were identified and then looked at under microscopes.
- Snails were identified and a large pet snail crawled all over its box.
- Rocks were studied.
- Quizzes were done.
- Lots of ice cream and cakes were eaten.
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- Jordan’s Mill building and our BNHS banner.
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- The YounGnats Quiz to get folks in the mood.
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- General HQ with visitors studying the YounGnats Quiz and some captive Moths.
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- Field HQ: centre of operations for Pond Dipping and Sweep Netting.
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- Frenetic activity with Sweep Nets.
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- A YounGnat prepares to take a sweep.
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- Engrossed by the contents of a Pitfall Trap.
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- An Oak Tree on the receiving end of some expert examination.
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- Courtesy of Alan Outen, here’s one of the critters found, a beetle rejoicing in the name of Poecilus versicolor.
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- The most common damselfly on site was the glorious Banded Demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens).
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- And here’s a very nice thank you note from one of our YounGnats.
Pat and Charles Baker’s Nature Notes
Pat and Charles Baker are nature lovers who look after Studham Common. Here’s what they have to say about sending in records to the BNHS.
Winter is now with us. Many of the trees are bare and the frost and wind will soon encourage the remainder of the leaves to fall. Birds and mammals are the most obvious wildlife active on the Common but there are still smaller creatures about.
This is the time of year when people interested in local natural history push aside the Christmas decorations and sit down at their computers to enter the records of what they have seen during the year. As members of the Bedfordshire Natural History Society (BNHS) we send our records from the Common and elsewhere to people appointed by the Society as Recorders. They have specialist knowledge of various groups of animals and plants. Sadly there are some groups, particularly among insects and other invertebrates, for which there is no local expert.
The Recorders check and collate the records they receive and, if they are happy that the records are correct, send them on to the local biodiversity recording centre in Bedford. The centre now holds more than 1 million Bedfordshire records. Records are also passed on to various national databases where they contribute to mapping national changes in species’ distributions helping to understand the reasons for increases or declines of different species. The BNHS Recorders produce annual reports and at intervals the Society publishes books such as the acclaimed ‘Flora of Bedfordshire’ in 2011.
Extract taken from Friends of Studham Common Newsletter Dec 2013/Jan 2014.