By Hilary Hoyle
In Oundle a team of people have been working to produce a Nature Recovery Plan. In an earlier blog article Clive Humphreys introduced the Oundle Nature Recovery Planning Group (ONRPG) and the wildlife corridor running through the town, which they have identified .
Hilary is part of the team and here she describes two small projects that aim to make a start on improving two habitats along the corridor.
Project One - planting native bulbs.
In the early days of the Nature Recovery project, when a small group of us were exploring how it might work in Oundle, Matt Johnson from the local Wildlife Trust advised that planting some native bulbs along the part of the wildlife corridor that includes Blackpot Lane, would be an appropriate thing to do.
As it happens, I live on Blackpot Lane and am also part of the Planning Group. When Sophie van den Bergh suggested we apply through her for a Rockingham Forest Vision and National Heritage Lottery grant to purchase some bulbs, this small project began, with me heading it up. I settled on a company called Meadowmania for the purchase of the bulbs and duly ordered 20 each of wood anemone, wild daffodil, snakeshead fritillary and winter aconite, plus a rather smart dibber.
The bank where the bulbs were to be planted runs between an upper and lower footpath on Blackpot Lane and already has a variety of small mature trees on it. It is usually cut by contractors for our local town council who have been very supportive in allowing the planting to go ahead.
I contacted the residents of the 11 houses which overlook the bank to invite them to plant their own bulbs - 4 or 5 of each variety - and had an encouragingly positive response. The bulbs have now all been planted and we have fingers crossed that some of them will brighten the spring when it arrives.
Project Two - erecting Swift boxes
I am the very lucky resident of a house that has Swifts who return every year to nest under the weather boards of both its gable ends. In fact, there is a loose colony of Swifts returning to Blackpot Lane every year in late spring. This always makes the end of April a time of great anxiety and early May a time of great joy.
The ONRPG hit upon the idea of tempting more Swifts to join the colony by offering residents in the houses behind Blackpot Lane the opportunity to have a Swift box erected under their eaves. Again, funding was obtained through Sophie and 6 polymer boxes were ordered and supplied by Action for Swifts.
I’ve now got to talk to my neighbours about the pleasure of having Swifts living under your weatherboards. They are the perfect house guests, quiet whilst in residence, very clean and wonderful to listen to and watch whilst they are out and about. The boxes are simple to attach and one of our neighbours with a long ladder has already offered to help do that by April next year.
Swifts are site faithful but can take years before choosing to use a new nest site so……. watch this space patiently!
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