A Special Visitor
Inspired by attending the Sanctuary Award Ceremony in London on Wednesday, Geoffrey Robson (the Chief Operating Officer for the Defence Infrastructure Organisation) took advantage of a visit to the DIO North Office at Wathgill to visit Foxglove Covert. Looking at how the reserve has developed over the last 25 years, with the wide range of contributions made by volunteers, staff and supporting organisations over that time, he left saying this is a 'fantastic facility - a real pleasure to come and visit'.
Whilst some volunteers were in London work continued at Foxglove. The weather was terrible so it was a good job that we had some indoor jobs to carry out. Chris and Pauline entered the fungi data from a survey carried out in September. This task is not completed yet but already 10 new species have been recorded. Ruth was busy 'trimming photos and adding stickies'. 'Stickies' being the velcro, we use to attach the photos to the display boards.
Linda had the unenviable task of filing the photos we no longer wanted and then being asked to find some of them again, when we changed our minds!
It was not all work and no play, as at lunch time, we celebrated the award with cake. Thank you for all your hard work.
Geoffrey was impressed by the range of habitats and the facilities within the Field Centre, including the ringing room. Had he had time to have a walk around the reserve he may have been fortunate enough to see the Roe Deer near to the Lake. Two were seen, and one of them is in the picture below.
This one is not so easy to make out as the ones seen on Sunday, but look closely to the right of the Oak tree in the centre of the picture and you should be able to make out the white 'target' on the deer's rump. Although a very grainy picture, zooming in shows the deer more clearly.
As the leaves fall from the trees so the deer and birds are more easily seen, although not always more easily photographed. The invertebrates are usually hidden away, but occasionally one appears. This shield bug was on the rail of a bridge, not the best place to be in the rain.
