On a sunny but cold and windy day around 25 members of Ferring Conservation Group enjoyed a visit to Arundel Wetlands Centre. Originally built on an old watercress farm the Centre covers 65 acres and is nestled in the scenic South Downs with views of Arundel Castle. With steep woodlands stretching along its rear boundary and with the River Arun and a historic water mill stream alongside its borders, it is truly a stunning location.

The Arundel Centre supports a rich array of British Wildlife as well as a large collection of international wildfowl. This is due to the centre benefitting from a pure water supply that is naturally filtered by the layers of chalk which are part of the South Downs landscape.

Visiting and resident British species include many small birds, such as reed and sedge warblers, 11 species of bat, cuckoos, dragonflies, grass snakes, swans, bee orchids to name a few.

A safari boat ride can be taken through the reed beds to hopefully glimpse a kingfisher or water vole.

Our Group was fortunate to be guided around the Centre by Paul Stevens, the reserve manager. Paul began by explaining that the reed beds held a Site of Special Scientific Interest  (SSSI) status but our chances of spotting a water vole for instance on that particular day were slim because of their dislike of wind.

On our arrival at the Lapwing hide we were rewarded by the sight of an adult bird with 2 chicks around 5 to 6 days old foraging for food on the island. As we left the hide we spotted a Buzzard circling above and in another direction were House Martins gliding and flitting who are welcome summer visitors. Our tour then progressed along the board walk over the reed bed and here we stopped to listen to Reed, Sedge and Cettis Warblers.

The many ducks and geese waddling around keeping a very watchful eye on their young also enhanced our enjoyment of the day. So with our thanks to Paul for a very interesting and informative tour our members made their way back to the Water’s Edge Café overlooking the Arun Riverlife Lake for some welcome refreshment.

We’re sorry to announce that our speaker for this week’s meeting – Paul Millward (the Goring fisherman) –  is no longer able to join us for personal reasons again. We are not able to find a replacement speaker at short notice but will be showing an interesting film about the local area instead. We will also be holding a very short AGM, plus hearing April’s Nature Notes and a full update on planning matters from Ed Miller. We hope to see as many members there as possible, even though our advertised speaker will not be present.

We have 2 events planned for the first two weeks in May. They are as follows:

1. Tuesday 5 May (note change of date as this was going to be Sat 2/5) – a Spring Birdsong walk around Goring Gap. Meet at the bottom of Sea Lane, Ferring at the earlier time of 9am (to ensure that we hear as many birds as possible). Meet up with bird expert Clive Hope at the Blockhouse on Pattersons Walk from 8.30am onwards for a bird sea watch before we set off.  A guided walk then across the Gap to the Plantation, north up through the trees and back towards Ferring along the Ilex Way, stopping on the way to hopefully hear and see as many Spring birds as possible. At the end of the walk at Little Twitten, we can then finish off with a cup of coffee at a village centre café. This walk is weather dependent (the forecast is currently not good) so check this website from Monday evening to see if walk is going ahead. If cancelled, an E mail will also be sent out to the FCG membership list.

2. Saturday 9 May – the first Beach Clean of 2015. Meet at the east end of the Bluebird Café car park at 11am. Equipment is provided. Wear suitable clothing for the day. Do please help us to keep our beach as clean as possible, and make it one of which to be proud.

We hope to see you at both events. Everybody is welcome.

On Saturday 21^st March 20 members of Ferring Conservation Group braved a cold northerly wind to help clear up the banks of the River Rife. This coincided with the first ever national ‘Community Clear Up Day’. This ‘national spring clean’ event falls on the first official day of spring and aims to end the blight of litter. It is hoped this initiative will encourage communities to work together to transform local spaces across the country.

The Group were split into two teams and worked in parallel with each other on opposite sides of the river. At first there did not seem to be too much litter about  but after closer inspection it was realised that small items such as bottle tops, shreds of paper and plastic were wedged in the undergrowth as well as the usual empty crisp packets, drinks cans, bottles, the odd shoe, and surprisingly a few discarded children’s toys. It was disappointing to see how much dog mess was around and it is worth reminding walkers that there are litter and poo bins situated in the Bluebird Café car park.

Jane Hayman, Ferring Conservation Group’s Publicity Officer said ‘It was most gratifying when several walkers took the trouble to stop and thank us for our efforts in helping to maintain a wonderful local environment ’. At the end of the clear up the Group had filled 30 waste sacks with litter!

Later the same day and taking advantage of the very low tides at this time of year, 21 members of the Group met in the Bluebird Café car park for their annual walk out to the Black Rocks outcrop situated off Kingston beach. The late afternoon/early evening walk was led as usual by committee member, Tricia Hall, and those on the walk went equipped with warm clothing, wellington boots and carrying buckets in which to place any specimens found. After about a mile with a few stops on the way to examine some of the seaweeds found on the beach such as Bladderwrack and Serrated Wrack, the rocks were reached and were already well exposed with the rarely seen habitat waiting to be explored.

Most people were able to find examples of the beautiful coloured Dahlia Anemone in the rockpools, as well as examples of Breadcrumb Sponge on the rocks themselves and many bright pink coloured forms of lichens or seaweeds covering some of the small rocks. On the animal front, a Squat Lobster was found, as well as a number of small crabs, which were viewed by the members having briefly been captured in various buckets including that belonging to one young girl who had joined the walk and was fascinated by what she had seen. The creatures were then of course returned to where they had come from. By this time, the keen northerly wind was taking its toll, as well as dusk falling and the tide starting to re-cover the rocks, so those present wound their way back to Ferring across the beach.

The rocks are a fascinating marine environment and well worth responsibly exploring on the few occasions in the year that they are uncovered by the sea. It was a fact that the walk clashed with the England v France Six Nations rugby international, but your rugby loving correspondent recorded the match and was able to watch it on television on his return home having avoided finding out the score.

Water, Rivers, Fish and Trees

Phillip Ellis gave us an informative talk on Water, Rivers, Fish and Trees. With over 40 years’ experience in managing the green estate within MOD, Phillip now specialises in Arboriculture and Angling.

Phillip began by emphasising the importance of Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs) to maintain the integrity of the tree population and how home owners can contribute by taking responsibility for trees on their land. Phillip highlighted the many benefits that trees bring to our environment but stated that the threat to our forests and woodlands has never been greater and our biosecurity practises must be upheld.

Phillip is also a trustee of the Salmon and Trout Association and emphasised the need for healthy water and explained that excessive water abstraction and diffuse pollution are two of the major reasons why three quarters of our rivers, lakes and coastal waters are classed as unhealthy. For instance local watercress growers are allowing phosphates, which are used as a fertilizer, to leak into the River Itchen and this clouds the water and in turn allows algae to thrive. There is a need for the Environment Agency to increase their monitoring, and although things are improving, there is still a long way to go.

After tea Tricia Hall gave us a taste of spring by informing us that some woodland plants, catkins and frogspawn had been spotted locally.

Planning news from Ed Miller concluded the meeting. New applications had been submitted for a 4xbedroom house at Hangleton Equestrian Centre, a 3xbedroom house in Ferring Lane and a licence for corporate events/weddings at Highdown Vineyard.

Jane Hayman

See the latest update on the future of Goring Gap on our Planning News page on this website – it is very informative.