Ferring Beach and Goring Gap Information Boards

Those of you who walk along Patterson’s walk may have noticed that the information board has been updated with a new insert and clear covering of polycarbonate on September 23rd, and the one on Goring Gap on December 10th.
Both are much better for it, and will hopefully stay looking good for some years.
The new artwork was done by Jenny Hawkesly with input from Clive Hope, and the installation was done by Graham Tuppen. If anyone spots any problems with either, please contact him via email at grahamtuppen@hotmail.com  or tel 01903 240244. The Gap board was done as a joint project with the Goring and Ilex Preservation Group, whom we thank.

Nestbox Survey

Recently, committee member Graham Tuppen and Chairman, David Bettiss carried out our annual survey and cleaning of the various bird nest boxes around the public places in the village. These are situated at Little Twitten, the Village Green and Glebelands, as well as the Ferring Country Centre. It was really pleasing to report that all bar one of the boxes had been used by birds during the past Summer, with nests present in them.

The nests were made up of different materials, with the most common being mosses and feathers, while on the Village Green, one had a large amount of hair, with the Country Centre ones unsurprisingly having a lot of straw and hay present. In one box, there were a number of abandoned eggs (probably Blue Tits), in one a dead Great Tit, in another a couple of very young dead Blue Tits, and finally one had a large circular hole drilled into the front of the box right next to the official hole which had been protected by a metal plate. This was presumably done by a Woodpecker, and could even have been used by them as their own nest.

We hope that all the remaining boxes had raised at least one or maybe more successful broods, and even those above would have raised some chicks. Anyway all of them are now clean and ready to welcome new occupants in the Spring of 2021.

FCG Recent Group Work Parties

In recent weeks, small groups of FCG volunteers have been carrying out practical work around the village in a socially distanced fashion before the second lockdown took effect.

Firstly, the annual clear up of the Warren Pond was held, in partnership with the Parish Council who of course own the pond. Bramble, some ivy and other competing vegetation was cut back which allowed for better views of the pond, as well as generally improving the look of the area. The hired in skip was quickly filled with cuttings and it was generally agreed that a good morning’s work was completed. Recent sightings at the pond include a Little Egret and Heron, which appear to be roosting here.

The next work party concentrated on the Community Orchard at the Glebelands recreation ground, where the grass had been already cut by Arun DC. This was raked up by the volunteers to improve the chances of wild flowers flourishing there, plus there was weeding around the tree themselves and finally some planting of daffodil bulbs in the orchard surrounds. Able assistance was given on the final task by the grandchildren of two recent members who appeared to thoroughly enjoy themselves, and it was lovely to see. We hope for a good fruiting year in 2021 with a decent supply of apples, pears, cherries and plums, as long as the person who helped themselves to the entire crop of plums this year doesn’t repeat it.

Finally, an impromptu clear up of the raised shingle beds area on Patterson’s Walk at the bottom of Ocean Drive was carried out by Tricia Hall and Jenny and Tito Grixti. Sadly, this has recently become a bad area for the irresponsible dumping of takeaway food containers and cups from nearby outlets, and much polystyrene was collected, as well as shingle thrown and left around the seating area, plus there was some pruning of the maritime plants to keep things tidy.

We are grateful for the continuing help of all our volunteers, and the Parish Council have also expressed their thanks for all our efforts.

David Bettiss

Christmas Cards

We sold out our stock of cards in October and we have just had a new stock from the printers.

The cards are sold by FCG in aid of the Chestnut Tree House children’s hospice and are the same views as before at £5 per pack of ten.

They are available from Tricia Hall and can be collected from 22 Clover Lane from Tuesday 10th November to Saturday 14th November between 3 and 4 pm. Please place your money or cheque in an envelope with your name and the amount on the front.

After Saturday 14th November Tricia can be contacted by phone on 01903 504081

FCG Walk on the Gallops above Findon 22nd October

This outing was led by Ferring Conservation Group’s bird expert, Clive Hope. Ten members met at Nepcote Green and divided into two groups and proceeded at a leisurely pace up the Gallops and onto the path which runs between Cissbury and Chanctonbury. They later returned along a short section of the Monarch’s Way.

It was a bit late for migrants, but groups of Skylarks, Meadow Pipits, Common and Herring Gulls were evident and the only raptors were two Kestrels. In a muddy pool at the top, Yellowhammers and a single Chaffinch were bathing and drinking. There were groups of Linnets and Goldfinches, brief views of a Song Thrush and a Chiffchaff and excellent views of a Stonechat. A total of 25 birds were seen and heard.

On the Gallops a surprising number of late-flowering plants were noted including: Common Toadflax, Harebell, Knapweed and Meadow Sweet. There were a few edible mushrooms and some rather beautiful Parasols, Macrolepiota procera.

 

 

 

FCG Woodland Walk to Pulborough RSPB Reserve 15th October

On a beautiful sunny day, 11 members met in the car park and divided into two socially distancing bubbles. Our aim was to look at various trees and fungi as we went on our circular walk through the woods. Our first stop was to admire the outstanding views across the heath to the South Downs. The dominant tree is the Scots Pine and we examined the leaves which are adapted as paired, waxy, needles to conserve water and allow snow to fall off. Second stop wasan area of Sweet Chestnut coppice. These trees came to Britain with the Romans, providing valuable food and timber and later the trees were coppiced to provide long poles

Small Stagshorn – Calocera viscosa

needed to support hops for the brewing industry.

Hops are now strung on wires but coppiced chestnut poles are still used for fencing.

We also examined a large Larch, a deciduous conifer whose needles sprout in little groups and drop in winter. On its branches were small cones and lots of foliose lichens, a good indicator of a non-polluted environment. The lichens are a symbiotic association between a fungus and an alga. Other trees were mature Oaks, Beech, Holly and masses of young Silver Birches.

Earthball

Birds were few. We heard Green Woodpecker and Raven and saw and heard Buzzard. We noted two different heathers: Calluna vulgaris or Ling which flowers in the summer and Erica tetralix or Cross-leaved Heath in the damper areas, some of which was still in flower.

Although the proposed fungal trail had not yet been laid out we enjoyed searching for our own fungi which included bracket fungi like Turkey Tail and Birch Polypore, a yellow Stagshorn, a puffball, one of the Boletes (with pores, not gills) the aptly-named King Alfred’s Cakes and a number of unidentified ‘toadstools’.

The fungal trail has now been opened and should be worth a visit. The RSPB shop is open Wednesday to Sunday and you can buy coffee.

Tricia Hall

FCG Outing to Patching Hill on Thursday, 27th August led by Clive Hope.

Seventeen members in three bubbles assembled at the small parking area at the north end of Patching at 10am and made their way up the footpath onto the Hill. The weather remained dry but grey and cool. We took our time checking the bushes and grassland for any interesting birds, insects and plants and slowly made our way up to the woodland briefly entering the Angmering Park Estate before retracing our steps via the small reservoir on the lower path and so back to the cars.

Few birds were seen on the outward leg, the highlights being Greenfinches, Kestrel, Buzzard, distant Red Kite and, rather strangely, a Little Egret flying over. The hoped for migrants had largely moved on with just a Willow Warbler and Whitethroat glimpsed. Overhead 2 House Martins and 3 or 4 Swallows appeared, a Raven croaked and there were Jackdaws calling.

On the return, we saw a party of 12 to 15 Yellowhammers along the hedgerow bordering the path, together with a single Linnet and an obliging Whitethroat. Other common birds were Goldfinches, Robins, Blue Tits, Wood Pigeons, Herring Gulls, Blackbird, Magpies and Crows.

In spite of the lack of sunshine we found a number of butterflies, many roosting but this gave us a chance to examine their undersides which often show good camouflage: Small Heath, Meadow Brown, Small Copper, Common Blue, Speckled Wood and Small White.

Plants included Small Scabious, Eyebright, Red Bartsia, many beautiful Harebells and a single Round-headed Rampion after which the offshore wind farm is named.

We also admired the enormous mature trees at the entrance to the Angmering Estate, especially the Beeches, Oaks and Ashes and we found a few fungi including Southern Bracket on Beech and Oyster mushrooms on a fallen log.

Afterwards, seven of us went to the Highdown cafe for a snack. It was a very enjoyable outing with a lively and interested group. It is lovely for the Conservation Group to be out and about again.

A Walk along the Ferring Rife to look at Wildlife – 20th August 2020

Despite a gloomy start to the morning, members of Ferring Conservation Group met at the Bluebird Café car park to take a leisurely stroll along the banks of the Rife. Tricia Hall, their guide for the morning, set a challenge to find ten listed butterflies along the way, as well as looking for wild flowers, trees and birds. Fortunately the sun showed its face as members split into two socially distanced groups and followed Tricia along the west bank heading north towards Ferring Country Centre. They were soon surprised by the abundance of wild flowers that adorned the bank, including Meadowsweet, Great Willow Herb, Yarrow and Yellow Loosestrife and the familiar Michaelmas Daisies were also evident.

As the Group approached the Lagoons members were dismayed to witness they had all dried out. Some members commented that these are a valuable water source for many wildlife species and would therefore need to be dug out to a greater depth to prevent total evaporation. Although the lagoons failed to present any interesting sightings a male Common Darter Dragon Fly was spotted resting on a stone nearby.

Set against a backdrop of Elders, Sliver Birch, Field Maple, Willow, Mountain Ash and a few Black Poplars, several Gelder Rose bushes were already laden with bright red berries. In the hedgerows wild blackberries were ripening off and it was noticed that Sloes were also plentiful this year. Tricia pointed out four Little Egrets and two Herons perched together on the same large tree; a regular resting place for these related birds.

Along the way members reported the following butterfly sightings; a Green Veined White, a Small White, four Speckled Wood, a Gatekeeper and many Red Admiral.

Welcome refreshments were taken at Ferring Country Centre where members thanked Tricia for a very enjoyable morning and agreed it was good to experience a Group activity once again.

Ferring Conservation Group has had to postpone all forthcoming Group meetings until further notice. Please visit:  ferringconservationgroup.co.uk  –  for the latest news.

 

 

Houses in Gardens

We have a long-running campaign against houses being built in residents’ gardens.  Even worse, they threaten to destroy the open character of Ferring, they reduce wildlife habitat and natural drainage, and add to the number of cars in the village when congestion and parking problems have already reached record levels. ‘Backland’ development is even worse because the long narrow  driveways create additional road safety hazards – for pedestrians and other vehicles.

Our objections, and those of our Parish Council do frequently persuade Arun DC to refuse such planning applications. Unfortunately the Planning Inspectors often uphold appeals against the Council’s refusal. The most recent case is that of ‘Elm Lodge’ on the corner of Tamarisk Way and Sea Lane, an application  twice refused by Arun DC, once dismissed on appeal but finally allowed at the end of June.

Please join us in objecting to applications like these.

A Colourful Addition to Ferring

We are extremely grateful to Ferring Nurseries who kindly donated all the plants to enable Ferring Conservation Group to brighten up the boat on the Village Green.

Ferring Guide Group usually do a splendid job in maintaining this boat but due to Covid19 restrictions they have been unable to do so.

We hope you agree that it is a welcome and cheerful addition to this area of Ferring.