Wildlife at the Glebe
There is an earlier birdlife leaflet from 2009 Click here to download the 'Birds in Barton' leaflet#
SPRING AND SUMMER UPDATE 2024
A few first impressions of Spring and Summer.
We have experienced a most protracted and cold, wet Winter which continued well into Spring. Followed by a most curtailed and wet Summer.
Our Spring migrants returned from wintering abroad:
Chiffchaffs from Iberia or North Africa, Willow Warblers from Southern Africa and Blackcaps typically from the Med. Whitethroats returned late and in smaller numbers.
Astonishingly, these warblers each weigh less than a packet of crisps.
The main territory holding (singing) birds were song thrushes, blackbirds and robins. Greenfinches, Goldfinches, Chaffinches and Linnets were the most obvious of the finches. Yellow hammer numbers have dropped significantly over the last 2 years.
Most weeks we were treated to sightings of Buzzards and Red Kites- both magnificent birds.
The vegetation growth has been luxuriant this year. Tree growth in the North Glebe has been particularly good. Blackthorn blooming in April and Hawthorn in May- Blossoms seemed to be everywhere.
The most eye catching flowers especially in the South Glebe glades have been:
Cowslips - originally called cowslops because they were associated with cowpats were common everywhere. They have spread out from graveside plantings. They are declining nationally. Ours must be one of the largest aggregations in Cambridgeshire.
Dyers Woad- Another colonist from graveside plantings. Historically used for the treatment of wounds and ,of course, in dye production using the blue/ black coloured sap in the leaves and stems.
Teasel- The dried heads were once used in the textile industry to raise the nap on woollen cloth but nowadays are popular in floral arrangements and crafting. A favoured source of nectar for bees and the seeds are eaten by (male) goldfinches.
They stand very tall and proud in several of the glades - sometimes reaching 14 feet high.
Butterfly numbers have been below par this year due to the late, wet, cold weather.
All in all a bit of a washout this year.
Looking forward to a mild dry Winter ahead !
BEES AT BARTON
The Arbory Trust are engaged in an initiative to improve the ecology at the Barton Glebe Woodland Burial site. Of course, the Glebes are already a home to wildlife fauna and flora. This includes being a natural habitat for a huge range of birds and insects, all propagating our trees, shrubs, and flowers. So, the initiative is to increase the population of bees by introducing Apis Mellifera – the European honeybee.
To that end, in the summer the Trust invited a group of local beekeepers to investigate the viability of the siting an apiary at Barton. In addition, specialist advice from the Cambridge Beekeepers Association (CBKA) as to whether the Glebe flora, could support more bees, was sought. The consensus was that the site could embrace more bees and that a 12-month trial should be run. Four discrete small apiaries would be sited in areas of the Glebes not frequented regularly by the public.
So over the autumn, the bees earmarked for relocation were given health inspections by our local seasonal bee inspector, clearings were made by the Trust in quiet copses, stands were prepositioned by the beekeepers and at the beginning of November, on a wet and windy day, the first of the active hives arrived. After allowing a couple of hours for the bees to settle after their bumpy journey, the doors of the hives were opened. A rather nervous beekeeper watched, as the wind took his bees away to explore their new home. On the following day, he returned to find they too had returned, and he gratefully fed them some encouragement “stacation” light syrup. Other hives are to follow in due course. Hopefully, our new residents will settle quickly into their new surroundings.
The Trust’s is hoping that you will do your bit to support this venture. The next stage of the project is to help the bees through winter. Honeybees don’t hibernate – they huddle – mainly around their queen. So, whilst in the winter the hives may look quiet outside, inside the bees are wide awake and working hard to keep warm. Bar feeding them some icing fondant occasionally, the beekeepers will leave the hives alone to over-winter. So, the Trust hopes that, you too will do that. If you do spot the hives, please do not stray off the beaten track to investigate. Leave the bees alone and they will reciprocate. The Trust hopes, that in walking around the site, you will hardly notice the extra honeybees amongst the plethora of other insect residents. The Trust hopes you realise that the risk of getting sting remains virtually unchanged. All that said, in the unlikely event of getting stung and of that sting developing into a serious medical condition, you should phone the emergency services on 999.
This project is managed jointly by Barton Glebe Beekeepers Association (BGBA) and the Arbory Trust. If you wish to know more about it, please contact us. If you see something you think is unusual in relation to the bees or the hives, please contact the on-call responsible beekeeper on 07801 270029.
And perhaps in summer 2021, who knows there may be some Barton Glebe honey for sale – fingers crossed?
Quick Links
