CVWG news, announcements, upcoming events, sightings, discussion and more
RiverBlitz Citizen Science Event, Midsomer Norton
On Saturday 16th July, Bristol Avon Rivers Trust (BART) will host a Citizen Science event between 10am & 2pm at Midsomer Norton Town Park, BA3 2UH. as part of their ‘RiverBlitz’ between 11th – 18th July. There will be an opportunity to collect a free water testing kit and to ask the BART team any questions about our rivers that you might have.
The next Cam Valley Wildlife Group event is an evening botany walk led by Helena Crouch, the North Somerset County Recorder for flora.
Wed 13 Jul CAMELEY AND NANNY HURN’S LANE [6157, 6058, 6057]
Meet at 7 pm on the verge past Cameley Lodge (ST608575) for a walk on the hills north of Cameley. Either park here or by the church – we will return past the church.
Please mail Helena for more information about the walk: helenacrouch@sky.com
Wildlife in Coleford, Nature Notes, hedgehogs and more feature in the Cam Valley Wildlife Group spring 2022 newsletter, just posted on our website.
The talk, Beautiful Burial Grounds for Biodiveristy, by Helena Crouch has been moved to 23rd June. The talk will be on the flora of High Littleton churchyard and cemetery and their management for biodiversity.
Venue: High Littleton Church Hall, 7.30pm – 9 pm. Free entry
The scheduled talk at the Conygre Hall has been changed due to unforseen circumstances. Andy Daw is kindly stepping in with “Drawing on Nature – a passion for paper” Conygre Hall, North Rd, Timsbury, BA2 0JQ, 7.30 pm. Visitors Welcome, £3.00. Further info: Mike Bailey, 01761 471000.
Our Winter 2022 newsletter has Nature Notes, articles on Toad Patrol, an odd prickly fruit and spiders … plus more.
Apologies from website admin. Unfortunately, an error occurred and the 2021 programme was posted on our web page. Also, the wrong start date and location was sent out. The programme for download was correct, fortunately.
The first walk takes place in the Midsomer Norton Enterprise Park on Wedensday 6th April. See website for details or download the programme here.
The Cam Valley Wildlife Group weekly botany walks, led by Helena Crouch, North Somerset County Recorder for flora, will start with Silver Street Nature Reserve on 5th May 2022. All walks are on Wednesday evenings, meeting at 7 pm. All are welcome. Information and contact details @ Botany Walks
High Littelton and Hallatrow Environmental Group is hosting a talk by local botanist Helena Crouch on the flora of High Littelton churchyard and cemetery and their management for biodiversity. Thursday 28th April, 7.30 – 9pm @ High Litteton Church Hall. Free entry. Refreshments available.
Cam Valley Wildlife Group Event – visit to see Herons at the RSPB reserve on A378 near Langport, TA3 6PX. Meet in the car park at 11am. Weather dependent so please check with Judy beforehand: 07460 278311.
“A Birding Journey around Mallorca” – a talk by Len Clark at the Conygre Hall, North Rd, Timsbury, BA2 0JQ, at 7.30 pm, Monday 18th April 2022. Visitors welcome. Refreshments and raffle. For further information, please contact Mike Bailey on 01761 471000
Monday 4 April 2022 – Herons at Swell Wood
Our next programmed event is a visit to the RSPB reserve on A378 near Langport, TA3 6PX. Meet in the car park at 11am. Weather dependent so please check with Judy beforehand: 07460 278311.
John Dickson of the Reptile and Amphibian Group for Somerset will be talking about the group’s activities. The Reptile and Amphibian Group for Somerset (RAGS) is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to promoting the interests ofwild, native reptiles and amphibians across Somerset and forms part of the national ARG-UK network.
Radstock Working Men’s Club, 7.30pm for 8pm start. Bar with hot/cold drinks. Please park in the town car park next door (behind the library).
MOTHS – Small Creatures surviving in a Big World
A talk by Mike Bailey hosted by Timsbury Natural History Group
Monday 14th March 2022, 7.30pm
Conygre Hall, North Road, Timsbury BA2 0JQ
Visitors welcome £3.00. Refreshments and raffle
For further information please ring Rod Bruce [Secretary] on 01761 433013
Wednesday 2 March – Talk: Amphibians & Reptiles
Cam Valley Wildlife Group Event. John Dickson of the Reptile and Amphibian Group for Somerset will be talking about the group’s activities. The Reptile and Amphibian Group for Somerset (RAGS) is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to promoting the interests ofwild, native reptiles and amphibians across Somerset and forms part of the national ARG-UK network.
Radstock Working Men’s Club, 7.30pm for 8pm start. Bar with hot/cold drinks. Please park in the town car park next door (behind the library).
‘Night and Day in the Spanish Pyrenees’ – a talk by Andy Daw. Hosted by Timsbury Natural History Group. Monday 17th January at 7.30pm. The venue is the Conygre Hall in Timsbury and admittance is £3.
Timsbury Natural History Group is hosting a talk, The Ferns of Somerset, by Helena Crouch
7.30pm on Monday 15thNovember2021
Conygre Hall, North Road,Timsbury BA2 0JQ
Visitors welcome £3.00
Refreshments and raffle
For further information please ring
Rod Bruce [Secretary] on 01761 433013
The Mendip Gardening Club is hosting a talk by Colin Varndell – The Hedgehog Predicament – at Ston Easton Village Hall on Wednesday 17th November at 7.30 pm. Refreshments are available. Visitors and new members welcome. Contact: Joanne, 01761 453654. For a poster, click here.
Cam Valley Wildlife Group talk: Laura Mulholland from The Canal and River Trust is giving a talk tonight entitled ‘Wildlife on our Canals and Rivers, 7.30 pm for an 8 pm start at the Working Men’s Club, Radstock. £2 members , £3 non-members. Parking is in the car park behind the library.
CVWG is pleased to inform you that Timsbury Natural History Group is hosting a Beaver Project Talk by Joshua Harris
7.30pm, Monday 18th October 2021 at the Conygre Hall, North Road,Timsbury BA2 0JQ. Refreshments and raffle. Visitors welcome. £3.00
Talk to be followed by a brief AGM. For further information please ring Rod Bruce [Secretary] on 01761 433013
Bernard Purier will be giving a talk, ‘Whales and Dolphins – ‘A look into their World’, on behalf of Whale and Dolphin Conservation. Venue: Radstock Working Men’s Club. Park in the car park behind the library in Radstock. Entrance is £2.00 for CVWG members and £3.00 for non-members. For poster, click here. For the Cam Valley Wildlife Group Events programme, click here.
The Cam Valley Wildlife Group Autumn Events Programme has been posted on our website. The first event is an early autumn butterfly and invertebrate walk on Haydon Batch, Radstock on 19th September – see the programme for details
We have been sent a report and photos of three Ospreys around Chew Valley Lake. The lake is just west of the CVWG area. Osprey is a scarce passage migrant that sometimes hangs around at Chew Valley Lake area into Autumn, so it’s one to look out for right now.
Timsbury Natural History Group is now holding talks again at the Conygre Hall, Timsbury:
20th September, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. Brian Plant
18th October, The Beaver Reintroduction. Joshua Harris
15 November. The Ferns of Somerset. Helena Crouch
The group can be contacted through its Secretary, Rod Bruce, on 01761 433013.
31 July Moth trapping on Haydon Batch
We will be running moth traps from dusk for a number of hours at Haydon Batch and will have an expert (or two!) on hand to identify what we see and check the trap contents. The moths will be released either at the time or the next evening.
All are welcome.
The entrance to Haydon Batch is next to the Haydon Allotments and Haydon Village Hall (Haydon Cue & Social Club), Kilmersdon Rd, Haydon, Radstock, BA3 3QR.
Contact details: camvalleywildlife@gmail.com or phone 01761 435563
31 July Moth trapping on Haydon Batch
We will be running moth traps from dusk for a number of hours at Haydon Batch and will have an expert (or two!) on hand to identify what we see and check the trap contents. The moths will be released either at the time or the next evening.
All are welcome. The Event is subject to Government Guidelines on Covid-19.
The entrance to Haydon Batch is next to the Haydon Allotments and Haydon Village Hall (Haydon Cue & Social Club), Kilmersdon Rd, Haydon, Radstock, BA3 2DQ.
Contact details: camvalleywildlife@gmail.com or phone 01761 435563
Cam Valley Wildlife Group’s Newsletter 98 has a diverse and informative selection of articles for you. We hope you enjoy them. Feedback is always welcome.
Do river fish, spiders, plants, galls, bees, hedgehogs or members photos interest you? The Winter 2021 Cam Valley Wildlife Group Newsletter has all of these and more in a bumper 12 pages for your delight!
Cam Valley Wildlife Group events are back! You can check them out on our Events pages.
The Cam Valley Wildlife Group Autumn 2020 newsletter features members’ photos alongside information, articles and other member contributions.
The Summer 2020 Newsletter was a bumper addition, with members’ photos, an article about our Botany Walks (21 years of walks, now!) and a 2020 update on the Barn Owl Project (going over 25 years now!). The Spring 2020 and 2019 newsletters now download direct from our site for your convenience. Older newsletters (back to 2013) still download via a file hosting service.
We have had a few people mention seeing a Peregrine about the Cam Valley Wildlife Group area as well as other birds of prey – see the Sightings page for latest. Have you seen any birds of prey that look a bit diffrent near you?
Reports of Ivy Bees, Colletes Hederae, in Paulton and Radstock have come in. Have you seen any in your area? For images of Ivy bees and information about them, see Newsletters 87and 93 in the Back Copies listing at https://cvwg.org.uk/cam-valley-wildlife-group-newsletter/
Bird sightings in August in the Cam Valley Wildlife Group area include Hen Harrier in Haydon, a Barn Owl over Haydon Batch and Red Kite in Hallatrow.
Sightings reported from May, July and August have been added to our sightings page. It includes birds, mammals, plants, reptiles and insects. We would love to make reporting sightings more of a feature. Do you have any further sightings to add? Do you know someone who has? Perhaps you would like to post your own sightings on the blog!
Cam Valley Wildlife Group is excited to be starting activities again. As numbers need to be limited within Government guidelines, we have a wide array of events for you and you will need to book – for details, please see our Events Programme page. To download a copy, click Events for 2020 (Summer & Autumn). The first event is an insect event on Haydon Batch starting at 10.30 am
Why not check out the Cam Valley Wildlife Group Winter 2019 Newsletter on our website? The Spring 2020 Newsletter will replace it before long, so now would be a good time to have a look!
Our Autumn 2019 Newsletter is now posted on the website – pond life, hornets and Cam Valley Wildlife Group members’ sightings, along with a substantial list of interesting books for distribution that is well worth a look.
Hello, CVWG blog follower.
With noise greately reduced in many places, perhaps you have heard wildlife sounds that you do not normally hear, or hear so well as right now. We are interested in short nature sound recordings you may have made at home (say up to a minute in length) for posting on the website and sharing. If you would like to take part, please send us your recording or let us know via camvalleywildlife@gmail.com.
Realising that one of the Sightings page changes was attributed to the wrong place and person, it has been changed!
Cam Valley Wildlife Group 