Macclesfield and Congleton Group

Autumn 2008

What a mixed year we have had so far. It started well for the old bumblebee but slowly declined once the wet weather set in; however it’s been a good year for flowers particularly the bluebell and foxglove; and if anyone had been to Astbury Mere Country Park in early summer they would have been treated to four, possibly five, different types of orchid. Unfortunately it’s been a bad year for the butterfly and for honeybees: watch the price of honey go up this year!!

By the way, would anyone like to volunteer to be the group’s treasurer? We only meet three times a year. With our small turnover, it would not take up too much time. Please contact B Self on 01260 271282 if you are interested.

Lindow Common, with Paul Hughes, Ranger
After a wintry start to Midsummer’s Day the afternoon walk was much brighter and full of interest. Paul entertained us with stories of his efforts to reverse the succession from heathland to woodland in several stages, with help from Hymac, volunteers - and vandals.

To his regret, grazing by cattle was discontinued under MBC ownership, allowing downy birch and oak woodland to encroach the heath. This has required expensive felling and scraping of small areas in rotation to allow the heather space and light to re-seed itself.

The common is now a colourful mosaic of heathers, waving grasses and flowers, including sundew, bog asphodel and cotton grass in the wetter parts, with woodland fringe and a lake. But tree seedlings will always have to be pulled up and ageing heather renewed: maintaining good open wildlife sites without grazing or burning can be very labour-intensive.
So to the vandals: picture Paul in shorts last year battling with a spade to ward off a wall of flaming heather from the wet heath, while the real firemen in protective gear move in safely from behind. Now picture the swathe of fresh green shoots we saw this year in place of the old, woody stalks - all achieved in one afternoon!

People and wildlife
The reluctance to mix livestock with people and dogs on Lindow Common, though tried successfully elsewhere, highlights the dilemma of conflicting interests. Here is an SSSI, which is also a public amenity, so there are two areas of conflict: people versus wildlife and one form of wildlife versus another. On any site we often have to restrict one species or habitat in order to allow a rarer one to survive. (Even the protected water vole has been barred from a part of the lake to let the reed bed establish itself for other wildlife.) In addition we have to accommodate the public’s safety and their perception of beauty and wildlife value.
They are dismayed to see trees felled but mollified by a sea of heather: now delighted with the heather, they are annoyed by some remaining tree stumps left for the basking and hibernating lizards or by ‘ugly’ bare patches left for green tiger beetles.
But the healthy numbers of flowers, birds, small mammals, dragonflies and other invertebrates among much-used paths show that a reasonable compromise can be achieved.

B. Self