Our final online talk of the season this April welcomed botanist Dr Helena Crouch. Helena is  Vice-County Recorder for the north part of Somerset on behalf the Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland and an active member of Somerset Rare Plants Group. During “The Coastal Plants of Somerset” she discussed the plants she studies on the Somerset Coast between the estuaries of the Rivers Avon and Parrot. Some of these have amazingly made their way inland to places like Bath and Keynsham, especially in the vicinity of salt storage facilities where conditions mimic those at the coast.

A secret ancient orchard in the heart of Herefordshire, was the subject of a long term study to understand the true value of this habitat for native wildlife by our March speaker, BBC natural history producer Nick Gates and fellow naturalist Ben MacDonald. “Orchard, a year in England’s Eden” is the title of the award winning book they have written about their work.

In February we enjoyed another outstanding Zoom presentation in February as 58 screens shared an enthusiastic and inspiring talk on Ospreys, given by Liv Cooper, who works for the Birds of Poole Harbour charity, and is the projects coordinator of the Poole Harbour Osprey Translocation Project (PHOTP).
Ospreys are migratory raptors, arriving in the UK in March or April, breeding over the summer, then flying south from August to October to overwinter. Some travel as far as the Gambia or Senegal, others to SW Europe. Younger birds fly south, but often delay returning for 2 or 3 years until when they are sexually mature. Poole harbour is an excellent stopover location for these migrating birds.