On a bright, chilly morning 17 members of Ferring Conservation Group met on the beach at the end of Sea Lane in Ferring. The challenge was to identify as many items as possible on the list that Tricia Hall, the Group’s guide for the morning, had provided. With a keen wind behind them the Group set off in an easterly direction carefully exploring the shoreline where there was a good chance that the recent storms had dislodged marine life from the seabed.

Members were soon surprised at finding many empty shells of large spider crabs, together with pincers and legs. Many of them spied with the keen eyes of two of the youngest participants, Thomas and Eoin Kearns.

Sea lemons (or sea slugs) were found amongst clumps of seaweed; including Sea Oak, Egg Wrack and Irish moss or Carragheen. It was reassuring to see that at least a small amount of Kelp was evident. Jane Hayman from the Group commented that ‘the byelaw to be introduced preventing fishing boats from entering the kelp beds off the Sussex Coast will help save this important marine habitat and hopefully allow the kelp to thrive once more’.

A Sea Squirt, a Starfish and also several kinds of Sponge were identified. Along with the usual egg cases of Sharks, Rays and Cuttlefish, lots of Cuttlefish bones were seen, especially baby ones.

Further along the beach the Group noticed the badly decomposed body of a Thornback Ray, a possible casualty of the recent stormy weather. On hearing the familiar ‘peep-ing’ call of the Oyster Catcher, attention was drawn to the water’s edge where many wading birds including Turnstones and Dunlins were searching for shellfish to eat. An excellent view of these birds was possible with the use of a powerful telescope, kindly provided by member Clive Hall.

It was reassuring to find that only a small amount of plastic had been washed up but very disappointing to discover many lumps of palm oil. This edible vegetable oil comes from the fruit of oil palm trees and is used in almost 50% of packaged products found in supermarkets and also in animal feed, as well as being used as biofuel in many parts of the world (but not in the UK). It continues to be a major driver of deforestation of some of the world’s most diverse forests. Ships are regularly dumping large quantities of palm oil off the coast of Britain and although it is not poisonous to dogs, if eaten it can cause sickness and in extreme cases, pancreatitis and blockages.

A welcome stop for refreshments at Sea Lane Café gave the Group time to warm up with a hot drink, and before heading back to the starting point Tricia Hall was thanked for her time and the sharing of her considerable knowledge, which made the walk all the more interesting.

You may be interested in some upcoming events this year at the National Trust run historic farm at Saddlescombe, near Devil’s Dyke just north of Brighton and Hove as follows:

Farm Open Day on Sunday 28 June from 1030-1530, and a Heritage Open Day on Sunday 20 September also from 1030-1530. These are both free events but there is a £5 car park charge. There is also a cafe, farmers market and guided walks. The farm is situated between Poynings and the Devil’s Dyke road and signposted from the A27. You can also catch the number 77 bus from Brighton railway station and walk there from Devil’s Dyke itself.

There are also 2 Orchid days on Sunday 7 June and Tuesday 16 June from 1030, where there will be a guided walk with a ranger to search for a variety of wild orchids. There is a cost for this and tickets have to be booked via the National Trust website. More details of all the above days can be found there as well.

Please note that the Rife has burst its bank along the east bank and is impassable at one point.

It is now passable, but paths on both banks are still very muddy and slippery (22/2/2020)

Tuesday 25 February 10am – guided visit to Warnham Nature Reserve (just off A24 at Horsham). Excellent place to view birds at close quarters from the various hides. This is a “get yourselves there” visit but lifts can be arranged. Small admission fee of £2 and light refreshments are available there.

Thursday 12 March 10am  – guided birdwatching visit to Pagham Harbour (North Wall) with Clive Hope. One of the best sites locally for wading birds and others. Park on Church Lane (far end) nr Pagham village on east side of the harbour. Another “get yourselves there” visit but again lifts can be arranged. You can stay for lunch in café at Pagham if you wish.

Plus, don’t forget Rife Clean on Sat 21 March 11am

In addition to the scheduled September working party, members of Ferring Conservation Group were joined by a group of 15 enthusiastic members from ‘The Good Gym’. This Group of volunteers from the Worthing area like to keep fit by running together to help older people with one-off tasks; to visit isolated older people and also to help with community projects. From the South Downs to the sea they run with the intention of helping those most in need.

The task in hand was to improve the growth of wild flowers for next year after the recent grass cutting on the stretch of verge along Sea Lane in Ferring. This band of happy workers came suitably equipped with rakes as they had arranged for a car to deliver the equipment to the site ready for them to utilise in removing the grass cuttings.

Ferring Conservation Group would like to take this opportunity to thank the Good Gym for their valuable contribution in making this laborious task much easier to complete and also much more fun with such cheerful company.

They are always looking for new runners to join them and further information can be found at: www.goodgym.org

We heard on 30 September that leaflets were being delivered to a few roads in Ferring announcing that Persimmon Homes, the developers, are preparing a planning application for an estate of 465 houses on the farmland west of Goring Street, north of the railway between the railway and the Rife. This is right on the border with Ferring, but all within Worthing Borough Council’s boundaries. There was a tear-off slip on the leaflet for recipients to write their comments and post them off. The leaflet advertised a ‘consultation event’ in Worthing  on 7 October.

Many of our members, and members of Goring & Ilex Conservation Group and Goring Residents Association went along and had their say. Many others have sent their objections by e mail to chatsmorefarm@pegasusgroup.co.uk  And on 8 October 50 of us met at Goring Station for a group photograph to illustrate the story for the Worthing Herald. is ver

It is important that we in Ferring, as well as our friends in Goring continue to show our strong objection to this proposal. It is not yet a planning application. The development would be contrary to Worthing’s Draft Local Plan and it seems very unlikely that the Council would approve such an application when it is made.  But after such a refusal Persimmon could always appeal and we cannot be sure what a Planning Inspector might allow.

It would be good to see such an outcry against this proposal that Persimmon decide to drop it.

You can see the details of the scheme on www.chatsmorefarm.co.uk

This magnificent Wasp Spider was discovered near the Rife during the ‘Big Butterfly Count’ on 1st August. The photograph shows the female in her orb web which has a decoration called a stabilimentum which may attract insect prey.

Please see ‘Nature Notes’ to find out more about this fascinating spider.

Meeting in the Bluebird Café car park at the southern end of the Rife, 11 enthusiastic  members of Ferring Conservation Group split themselves into two groups and set off along the west bank to endeavour to count as many butterflies and moths as they could find. Tricia Hall gave out lists for members to cross off together with sheets of photographs to help with identification. The two Groups were hoping to see the sun come out to warm the air as this encourages butterflies to immerge from their resting places.

Jointly the two groups found nine different species with a total of 54 individuals in the south lagoon and 43 in the north lagoon. There were 58 Gatekeepers, over half the total found. There were only 3 Common Blues but this included a fresh female. Only one Red Admiral was seen and no Peacocks or Small Tortoiseshells. A limited number of Large and Small Whites and Speckled Wood butterflies were counted and the commonest day-flying moth was a Shaded Broad-Bar.

The results of all the butterflies and moths found have been added to the Butterfly Conservation ‘Big Butterfly Count’ survey. This nationwide survey is helping to assess the health of our environment as butterflies react very quickly to change which makes them excellent biodiversity indicators.  It was launched in 2010 and has rapidly become the world’s largest survey of butterflies with over 100,000 people taking part in 2018.

Tricia commented that “more species may have been seen if the sun had come out”, as the lagoons are a mass of flowers at present, possibly benefitting from recent rain which should have provided ideal conditions. The only dragonflies seen were the reddish Common Darter, a bright blue Emperor male and an extremely tatty old female Emperor with terribly torn wings.

The highlight for one group was an uncommon Wasp Spider in a damp area of the north lagoon found by Graham Tuppen, one of the Group’s ultra-alert participants. This introduced species has a bright yellow and black abdomen to mimic wasps and thus avoid predators.

On a sunny, but breezy day, the village of Ferring held their 2019 Summer Village Fair where this popular annual event provided a vibrant and friendly environment for villagers to come together and remind themselves of the many groups and organisations represented that the village has to offer.

Ferring Conservation Group were fortunate enough to have their stall in the marquee which provided welcome shelter from the wind and prevented the stallholders having to chase any display items across the village green. With an excellent number of visitors to their stall, 20 new members were signed up with many people looking forward to attending the Group’s monthly meetings and joining the Group’s walks and visits.