Our hedgehogs are really struggling. Have a look at a new short article in the Nature Notes section of this website, written by committee member, Graham Tuppen, to see what you might be able to do in your garden to help them. A number have been seen recently around the village in gardens, so there is some hope for them if we all do our bit.
Making your garden Hedgehog friendly
Avoid using slug pellets.
Make it easy for them to come in by making holes in/gaps under fences. If you have hedges, avoid having chicken wire barriers in them. They need holes of approx 15cm/6in diameter. They can climb, but are unlikely to scale a 6 foot fence.
Have water available in your garden for them (and all other wildlife) to drink. If you have a pond, give them an escape ramp of some sort, they can swim but are not able to do so indefinitely.
If you want to feed them, don’t leave bread and milk for them, as this is actually bad for their tummies. Dog or cat food is better, left out overnight. Apparently they like chicken flavour, but avoid all fish. They will eat unsalted peanuts and apparently some cheese. The risk of dog/cat food is that you will simply be feeding foxes (and possibly dogs and cats). It is possible to buy dried foods (eg Spike’s and Ark wildlife) specifically for hedgehogs which should avoid this problem (eg Shoreline pets in the Mulberry parade, Goring stock some).
For hibernating, a loose woodpile is ideal, but you can either buy hedgehog houses, or make one. The basic requirement is a dry chamber, with an entrance tunnel approx 13cm diameter, long enough to prevent a fox from reaching into the chamber. Ideally the tunnel should slope down slightly from the chamber, to prevent water running in. The chamber should be covered with a waterproof material, and preferably then covered in earth or vegetation, and a supply of suitable bedding material such as straw and leaves nearby is useful. The home should be in a quiet, cool, shady spot, with the entrance facing away from cold winds (not North or Northeast). An old plastic milk crate with the internal partitions removed is suitable. If making one of wood, avoid material which is treated with preservatives, other than water-based. Approx 30 x 30 x 40cm/15 x 15 x 19 in. internal size. Avoid disturbing it if there is a resident!, one way to check in the Spring is to put a light obstruction over the entrance and see if it is pushed out of the way overnight. In the summer it is a good idea to clean it out, an organic pyrethrum powder suitable for caged birds is ok.
For further information, do have a look at an excellent website – www.hedgehogstreet.org
Information provided by Graham Tuppen (5.7.2017)
Group Meeting – 30th June 2017
The Group heard from Yvonne Fenter, who is one of the charity’s volunteer speakers, but is also a trustee and wife of the founder of the hospital. It had been set up originally in the village of Eartham, but moved to its current site in 1985 where it continues to this day. There is work going on currently to improve the facilities, which are so well used for wildlife in need, and in fact our local WADARS organisation transports many rescued birds and animals there if necessary for their treatment and recuperation.
The hospital treats some 3000 patients a year, of which approximately 2500 are birds of all species. Many of these are of course baby birds, which have to be fed constantly, and staff make use of liquidised dog and cat food fed on the end of a paint brush for this purpose. It should be noted that members of the Group on the night stepped up to the mark and answered the hospital’s request to bring along meat based dog and cat food with them as a donation. Scores of cans and packets were passed on for their use, as well as some generous cash donations. All of these were gratefully received by Yvonne.
The principle of the hospital is that if any animal or bird is in need, then they will treat it. To complete the talk, Yvonne gave members useful advice on what to do if they found an animal requiring help, and she outlined the particular problem of discarded fishing hooks and line which can easily be ingested by sea birds. Continuing the sea theme, she told the Group that oiled birds were not the problem they used to be with the practice of ships illegally flushing out their tanks in the channel having virtually stopped.
We are very lucky to have such a facility near to us in the county, and it deserves our support. They do have their own charity shop in the Guildbourne Centre in Worthing, where they will happily receive items to sell, as well as items such as towels, newspapers etc to use in the care of their patients.
Ferring Conservation Group Orchid and Bird Walk 13th June 2017
A group of 20 members from Ferring Conservation Group, and Shoreham District Ornithological Society turned out on Tues 13th June in glorious sunshine to walk along the Rife from the Bluebird Cafe up to the Ferring Country Centre with the aim of enjoying the varied wildlife, expertly led by Tricia Hall.
Notable trees and shrubs, some in flower, included Elder, Hazel, Sea Buckthorn, Blackthorn, Hawthorn, Wild and Guelder Rose, and a sizeable patch of the shrubby herb Deadly Nightshade.
Flowers along the Rife itself included Comfrey, Cow Parsley, Willow herb, Meadowsweet and Horsetail.
In the lagoons, the show of orchids was not at its best, but good numbers of Marsh Orchid, both Incarnata and Pulchella, were seen, with some Common Spotted, but no sign of any Bee Orchids. However, there were numerous other flowers of interest, from the brilliant yellow Flag Irises to the dainty Water Plantain, and Tufted Vetch, Meadow Vetchling, Fleabane, Yellow Loosestrife, Coltsfoot, Self-Heal and Everlasting Sweet Pea. Grasses, Sedges and Rushes were in abundance.
Birds included Buzzard, Whitethroat, Reed Bunting, Swallow, Reed Warbler, Chiffchaff and Blackcap, but the stars of the show were a group of 4 little Egrets and a Grey Heron all perching in the trees just north of the upper lagoon.
Wildlife in the ponds included Newts (either common or palmate), Froglets, Water Boatmen, Pond Skaters, Whirligig Beetles, tiny Flatworms and a Leech, and several Black-tailed Skimmer dragonflies put on an aerial display over the water.
The butterflies spotted were Small Tortoiseshell, Common Blue and Speckled Wood and the moths were Five-spot Burnet and Burnet Companion.
The walk was rounded off with refreshments at Ferring Country Centre.
Group Meeting – 26th May 2017
Jacob Everitt opened our May meeting with a talk on his search for as many different species of dragonfly that he could identify during 2015. Jacob is a Senior Countryside Warden at Horsham District Council and began by describing to us the difference between dragonflies and damselflies. Dragonflies have joined eyes with no split segment and two pairs of flat wings whereas damselflies have large eyes either side of their head split into coloured segments and much thinner wings that are held against their body.
There are 41 species that are native to Britain and they can be found from Land’s End to John O’Groats, but not in Ireland. Jacob said that 29 of the species can be found here in Sussex.
With a list of Britain’s Dragonflies, an AA Road Atlas, a book entitled ‘Watching British Dragonflies’ and a camera, Jacob began his voyage of discovery. His first visit was to Dungeness in Kent where the many coastal lagoons were an ideal location and here he spotted a Hairy Dragonfly, this large, hardy dragonfly is blue, green and yellow and Jacob found it easy to photograph as this species is happy to sit for periods of time. A Vagrant Emperor was also seen passing through the area, these dragonflies tuck their legs in during flight and use them to catch insects to eat.
Jacob’s hunt continued in the Ashdown Forest where he discovered a Small Red damselfly, a Black Darter dragonfly and the largest of the species at five inches long, the Golden-Ringed dragonfly which is found on heathland.
In late May Jacob visited Norfolk and was fortunate enough to see and photograph a Norfolk Hawker. This is one of two brown Hawker dragonflies found in Britain.
A return journey time of 18 hours and 1036 miles took Jacob to Abernethy Forest in Scotland on a hunt for three target species, the Northern and the Northern Emerald damselflies and the Azure Hawker dragonfly found around boggy pools in moorland.
With over 5,000 miles on the clock and 290 hours driving, including visits to Loch Maree Scotland, the Isle of Sheppey, the New Forest, Hadleigh Castle in Essex and the Isles of Scilly Jacob spotted 45 species of Odonata (the collective name for dragonflies and damselflies) including all of the 41 species native to Britain.
After a break for refreshments Tricia Hall delivered her popular Nature Notes with news of a Great Spotted Woodpecker nesting in a hole in the same tree as last year in the Plantation. Blue tits are very busy in some of the nesting boxes in the village and five fox cubs were seen playing in Clover Lane. Early marsh Orchids are alongside the Rife along with Comfrey, which has medicinal qualities and can be cut, rotted down and used as fertilizer and is also a good food source for Bumble Bees. Ed Miller concluded the meeting by advising us that the draft version of the Arun Local Plan has been modified to reflect the increase of the new housing quota to 1,000 properties per year for the next 15 years. So far this draft plan protects the Goring Gaps.
Group Meeting – 28th April 2017
At our April meeting we welcomed Tim McPherson, a Director of the Angling Trust, publisher, angler, naturalist, ornithologist and conservationist. Tim came to talk to us about the work of the Angling Trust, and explained that the biggest threat to sea-angling is the lack of fish brought about by decades of over-fishing and failed management by the UK government and the EU, through the Common Fisheries Policy. The Angling Trust’s ultimate goal is to allow recreational sea fishing to have a greater say in how fish stocks are managed through lobbying and campaigning, and to allow the promotion and development of this sport for future generations.
The Angling Trust members support the campaigns they carry out to protect fish stocks and together with Fish Legal, the legal arm of the Angling Trust, they use the law to fight pollution and other damage to the water environment – both freshwater and marine – and protect the rights of anglers and angling. The Angling Trust are continually campaigning against poaching, the quality of waters, inshore netting, reform of rod licences and other important issues.
Tim also told us about a popular recreational fishing area called the Kingmere Marine Conservation Zone, this lies between 5 to 10 km offshore of the West Sussex coast between Littlehampton and Worthing and has the ideal topography to attract marine life. This area is one of the largest breeding sites of black bream in the country and is popular with chartered fishing boats. These fish build their nests on hard bedrock overlain with thin sand and gravel. The male fish will make a nest in the substrate and when the female has laid her eggs he will guard the nest until the eggs hatch. Black bream are ‘protogynous’ which means the females turn into males when they reach about 35 cms. Further Marine Conservation Zones will be considered in future.
A short AGM followed a break for refreshments where Ed Miller was appointed as Secretary to replace Debbie Dilks, and Graham Tuppen voted onto the Committee. Other existing committee members were re-elected unopposed.
David Bettiss delivered April’s Nature Notes with news that many migrant birds had been seen around the area including wheatears, male redstart, black cap, chiff chaff, whitethroats, swallows, and great crested grebe. Butterflies seemed more plentiful than last year with peacock, small tortoiseshell, brimstone, speckle wood and an orange tip being spotted in gardens.
Ed Miller concluded the meeting and although there were no new planning applications, there is great concern that the proposed new housing estates in Angmering will cause an additional burden on the already congested local highways.
Bluebell Walk in Clapham Woods
On a cold but sunny morning around 30 members of Ferring Conservation Group met at St Mary the Virgin Parish Church at Clapham in search of bluebells and other wild flowers. This flint stone church has stood firm since the 13th century and made a picturesque start as we set out towards the woods. Our route led us over several stiles, some of which proved to be a challenge but worth the effort as we entered the wood and caught a first glimpse of the abundant bluebells. 
These delicate native flowers do not welcome change or disturbance and prefer ancient woods that have lain undisturbed for years. Around 300 hundred years ago Spanish bluebells were introduced into gardens but these soon spread and began to hybridise with native plants to produce tougher varieties with dominant genes. The main visual difference between the varieties is that the native bluebells are slightly smaller, have narrow leaves, a violet bell-shaped flower, drooping heads and a delicate fragrance. The Spanish bluebells are wider leaved, stand erect and have no scent. Their flowers have less of a bell and are more of a ‘hyacinth’ blue. Bluebells have not traditionally been used medicinally but researchers are now looking into their highly effective animal and insect repellent properties, and there are even possibilities that certain bluebell extracts could be used to combat HIV and cancer.
Glorious carpets of bluebells were evident as we strolled along the woodland paths and although their scent was not witnessed at the start of our walk, as the temperature gradually rose their delicate perfume filled the air. Many other wild flowers were present and we eagerly ticked them off on our list of likely sightings. These included red campion, celandines, greater stitchwort, ground ivy, wood anemones, goldilocks buttercups, primroses, early purple orchids, bugle, wild strawberries, wood sorrel and violets. Along the way we caught a glimpse of a red kite soaring high above us through a clearing in the trees, and we could plainly hear an enthusiastic woodpecker on a nearby tree and the cheerful singing of a chaffinch accompanied by the regular rhythm of the song from a chiff chaff.
As we neared the edge of the wood we had a wonderful view of the Downs towards Black Patch Hill, this area has, what is likely to be, one of the most important Stone Age settlements found so far in Southern England. The area to the north-west of Clapham is one of the largest in West Sussex without any public roads. This is mostly due to the efforts of successive Dukes of Norfolk, who owned the land. The Angmering Park Estate which was created after the death of the 16th Duke of Norfolk in 1975, will hopefully keep things this way for many years to come.
There has been a settlement at Clapham since at least the Saxon times and as we turned and headed back towards our starting point we noticed signs of the age-old skill of coppicing and other woodland industries, still practised in the area. We had almost reached the end of our walk when we had our final treat of the day when discovering a quintessential English scene of a field of horses and sheep surrounded by woodland trees with St Mary the Virgin Church to the east and a sea view in the distance. After thanking Graham Tuppen, our knowledgeable guide for the day, we headed to the local café for a well-earned lunch.
Group Meeting – 31st March 2017
Penny Green, an Ecologist from the Knepp Estate near Horsham, opened our March meeting with a talk entitled ‘Knepp Wildland – A Naturalistic Grazing System’. Penny explained that the Knepp Castle Estate has been privately owned by the Burrell family for over 200 years. The current owner, Sir Charles Burrell, was devoted to traditional arable and dairy farming but with heavy clay soil and small fields the land was not ideally suited for intensive agriculture. In 2001 Sir Charles shifted his focus to regeneration and restoration projects aimed at nature conservation. Sir Charles introduced various herbivores, cows, deer, horses and pigs on to the 3,500 acres of land. Over time this affected the vegetation to create mosaics of habitats including open grassland, regenerating scrub, bare ground and forested groves. Longhorn cattle create paths through scrub, spread seeds and create a distinct browse line, while the Tamworth Pigs rootle up the ground looking for food. Exmoor ponies and deer browse the sallow and other tree species also stripping bark especially when food is scarce in winter. The animals live outside all year without supplementary feeding and are allowed to roam freely with little intervention. The aim is to improve the biodiversity of the land by encouraging the return of wild flowers and grasses, trees and shrubs, insects and butterflies, birds and small mammals. It is hoped that eventually the ecosystem that once prevailed in the area will return and although grazing animals are used elsewhere in the UK as a conservation management tool it is unusual for a mixture of animals to be used in this way. This project may well encourage other areas of marginal land in the UK to become ‘rewilded’ linking up diversity hotspots to create a ‘Living Landscape’.
Following a break for refreshments Julie Toben from Wadars provided an update on the future of this respected animal charity. Julie explained that although their initial plans for a ‘state of the art’ rehoming centre were still in the running, realistically this would take the charity much longer to achieve than first thought. Therefore after much consideration, and to utilize the existing facilities as soon as possible, a more practical plan had been agreed. Some of the existing stable blocks are to be renovated and converted to kennels while a prefabricated UPVC cattery would be constructed with sympathetic planting and fencing to help the buildings blend into the landscape. The charity hopes to be fully operational by March 2018.
Ed Miller followed with an update on planning news. Ed told us that the second planning application for 23 Yurts on the land north of the A259 had been refused. Globe Estates (Southern) Ltd have submitted plans, at detailed design stage, for 8 apartments on the site of the former Beehive Cottage. A new planning application for 8 apartments at the corner of Sea Lane and Sea Close is soon to be advertised, this time to include an underground car park. There is also an application for the former Village Interiors showroom in South Ferring to be converted to flats.
Michael Brown concluded the meeting with the latest news regarding the Rampion Windfarm. Michael advised us that the offshore foundations were now complete and there would be no further piling, and that E.on are now busy installing the turbines to the towers and to date have completed 4. They are on schedule to complete this part of the project by autumn of this year along with 50% of the cabling.
Latest Group news
Latest planning applications
Ferring Conservation Group objected to two recent applications for flats in Ferring. The Beehive Lane flats were, in the end, allowed (with some reduction in scale). FG/198/16, for the demolition of the existing house and building eight 2-bedroom flats at 1 Sea Drive, was finally approved on 24 August.
Such a development here, on the corner with Sea Lane, just a few yards up from the seafront, is completely out of place – having a disastrous effect on the immediate neighbours and adding to traffic hazards for drivers and walkers. It could be the thin edge of a long wedge in Sea Lane.
We keep a close eye on all applications for new houses or businesses. and send details and guidance on objections e mail circulars to members. If you are a member (or would like to join – £1 a year) and would like to receive these circulars, please e mail EdMiller43@msn.com..
David Bettiss – Chairman, FCG
Pagham Harbour Visit and Rife Clean
On a cloudy March morning a small group of enthusiastic members from Ferring Conservation Group met at the North Wall end of Pagham Harbour with hope of spotting 
as many species of wild bird as possible. In this peaceful nature reserve we were soon rewarded with a distant sighting of a solitary Spotted Redshank foraging in a reed bed and were then distracted by the calling of around 200 Black tailed Godwits which landed gracefully at the southern edge of the Harbour. Wigeon, Teal, Moorhens, Coots, Tufted Ducks, Shell Ducks, Little Grebes and a Pin Tailed Duck were all evident in the adjacent pools, and we were entertained by 2 Great Crested Grebes displaying their courtship ritual. Mute Swans were also present to the far north. As a White Tailed Bumble Bee sauntered past, giving us a hint of summer to come, we became aware of the mewing of a Buzzard high above us and the plaintive call of a Curlew as it flew just above the reed beds.
We were observed from the north by Herons as they stood like sentries on the top of fence posts and a Cormorant could be seen with its wings outstretched, drying itself in the Spring air. As we walked round to the North West side of the Harbour around 100 Golden Plover could be seen wading in the pools, these birds can be distinguished from the Lapwing by their sharp pointed wings – lapwings have bluntly rounded wings. A less common sighting was the Red Breasted Merganser, these handsome diving ducks are so called because of their long serrated bills, used for catching fish. As the Group headed back for some well-deserved lunch in a local café they were delighted to spot a little Firecrest in a hedge; this jewel of a bird vies with the Goldcrest for the title of the UK’s smallest bird. After lunch, a short visit to Pagham Lagoon resulted in a sighting of Mediterranean Gulls all in breeding plumage. This final sighting resulted in a total of 47 different species of wild birds seen on the day, and proves that this area is a showcase for the wealth of winged wildlife that we are so fortunate to have along the Sussex shoreline.
Later that week and on a cloudy Saturday morning and with a traditional south westerly wind, 20 volunteers from Ferring Conservation Group gathered at the Bluebird car park for the annual clean of the banks of the Rife. The group split into two and armed with black bags and litter pickers they worked their way along the east and west banks heading north towards Ferring Country Centre. It is encouraging to report that less litter was found than previous years but it is disappointing that dog fouling is still a big problem in this beautiful area. Dog owners should be aware that Poo Bins are situated at the Bluebird Café car park at the south end and also at the north end by Ferring Country Centre. The usual type of litter was found; chocolate wrappers, beer cans, bottle tops, crisp packets, including a discarded deodorant aerosol, plus many discarded full poo bags. It is of course an offence to drop litter (including used poo bags) and the term ‘litter’ can include cigarette ends, chewing gum, or any other kind of discarded waste and this can also be a potential hazard to wildlife. Generally, ‘litter’ is considered to be a bag of waste or less; anything larger is usually recorded as fly tipping.
The above event is in addition to the 3 Beach Cleans that the Group carries out each year, this year they are scheduled to take place on Saturday 6th May, Saturday 8th July and Saturday 16th September (this final event of the year is part of the ‘Big Beachwatch Weekend’ and contributes to the nationwide survey run by the Marine Conservation Society).