East Bridgwater Urban Wildlife Group

How about a bit of minibeast spotting for your final wild activity of , on the final day of ? 👀

These are species you might spot in your garden...

3 words to our location this evening 🌳

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See you tonight, drop in any time from 7:30pm till 9pm

We are asking visitors to help us make visiting the Avalon Marshes Starling roost a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone, so please follow our top tips to do just that:

•Our car park has limited spaces available for visitors – please do not be surprised if we have to turn you away due to reaching our site capacity.

•Please do not park on the road – be considerate of our neighbours and the need for emergency vehicle access at all times. If the car park is full or closed, then the site is at capacity - please return to visit the roost another day or choose a different roost to visit.

•When the car park is closed, please DO NOT queue on the road as this blocks the road preventing others from going about their day and prevents emergency vehicle access to the reserve or to our neighbours if required.

•We ask that all visitors be considerate of each other and work together to ensure that everyone can view the Starlings safely and that others who are travelling along the main track through the reserves are able to do so.

•During weekends, school holidays and over the Christmas period, we usually experience the highest number of visitors. Somerset schools are on holiday 16 December – 1 January and 10 – 18 February. Consider visiting outside of peak times such as weekdays or in the morning as the sun rises when the birds fly up spectacularly from the reedbeds. If you’d like to visit the reserve in the daytime instead, we also have other fantastic wildlife to see such as Bitterns, Marsh Harriers and majestic Great White Egrets.

•Come early to beat the crowds, arriving in the car park before 3:30pm at the latest, to catch the spectacle. Please note that there may be a walk of up to 30 minutes depending on where the Starlings are roosting. We recommend arriving by 2pm - there is lots of other wildlife to discover out on the reserve. The post code for the car park is BA6 9SX.

•Call the Starling hotline on 07866 554142 to find out which reserve the birds were roosting on the night before. Please note this is an automated line and we are unable to reply to messages. The Starling hotline is operation 1 November – 29 February.
•It can be very cold out on the reserve so dress for the weather bringing plenty of warm layers, stout footwear, and thick socks.

•The walk back will be dark so bring a torch to help you get back to your car safely.

•Parking costs £3 per car or is free for RSPB members (display membership card on your dash) and blue badge holders in the RSPB Ham Wall car park. Payment is taken via credit or debit card on the car parking machine.

•Be mindful of the sensitive habitat around the reserve - please stick to the paths and bring a torch to help you find your way in the dark.

•Please note that dogs are only permitted on the main track and footpath running along the Glastonbury canal (Red Route) at RSPB Ham Wall and must be kept on a lead at all times. There are no dog poo bins in the Avalon Marshes so please come prepared to take your dog's waste home with you. Dogs are not permitted on Shapwick Heath NNR.

•There are no bins at any of the sites across the Avalon Marshes, so please take your rubbish home with you to avoid it harming our sensitive wildlife.

•For Ham Wall's accessibility guide please visit: https://www.accessibilityguides.org/content/rspb-ham-wall-0

Thank you for your continued support. Please consider joining or donating to help fund the work of the RSPB in Somerset, so we can continue to improve our habitats and reserves for both people and wildlife. For the latest from RSPB Ham Wall, follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

If you are unable to see the Starlings at RSPB Ham Wall this year, visit Starlingsintheuk.co.uk to find your local alternative roost. If you’re travelling from further afield, there is also a great range of our other reserves that host Starling murmurations that are worthwhile visiting instead:
• RSPB Exe Estuary, Devon
• RSPB Marazion Marsh, Cornwall
• RSPB Newport Wetlands, Gwent
• RSPB Dungeness, Kent
• RSPB Fairburn Ings, West Yorkshire
• RSPB St Aidan's, West Yorkshire
• RSPB Minsmere, Suffolk
• RSPB Frampton Marsh, Lincolnshire
• RSPB Saltholme, County Durham
• RSPB Leighton Moss, Lancashire

Our new 2024 Calendar has arrived! They are selling fast on our webshop, get your before they all go. Click on the link below for your chance get one of our limited edition calendars. Every sale helps us help them 🦡🦔🐀🦫🦦🐇🦢🦌🦇🦉🦆🦊🐾

https://shop.secretworld.org/product/secret-world-2024-calendar/

Have you been clearing out the garden for winter this weekend?

What do you do with your garden waste? Make sure it is composted! Garden waste makes the perfect mulch for your garden.

Please don't throw garden waste in your bin, you can:
🍂 Compost at home
🍂Take to any of our Somerset Recycling Sites, find your local one online: www.somerset.gov.uk/find-your-nearest-recycling-centre/
🍂Sign up for a kerbside collection: www.somerset.gov.uk/bins-recycling-and-waste/garden-waste-collections/

Every leaf, twig and grass cutting collected is turned into soil improver right here in Somerset! Want to pick up some for your garden, find out about it here: www.somerset.gov.uk/revive-soil-condition/

If you're celebrating or Guy Fawkes night with a bonfire, only build the fire on the day it's to be lit!
🦔
Always check for young children, hedgehogs & other animals, including pets, before lighting.

❗ & save the lives of & other wildlife.

📢 We've two rides coming up: 4 Nov & 16 Dec. All welcome! 😁
Book here 👉 https://letsride.co.uk/groups/bridgwater-area-cycling-campaign

We're loving the new £1 coin with two bees on from The Royal Mint. The generic bee that features on the reverse of the £1 coin, was chosen to signify the UK’s 250+ species of bee, including bumblebees, mason bees and mining bees. The Royal Mint says it looks to highlight the “pivotal role” that bees play in pollinating plants and fruiting trees 👏🌸🐝

💤 It will soon be time for our favourite prickly mammals to hibernate.

🦔 spend much of their life asleep, usually hibernating from October to April, but during a milder winter you may still see hedgehogs out and about in December.

🍂 To build up fat reserves for winter, hedgehogs will eat as much as they can in the autumn. They then seek out a quiet spot to rest for the coming months, making use of whatever materials and hiding places they can find.

🏡 They might build their own winter shelter – known as a hibernaculum - from dead leaves, twigs and feathers, but in urban areas they can take up residence in stacks of logs, compost heaps or under garden sheds.

👉 Head to our blog to learn how you can help your local hedgehogs: https://bit.ly/3rV7xr0

How to Grow Potatoes Without Soil🤎
Full guide in the first comment 💬👀

Book for October half-term Join us from Saturday 21st October - Sunday 5th November 2023

Today is ! 🍄

Fungi are fantastic! Closer to animals than plants, they belong to a kingdom all of their own — and today, we are SO excited to announce the return of the — our annual fungi-themed citizen science event and part of the Great Somerset Wildlife Count!

Sign up using the link below, and get ready to help us spot fungi near you! 👇
www.somersetwildlife.org/fantastic-fungi-focus

🌹Spring bulbs - Now available 🌹
🌹Naturalising Bulbs in Lawns🌹
• This is a great way to brighten up lawns, grass verges and wildflower areas in spring.
• Simply dig a hole in the lawn about 3 times the depth of the bulb. Place the bulb in the base of the hole and cover back over, making sure to replace the turf back on top.
• Use Crocus, Snowdrops, Snake’s Head Fritillaries and all types of Daffodils
🌟Great value at £6.99 a bag 🌟

Raise vital funds for wildlife this half term! Register to 'Walk like a Hedgehog' this Autumn to raise vital funds for Somerset Wildlife Trust.

The Wildlife Trusts

Download for free Download and print

Hedgehog season 🦔

We are beginning to get a lot of hedgehog admissions as the season begins to change 🍂 As of writing this post, we have admitted just under 500 hedgehogs into to centre so far in 2023 and have helped many others through giving advice over the phone.