A note from the Chairman

Once again I am delighted to be able to say that I have had plenty of material for this newsletter. Keep those articles coming! I have held over an article on Catchment Sensitive Farming and also one on the Seaton Visitor Centre; after all, we still do not know which supermarket – if any – will be coming to Seaton. The Society has been consulted, and we have pointed out the essential part that a Visitor Centre will play in the regeneration of Seaton and, particularly in the development of natural history orientated tourism. We have also pointed out that the Sainsburys proposal definitely includes a Visitor Centre.

This number contains a variety of articles. Rob Johnson has written a fascinating account of his (and his wife’s) relationship with a blackbird that has befriended them for seven years and more. Without some kind of marking it is hard to be certain that the same bird has been involved throughout, but its behaviour and markings (a white feather or two among the black) make this reasonably sure. This links to the report from the Axe Valley Ringing Group, which we support in a small way. Ringing not only tells us where birds go (and some of our Axe birds have gone a long way); it also gives us a good idea of how long birds live. Rob worries that his Blackbird is getting old – but the oldest known Blackbird (in Germany) was over 21 years old!

A project that we have supported is the AONB’s ‘Looking out for Bats’. Steph Evans brings us up to date on this with some fascinating results from the radio-tracking that has been done. Bats travel further than you might think! The Society’s work parties disappear into the wilds of the Undercliffs on several Saturdays each winter, but until now there has been little systematic recording of the results of what they do. David Allen and his helpers have now begun to see what happens when Holm Oaks are cleared from an area that once bore chalk grassland. He has found hopeful signs that, given yet more management, this attractive and diverse habitat may be restored. Another site where the Society’s work parties have been active is Holyford Woods; Jean Kreisler has known them for over 60 years and in this issue she shares her knowledge of them. Visit!
David Allen reappears with the second part of his notes on the Blackdown Hills in which he describes the conservation importance of the area. Colin Dawes has taken time off from his new-found love of metal-detecting to write about a second fort in the Axe Valley – Membury Castle. Since a fort crowns almost every hill in the area, we can expect more of these accounts!

On a more practical note, we are becoming a little concerned about our inability to spend more of our accumulated funds. There are a good many projects in the offing that we would like to support, but most of them seem to be in abeyance or awaiting the go-ahead from higher powers. Let us hope that the increasing tightness in the money supply that we are likely to see in the next few years does not strangle schemes like the Axe Estuary Wetland Project completely. We shall do our utmost to see that such projects progress. But we also need ideas – so come to the Annual General Meeting on 30th October and let us know your views.
As I write, in early August, it seems as if the delayed monsoon in India has transferred to East Devon. The outcry when the forecast ‘barbecue summer’ failed to materialise (at least in July) illustrates a worrying lack of understanding by the Press, and a good proportion of the British public, of probabilities. Yes – the Met Office’s Press Officer should not have used the phrase; he should have stuck to the facts – a 65% probability of a ‘warmer then average’ summer. We forgot that there was also a 35% probability of a cooler than average one. And it may yet change!