At last summer has finally arrived! I enjoyed a very pleasant stroll through the Copse yesterday afternoon with a friend and our children. The sun was shining and the birds were singing. I am always surprised at the amount of noise the blackbirds make scuttling about in the undergrowth. The spring bluebell display in the coppiced area was a truly stunning carpet of hyacinth blue. The dead hedges proved to have been very effective. Most people seemed to have kept to the paths as I saw very little damage. As the bluebells self-seed I am sure that they will be an even more impressive sight next year. How times change, as a child I remember picking armfuls of bluebells – poor old Louise- I wouldn’t allow her to pick one!

The first bat survey on May 7^th was attended by Colin, Pippa and their daughter Sarah; Nic; John and Phillipa; myself, David and Louise. Initially the bats were fairly uncooperative. Perhaps we were a little early with our 8.00 pm start. We did a slow circuit of the Copse anxiously twiddling the knobs on the bat detectors. Pipistrelles can be detected on a frequency of 40 – 50 and noctules at 20 – 30. At around 8.50pm we heard our first electronic clicks / squeaks near the fenced off area adjacent to Jubilee Avenue. Colin identified it as a pipistrelle – it was really exciting. We did catch fleeting glimpses of it as it did its circuits to the edge of the main Copse and back again. It was a fantastic experience. Sadly I was unable to make the next survey on June 11^th but fortunately a few stalwarts did, and typically I missed out on some serious action!

Colin Melhuish reports……..

Bat Walk Report. 11th June 2002.

It didn't look like a promising evening for bat watching when four intrepid members armed with bat detectors and umbrellas set forth through the gloom and drizzle of a "typical" June evening to attempt to locate the noctule colony observed last year. Would the colony return to Joel Park this year? Would they even bother to put in an appearance in this miserable weather? Our questions were about to be answered.

At 9.20pm, just as the light was beginning to fade and the drizzle intensified, a lone noctule was spotted flying from the direction of Holt Lane. The group, up until this moment a little demoralized and rather damp, took heart and moved up the field towards the Lane. A second was spotted, and then a third and a fourth, all flying straight and purposefully from the same roost high up in the Oak tree on Holt Lane which they had occupied for a few weeks last summer. Now positioned at the foot of the oak tree below the roost, the group could plainly hear the squeaking and chattering of the bats as they prepared to exit. Then, in a frantic rush, approximately 70 noctules were observed leaving the roost. Counting was further complicated by the fact that many of the bats seemed to take one look at the miserable conditions, fly a circuit of the tree and then return to the roost. By 9.30pm all was quiet once again. Those bats that were not put off by the weather had flown, and the remainder seemed content to sit tight for a while and let the rain pass. Needless to say, we all returned home rather damp but elated by the first sighting of our noctule bats this year.

Nic Hopkinson reports……..

On Tuesday 30^th April four intrepid members (idiots?) braved the elements to look at the flora in the Copse. Numbers were down from last year both because of the weather and also insufficient time to notify people after it had been arranged at the AGM. Under the circumstances we did little more than confirm some of the more evident and well known species. It would be interesting and helpful if members would like to try some plant identification over the coming months, in particular to try and establish whether some species on the original list drawn up some time ago still exist. So it would be a matter of trying to find a particular species rather than trying to identify a plant - perhaps a different way of doing things. The species are:

Common Chickweed, Red Currant, Broad Buckler Fern, Giant Fescue,

Rough Meadow Grass, Encanters Nightshade, Rose, Remote Sedge,

Wood Sedge.

If you identify any, please let Nic know so I can update the list. I have two of our flower identification books and the other two are in our library held at the Alners

( Martins Drive) and all are obviously available to members to borrow. If anyone wants a complete list of the Joel Park/Holt Copse plants and trees as we are aware of them at the moment please let Nic know.

The summer work party scheduled for Sunday 30^th June 9.30 am will go ahead as planned. Nic Hopkinson has been working very hard on our behalf trying to renew our public liability insurance. Seemingly the premiums skyrocketed. I understand that Colin Hook at Wokingham Town Council is championing our cause and recommending that this cost be born by WTC – let’s face it, labour doesn’t come any cheaper than free! I extend my sincere thanks to all parties, including JPRA, who are working so hard on our behalf to enable "us muckers" to continue to maintain the Copse.

And finally don’t miss the last scheduled bat survey on July 9^th 9.00 pm - be there or be square! If any ladies do not fancy walking up the road on their own, please contact me and we will arrange a convoy.

The meeting point for surveys and work parties is at Jubilee Avenue as usual.

I look forward to seeing you all soon.

Carol Brent 19^th June 2002

0118 9776784

david.brent@ntlworld.com

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