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Yellow Sticks Campaign

The problems with dog mess do not go away. We talked about it at the Annual Meeting and the following committee meeting and decided that we need an awareness campaign.

So, if you go down to the valley and see yellow sticks poking out of the ground, they mark dog mess that has not been picked up. We hope that this will bring home to walkers the scale of the problem we face. There will be two Friends around talking to walkers and explaining what we are trying to do. On the first session on Tuesday 10 October the Friends found that they were talking to the converted.

The majority of our regulars who use the valley are very responsible, bring their plastic bags with them and use the dog bins that are dotted all around the valley. And we thank them.

It is a small minority who leave the mess behind. If dogs were always kept on leads, this would reduce the problem but this remedy would be very unpopular, especially with the dogs, and impossible to enforce. People seem to think that if the dog leaves its mess in the long grass, that's all right - but it isn't. The meadow by the car park is used for a lot of events throughout the year, children enjoy playing on the grass and when the Watch Group, Brownies, etc meet by the car park , we encourage them to root around in the grass looking for beetles, butterflies and bugs. Children love exploring off the beaten track, building dens, climbing trees - this is a vital part of childhood and we cannot let irresponsible dog owners spoil these activities for children.

If you have any ideas about how we can tackle this problem or would like to join one of our "Yellow Sticks" sessions, please have a word with one of the committee or send us an email. You will find a notice explaining our philosophy on the noticeboards.

Annual Meeting

Over the years, we have played down the formal side of this meeting and it has become an enjoyable social occasion with an interesting speaker. Thirty five members attended the 2006 meeting, which was held on 28th September.

The Secretary's Report was presented by Pam Atkinson who reported that it had been a good year with successful events.

Pam said that she would be retiring as Chairman at the end of this year, 2006, and asked if there was a 'Friend' out there who could take on this role. If you think you might be interested, give Pam a ring on 351066 to discuss what is involved. Most of the responsibilities had been divided amongst committee members, which had lessened the Chairman's role, but nonetheless a chairman was needed to coordinate. Pam thanked everyone for their help: the committee, the working party, Ken for publicity, Tina for Countryside Day and Jane for Hallowe'en.

Tina Watkins submitted the financial accounts for the year and reported, once again, a surplus; a net income of £595.94 had been made for the year. The AGM agreed to maintain the annual subscription at £3.

Jacky Creswick submitted her membership secretary's report, and thanked those who had made donations both last year and this year to date. She thanked Sheila and all those members who help in delivering newsletters and collecting subscriptions. Jacky reported that subscriptions were coming in fast this year. Membership totalled 193 last year but signs are good that this might be a good year. 15 new members joined on Countryside Day. Jacky asked for continued contributions of ideas and articles to Pam for the newsletter.

The formal side was followed by our speaker for the evening, Richard Castell. Richard is one of our members who is a specialist in bird nesting but whose work is much more wide ranging. He has put up a lot of bird boxes for owls in our locality, so keep your eyes open and let us know if you see any.

Officers and Committee for 2007

Countryside Day

This year's event on 10 September benefitted from a warm early autumn's afternoon which allowed local families to enjoy the activities on offer, and to enjoy a display of birds of prey brought along by Jimmi Hill, based at the ice-cream factory at Tattenhall. Click for a fuller report with pictures.

Grass cutting in the park

There have been a lot of comments about the failure of the contractors to cut the grass beside the footpaths and round the seats. They have just done the second cut of the season. For the future, the most effective way to get a better service is for the users and Friends of the park to apply some pressure. The way to do this is to phone the call centre for Chester City Council on 402477 and make it clear that although Caldy is a 'natural' park, it still needs the monthly maintenance of grass cutting it is supposed to get. Please make a note of this phone number.

Pond dipping - the all time favourite pastime in the park for children

The Watch Group enjoyed themselves with Tina Watkins at the beginning of August. There was not enough water in the Wellfield pond but as usual, Malcolm's scrape turned up trumps. All the pond life was concentrated in a small area of water that was surrounded by a lot of mud. There were lots of beetles of all shapes and sizes but the stars were the amphibians. The tadpoles had grown legs and as frog lets would soon be leaving the water.

Blame the weather

This has been a very bad year for small mammals. The weather was very cold just as they were coming into their breeding season - we must keep our fingers crossed that some of our water voles survived.

Do you agree that there have been fewer mallard broods around than usual? The moorhens seem to have done well. Is the weather to blame or are there more dogs being exercised in the park without a lead who disturb the young families? Butterflies suffered early in the year but the recent hot weather has brought out a good selection.

* Swifts have left already on their long journey south. House martins will be the next to go followed by the swallows in September.

* There are more reed warblers than last year nesting in the reeds behind the pond.

* Possible sighting of a water rail with its young at the back of the pond. Has anyone seen or heard the water rail in the valley lately?

Our Heron

Had you realised that the heron sculpture was missing from its place in the Bluebell Wood? Our thanks to John and Jonathon for rescuing and restoring it.

Its August - where have all the birds gone?

This is a question that Malcolm Leigh is always being asked. . The answer is that they are moulting - the process of growing a new set of feathers. Feathers take a lot of wear and tear and have to be replaced at regular intervals. There are lots of variations in when birds moult but the best time for many is immediately after the breeding season when there is still plenty of food about. Birds are very vulnerable when they are moulting and our smaller birds have moved into the country where they feel safer.

Many of the water birds shed all their feathers at once so they are flightless for weeks. Just as well they can hide in safe marshy areas where they can find food and escape from predators through the water.

Give it a few weeks and they will all be back with their new, freshly coloured plumage.

The one that got away - a snippet from Pauline Peacock

I missed the photograph of the year and can only ask you to believe that I saw the heron one overcast day, motionless and staring into the water, in the pond between the reeds and the 'No Fishing' board. (Herons can't read). So, always take your camera with you just in case…..

January

The committee has made an early New Year Resolution. Our priority this year will be to take steps to mark the entrance to the park. We will let you know when we have some definite ideas. Laura Hughes, who works for Mike O'Kell, told us that she had found otter tracks by the River Dee on Huntington Waterworks land - good news for water voles in the brook. We decided to build an otter holt in the valley with help from Cheshire Wildlife Trust.

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