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My bi-monthly Village News just came through the letter box, I was happy to see the brook towards the north of my village being restored. It's certainly a species rich environment that does need improvements

picture of article link --> http://web2k.co.uk/?im=1228065954

Ben

Hi Colin

Thankyou for your quick response

I will get in touch with him to see if I can acquire a key. I was thinking of trapping away from that area anyway, towards the South, there is a few car parking spaces along the road near my village, went up there today to have a scout round, hasn't changed much which can only be a good thing! I would be very interested in seeing these old records as they may be able to help me with what to expect, declines etc of most recent years.

Ben

Ben,

Hatfield Forest is owned by the National Trust. The man in charge of NT biological stuff, Dr Stuart Warrington, will no doubt be extremely pleased to hear from anyone who wants to record on NT properties anywhere in Essex. This applies to all groups - but they are crying out for entomologists in particular. The Bishops Stortford Natural History Society have done some work in Hatfield Forest in the past and I have trapped a few times in the marsh (which I think is an EWT Nature Reserve), but there are no recent records. I can provide some old moth data if you want to get in touch with me (see EFC programme for my contact details).

The gates are normally locked at night so you will have to get a key. Be aware that Hatfield Forest Car Park is notoriously listed on "certain web sites" as a venue for night-time activities that you may not be comfortable with. It is not a place to hang around waiting to meet people, unless you subscribe to the same web sites as them (!) so meet elsewhere and go in with the key.

I can't find Stuart's work number at the moment - but he is based at the NT office in Bury St Edmunds. That ought to be easy to find.

Colin (Plant)

Hello everyone I'm looking for some advice regarding Hatfield Forest. As a second site (apart from my back garden) I would like to explore the current state of Moths that inhabit the Forest, as I live only 2 miles away. Is there any guidelines I need to follow to be able to trap and record there? does anyone already record there on say a weekly basis? if so then i'd like to hear from you, if not then i'd be interested in trapping and recording frequently. I am in the process of purchasing an Actinic setup for this as my current 160w MBT setup would be too hungry for the battery I intend to use. kind regards Ben

ps. Thankyou for sending me my Essex Journal, I was unable to attend the meeting due to work commitments :(.....next year though!

I'm not sure about our native oaks or Essex in particular, but on a field trip to a site near Deal in Kent in September the Holm Oak woodland there has an excellent crop of acorns.

Does anyone have any views on the general suggestion that this is a very bad year for acorn production?

Don't forget the Club's annual exhibition and social, held in Chelmsford on Saturday 22nd November 2008.