May
8th, 1999
Recent damp
and sometimes misty mornings have brought out an
abundance of slugs and snails. The spotted slug pictured
here was found near the old cricket pitch. This species
is quite common but I do not manage to spot it very
often. Nearby, there is little vegetation in a field
which has been left as set-aside and slugs have headed in
large numbers for the small patches of wheat which have
germinated from spilt grain. The overgrown area below the
tennis courts also provides a good hunting ground for
other types of slug and snail and the two snails shown on
this page were found there.
Things continue to
change rapidly as spring progresses here at Ackworth. A
little later than expected, a blackcap has started
singing from the usual spot in trees behind the garages.
Blackcap song can be heard coming from several other
sites along the belt of trees alongside the nearby
housing estate. Whitethroats have also arrived and have
begun to sing from their usual song-posts on the bramble
bushes which grow alongside the Went above the 'Meeting
of the Waters'. Their harsh, grating song will be a
familiar sound in the coming weeks.
The
hirundines continue to increase in numbers. The swallows
are now quite numerous and the first house martin flew
over the school on the 5th. Also, the first swifts
arrived on the 7th. This species normally reaches the
villages in this area during the first week of May each
year.
|