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.