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Friends of Portbury Wharf Nature Reserve
Thanks to Councillor Nicola Holland for coming along to offically launch the new Salt Marsh Noticeboard.![]()
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The noticeboard takes pride of place at Portbury Wharf Salt Marsh. It is located at the entrance to the salt marsh near to Portishead Marina. The salt marsh is a Site of Special Scientific Interest but few people know about this fragile habitat. So Portishead Town Council and the Friends of Portbury Wharf Nature Reserve have been working together to change this. Portishead Town Council paid for one of its redundant silver notice boards to be refurbished and installed, while the Friends of Portbury Wharf Nature Reserve have created a series of panels to display the amazing facts about the salt marshes. ![]()
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The salt marsh is a wildlife refuge as well as helping to protect our local and global climate. Did you know that salt marshes are much better at burying harmful carbon than rain forests? Do you know what's under the mud and why the Severn Estuary is so important? There’s a lot to learn about our salt marshes and how we can all help to protect them. If you can't wait to find out, you can get a sneak preview on the Friends of Portbury Wharf Nature Reserve website www.portburywharfnaturereserve.co.uk/salt-marsh/.![]()
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Hilary Kington of the Friends of Portbury Wharf Nature Reserve said: “We have a biodiversity crisis as well as a climate crisis. So championing and protecting the salt marsh and its wildlife is a win win scenario. If every community takes care of its green and wild spaces, it will add up to a big difference globally. We owe it to future generations to safeguard these precious places."
An important announcement from NSC, who are taking over ownership of Portbury Wharf Nature Reserve.We have agreed to take over the ownership of Portbury Wharf Nature Reserve in Portishead.![]()
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The 116-acre site is a popular recreational and wildlife area which provides a buffer between the port and the Ashlands housing development. ![]()
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By adopting the site we have secured the future of the nature reserve for future generations. ![]()
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We have also secured £75,000 from developers Persimmon towards ongoing maintenance costs.
With halloween only a couple of days away we thought you might like to know a bit more about our not so scary bats. ![]()
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You can also find out more at www.bats.org.uk/about-bats/what-are-bats/uk-bats.![]()
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While Young Friends may like to visit our Halloween webpage to find out about our owls, spiders, bats and poisonous plants www.portburywharfnaturereserve.co.uk/halloween/![]()
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Happy Halloween everyone.![]()
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Portishead Parent
The lovely Boat Folk at Portishead Marina have put up some of our salt marsh information display boards around the marina. We are working together to spread the word about our great salt marshes and wildlife.
The ‘SPLASH’ has landed in Swan Lake.![]()
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This eye-catching artwork, designed and sculpted by Cod Steaks in Bristol was originally installed in one of the North Pools. Now it has been moved to a much more prominent position on Swan Lake just down from Robin Place.![]()
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It is moulded and cast in clear resin and designed to enhance the environment without disturbing the surrounding wildlife and nesting birds.![]()
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A special thanks to Mags (@mags_mega_pix) for letting us share her lovely photo of this cygnet crowned with the splash. Perfect timing Mags! Swans are royal birds owned by the Queen and this youngster certainly looks good wearing a crown!
September Wildlife - Post 3![]()
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Have you spotted either of the darter dragonflies yet? Well here is another one for you to watch out for this weekend . . .![]()
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It is the Migrant Hawker. You might see it whizzing past as it "hawks" for insects along the hedgerows. When it is not hawking it likes to rest on low vegetation.![]()
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The photos are of a male which is dark with blue spots and yellow flecks along the abdomen. It also has blue eyes! The brown-eyed female has a brown abdomen with yellow spots though can occasionally have blue spots too.
September wildlife - Post 2![]()
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The second dragonfly to look out for in the autumn is the Ruddy Darter. It is slightly smaller than the Common Darter with a 'waisted' abdomen. Males are bright red. Females are very similar to female Common Darters but have all black legs.
September Wildlife - Post 1 ![]()
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Although dragonflies are beginning to die off now their larvae, or nymphs, are still very much alive in the ponds and rhynes. ![]()
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However, there are three species that you can still look out for in September. The first is the Common Darter . . . ![]()
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You will often see them perched on the tip of a prominent twig or fencepost. From here they will dart out to catch flies before returning to the same perch – hence their name!![]()
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If you ever get close enough you might notice the cream or yellow stripe on their black legs! The females have a light yellow thorax and abdomen turning darker brown with age while the males turn a red colour as they mature. ![]()
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Still to come Ruddy Darter and Migrant Hawker . . .
By the meteorological calendar, the first day of autumn begins on 1 September and ends on 30 November. So autumn is officially here. ![]()
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While we still hope for some sunny and warm days, nature is already preparing for the hardships to come. Fruits and nuts are ripening, many animals are fattening up for hibernation or migration - some have gone already!
Thank you to everyone who came along to the very first Portishead Salt Marshes Day on Saturday.![]()
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There was such a lovely atmosphere and plenty of information to be shared about our amazing salt marches.😀
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Last Updated: September 13, 2019 by fpwnr
Very Scarce Lesser Emperor
We are approaching the end of this year’s dragonfly season, but a few species are still to be seen. In the last week, or so, we have seen: Common Blue and Emerald Damselflies; Common and Ruddy Darters; Migrant Hawkers and a female Emperor depositing eggs on vegetation in the North Pools.
Possibly the most unusual sighting was of the very scarce Lesser Emperor. We had suspected that this rare vagrant, which has bred in the UK, was present at PWNR; but we had no photograph to confirm our suspicions. Our luck changed when we managed to photograph a Lesser Emperor. Though it is not a particularly good image it captures a Lesser Emperor attacking an egg-laying Emperor.
See also our Dragonfly and Damselfly section
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