Devil's Dingle

This was my first visit to Devil's Dingle and what a fascinating place it is too!

Once a reservoir but since the 1960's a disposal area used by power-generating company E-on for its disposal of ash.

The programme is now ending and the 100 acre site is being de-industrialised and re-natured with the help of Carrie's great team of volunteers from the Severngorge Countryside Trust, Wrekin Forest Volunteers and members of E-on itself under the wing of the very capable and enthusiastic Mary Thorton.

New woodland and 3 lakes are being created along with a continuous programme to maintain the delicate balance between scrub, grassland, heath and the landscape as a whole.

Howler Competition
Before we go any further I'd better tell you there's another blinding but intentional mistake in this week's post with an equally salubrious and well-chosen prize. Don't forget this will not be a grammatical or typo error both of which may be abundant, but more an obvious geographical, historical or factual mistake. When you find it just post a comment on the bottom of the post just below the Devil's Dingle collage. First to spot it and leave the comment wins - erm, well... it depends who wins!

Tip: You may need to view the whole blog to crack this one, so if you're reading this in an email or feed reader just click the heading 'Devil's Dingle' right at the top and the full blog should open in a browser window.

Well done to Nigel for being the first to spot last week's mistake where I managed to make a dormouse take flight instead of the Daubenton's Bat.

The fab prize this week was a CD of jungle sounds which would have been even better had I not misplaced the disc but the cover was very attractive! Just joking! After scrambling around in my rucksack I managed to locate it. I'm not one to disappoint!

Back to Dingling!

Our first task was the removal of hawthorn and bramble from the south-facing bank just inside the main entrance. This is an area where Dingy Skippers breed along with many other butterflies such as the Green Hairstreak both UK Biodiversity Action Plan Priority species.

Caption Competition

I couldn't resist adding this pic and turning it into this week's Caption Competition:-





What is it that Mary is saying? Just pop your answer into the Comments at the bottom of this post. No prize for this one just a bit of fun!

A sight that will soon disappear as the ash disposal ends and nature starts to take a hold.

As Devil's Dingle is an area not open to the public this view of The Wrekin, albeit shrouded in mist, is one not seen by many.

Ollie, once more took charge of scrub burning and Graham was given the task of burning (sorry, cooking!) the spuds in the embers. Delicious! It's just one of the many reasons we volunteer. Other perks, of course, are being out in the cold and the rain, suffering numerous splinters down our nails and working our fingers to the proverbial bones. Any one else want to join us?!

Thanks to Nigel for the group pic and with the aid of a self-timer on his camera, managed to get in the frame as well. A feat that I've often tried but usually end up tripping over in the rush to get into position!

Fungi pic from Les

The teams worked together well and the scrub-clearing tasks were soon completed. We will no doubt return in the not too distant future to lend a few more willing and helping hands to this wonderful project.

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Nigel's Larva ID'd by Les

It was back at Granville Nature Reserve when Nigel came across this fascinating larva and took this detailed pic.


Both Nigel and Les then set about, with the aid of the Internet, to ID it. Nigel was getting close but it was Les who finally did it by using one of the links on the right 'Wild About Shropshire' and then uploading the pic to a forum. 2 hours later someone replied to Les with a positive ID. Amazing stuff this Interweb!










Anyway... it turned out to be a fine specimen of Apamea sordens, the Rustic Shoulder Knot







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Reminder
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Don't miss next weeks' post at Forest Glen!

Click the collage to run the slides...