Friends of Hob Moor

Good to reserve a place as you get a device with which to really hear the bats clicking in flight!

We were lucky on Saturday – as we managed to dodge the showers and saw plenty of butterflies. The species we counted were:

Common blue
Holly blue
Small copper
Ringlet
Meadow brown
Gatekeeper
Speckled wood
Small skipper
Large white
Small white
Green-veined white
Silver-Y moth

A statement from York City Council:

Following your recent contact with City of York Council I am writing to provide an update on the management of Hob Moor.

As you are probably aware, the council has been in a Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) agreement with Natural England since 2010 and there is a farm business tenancy agreement on the land. The intention of the cutting (also known as ‘topping’) that took place on the 20th June was to control weeds on site, in particular to prevent creeping thistle from flowering and therefore spreading, in order to meet the biodiversity objectives in the HLS agreement.

However the topping was carried out too early (before the 1st July) and over too large an area. This was due to a communication breakdown and not an intentional disregard of the requirements of the HLS agreement or the sensitivities of Hob Moor.

Natural England have written to City of York Council to advise that they will be making an assessment of the severity of the impact of the breach in the agreement on the delivery of the objectives of the scheme; we have not been provided with a timescale for this but will comply with any action that they require.

We are working with the tenant farmer to improve lines of communication, refresh understanding of the restrictions and objectives of the HLS agreement, and of wider wildlife issues to ensure this error doesn’t happen again.

Please note: Just to let you know that the Wildflower Walk that was planned for July 5th on the Moor has now been postponed – the new date will be the 2nd August.

Look forward to seeing you then.

We are pleased to announce that there will be a wildflower walk led by Jonathon Dent from St Nicks Fields. Please do join us on the evening of Thursday 5th July at 6.30pm. We will meet at the railings on Little Hob Moor.

In 2017 it was noted by the Friends of Hob Moor that the flowering of buttercups across the site appeared to not be as prolific as in previous years. Therefore we are very pleased to be working with the council in order to monitor this and we need your help.

There will be a project in the next couple of weeks to measure the cover of buttercups (Ranunculus spp.) in North Lane Meadow by recording the number of plants flowering, and the percentage cover of plants in 30 1x1m quadrats selected using a ‘W’ independent sampling walk. If you would like to help us with this please get in touch and we can provide more details. Please contact our secretary directly thorntonmw19@gmail.com

28/04/18  Dawn Chorus. 6.00am at the Yellow Railings on Little Hob Moor. Come and see how many bird songs can be identified. An evening event will also be organised in September or October, date to be confirmed.

18/05/18 A Friday evening in May: Mayfield Woodland Walk. Steve, Ian and Malcolm Cresser would lead a walk from Little Hob Moor, through Mayfield Community Trust to the Railway Pond. See the different wild life and flowers there are in this natural area.

06/07/18  Balsam bashing. John Wood to lead this. Time 6.30pm meeting at the yellow railings.

28/07/18  Butterfly walk. Tony Fairburn will lead this. Tony will identify the various butterflies that can be seen on Hob Moor.

25/08/18 Bat Walk. Clair Merryfield would lead the Bat Walk. Come and listen to the sounds of bats flying overhead. There are many more than you imagine.

If you are interested in any of these events message and we will send you further details.

The cattle are to return to Hob Moor next week, weather permitting. They will be held in North Lane pasture for a few days so they can settle before being released on to Hob Moor. This year the cattle are young 10 – 14 months old and they may be a little nervous until they settle. Please take extra care when exercising dogs on the Moor for the next few weeks. For more information.

Thanks

Kite Flying on Little Hob Moor Monday 26th March 2.30pm. Family Event. Bring your kites so let’s go fly a kite—-.