Friends of Hob Moor

This is a reminder of the events we have planned for May. If there are additions or changes, they will be announced here, on Facebook and on Twitter.

• Thurs. 4th May 9am-10am Litter Pick.
• Tues. 9th May  7pm-8pm Litter Pick.
• Sat. 13th May 10am-11am Litter Pick.
• Fri. 19th May 7:00pm Mayfield Nature Walk lasting approximately an hour and a half. Three local experts will lead a walk around the Mayfield Grove, the Railway Pond and woodland area. Meet at the yellow railings

All Litter Pick events to meet at the Lidl entrance to Hob Moor. Please bring gloves.

Eight early-risers accompanied Barry Bishop of the York RSPB onto Hob Moor and the Railway Pond on Saturday. Plenty of birdsongs were heard and 21 species were either seen or heard (or both:) Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coot, Goldcrest, Great Tit, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Long-Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Robin, Song Thrush, Starling, Wood Pigeon, Wren. Have I missed any, anyone? Thanks to Barry Bishop for leading the walk and sharing so much interesting bird information with us.

Stephanie Luxton, chairwoman of Friends of Hob Moor will be visiting three local schools in the coming weeks to talk to children about the Moor, its future, and its care. The three schools are Dringhouses to talk to 150 children, All Saints to talk to 180 children, and Woodthorpe Infants to do a talk and craft activity with 5/6 yr olds.

Saturday 29th April will be the very popular Dawn Chorus walk with Barry Bishop, leader of York RSPB. Meeting at 6am by the yellow railings near the tunnel, this fascinating walk is well worth the early start. Forecast is dry and cool – but not cold!

Two upcoming events:

• Sunday 16th April we are holding another photo event, this time to take photos of the Sunrise. We will be meeting at 5.40am so it won’t interfere with any Easter celebrations. We will be meeting at the bench on the Moor just through the railway tunnel.

• Saturday 29th April will be the very popular Dawn Chorus walk with Barry
  Bishop. Meeting at 6am by the yellow railings near the tunnel, this fascinating walk is well worth the early start.

Photos courtesy of John Johnstone of Red Shutter Photography

Gathered wood for the bug hotels

This Saturday, April 8 at 10:00am, there will be a bug-hotel making event on the Moor behind Lidl amongst the trees. Please wear gardening gear and gloves. Children are welcome with supervision from parents. [Edit: There was a disappointing turnout for this event so time was spent gathering wood for the bug hotel-building event on a date to be announced.

Although we know that some people like to help us with litter-picks on their own, we would like to continue offering Friends Litter Picks. The following are the next few dates and times:

Monday 24th April 6.30pm-7.30pm

Thurs 4th May 9am-10am.

Tues 9th May  7pm-8pm

Saturday 13th May 10am-11am

All dates to meet at the Lidl entrance to Hob Moor. Please bring gloves.

Here is a list of upcoming events on the Moor! Further details such as meeting places will be forthcoming.

April 29: Bird Walk (leader – Barry Bishop)  06:00

May 19: Nature Walk (leaders – Malcolm Cresser & Steve) 19:00

June 10: History Walk (leader – Elizabeth Smith) 14:00

June 17: Family Picnic  16:30

July 9: West Bank Park Summer Fair  13:00 – 16:00

July 22: Butterfly Walk (leader – Tony Fairburn)  14:00

Sept 2: Presence on the Moor  10:00 – 12:00

Oct 18: AGM (Special Talk – Swan Wildlife)  19:00

BHE Agricultural Contractors have been installing fences around Hob Stone Development recently. Simon who owns BHE is also the owner of cattle who graze the Moor in the summer, and will update his Facebook page with news about the cattle.

The “Presence on the Moor” scheduled for March 25 between 10am – 12noon (listed in the Autumn newsletter) has been postponed. We will post a new date when it is decided.