Yesterday evening we were joined at the campsite by 1st Barcombe Beaver Troop. each year during Scout Community Week the Cub Scout pack come over to the campsite to give me a hand with some jobs. This year the Beavers built a new reptile shelter from stones and also helped to reinstall the wildlife shelter that was dismantled one evening by a camper who in the absence of some firewood was keen to keep their fire going.
Having completed these tasks they then helped me to see what animals we had around the site. We split the troop into 4 teams equipped with pens and pads as well as butterfly nets and a butterfly identification poster. They then set off around the campsite to record anything that they saw. The list included the following
Red Admirals, Clouded Yellow, Slow worm, Bee, Fly, Wasp, Thin fly, Spider, Ant, Rabbit droppings, Shield bug, Beetle, Grasshopper, Mayfly, Gatekeeper butterfly, Meadow Brown, Midge, Mosquito, Magpie, Green woodpecker, Squirrel, Wood White butterfly, Orange Tip, Slug, Crow or Rook feather, Bumble Bee, Dragon Fly, Tadpoles, Pond skater, Blackbird, Speckled Wood butterfly, Frog, Water snail, Diving beetle, Woodlouse, Earwig, Orchid.
This was a great haul for a small camping field in Sussex and it goes to show what is waiting to appear when we allow the habitat to evolve rather than keeping the whole campsite as a lawn… and it’s much more fun to.
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