It's November and the weather is very good today, down the Dell the air is full of insects and spiders floating on their threads, seems very warm for the time of year.
Coming down the steps towards the top lake I caught a glimpse of a blue flash as a Kingfisher flew behind and around the island, I lost sight of it and no matter how much I scanned the branches on the water's edge, I couldn't relocate it again.

I met a man who was on the way out of the Dell and he stopped to chat and talked about his younger days playing and exploring around the Dell. He told me a little bit of history but he had plenty more he could tell me. If you read this you can contact me from this site.

Down at the big lake there were around 25 Mallards including the very light brown one, also the Grey Wagtail was there at the edge near the "Frog Spawn" bridge.

Well, Autumn is certainly hitting the Dell now, plenty of leaves on the ground and the sound of Blackbirds,Thrushes and Squirrels rustling through them.

I saw two Grey Wagtails today up at the dam end of the lake, no Kingfisher though but there were a few people and dogs about.
The Mallards had a very light brown one with them today, not sure what it is or what it is crossed with !
It would be interesting to hear of what others have seen, birds or animals, even fungi that is popping up all over at the moment.

Had an extended walk all the way to Newham Hall via the beck path that comes out at the main road to Coulby. My main reason was to see if I could find the Tree Sparrows I had seen before in the hedges at the back of the estate houses, I wasn't disappointed although I only saw two but heard many more. Never seen these birds in the Dell even though the distance is slight.

Festival

Well, I said I'd post more but once again so many other tasks to do, mostly working !

It's time again for our annual celebration down the Dell and this year it will be on August 1st from 12:00- 16:00 entry is Free. Here is what's happening on the day:-

South Durham Dog Agility Displays;
Greyhounds Galore &fun Doggy competitions;
Free dog chipping;
Free T’ai Chi Taster Session
& displays;
Free Cycle Surgery – bring your bike for its MOT and
learn how to do your own repairs.
Lots of stands & activities;
RSPB,Wilflower Ark, Middlesbroughs Countryside Team,
Sure Start,Save our Strays, Saltburn Animal Rescue
Ass., Fire Brigade and many others.
Plus lots of activities for children including;
Drummer Clare, Face Painting, Willow Weaving and other
crafts.
Guided Walks through Fairy Dell
Refreshments available on site.
For more information call the countryside team on 01642
577325

I had a walk down the Dell today to have a look at the damage that was done after the storm last week. A largish Oak had fallen across the path and into the lake but it has been cut through now so you can still use the path although most of it is still in the lake.
Collected two pockets full of plums from the plum tree next to the bird hide and ate two of them, they are very nice and sweet too ! noticed also that the Hazel tree behind the hide has quite a lot of hazel nuts on it, wonder if I can get them when they're ready before the squirrels do ?







There has been some more work done to the lake, the height of the drain wall has been raised and a grill attached . The lake level has been raised through this work which I suppose is good as it makes the lake deeper but really it is the silt we want out ! ah well it is something .

The new grill and wall





There are lots of flowers in bloom at the moment with the meadow on the hill looking good. Here's a photograph of a type of Nightshade, a nicely coloured but poisonous plant !

This year seems to be a good one for Speckled Wood, I've seen quite a lot around the sunny parts of Fairy Dell Wood.

Lake Work

After lots of pressure from the Friends, we have had some good work done on the lake. Some vegetation cleared and channels cut to allow the flow of the beck into the lake. A lot of reeds were removed from the north end which has made it a lot clearer and flowing.
Here are some shots of the finished work and lets hope that the council and other agencies get together and finish this lake off .



What do you think of the work done ?

Celabration Event 2008

Saturday 13th September.

Fairy Dell Celebration Day Programme 
There will be lots of activities for children, including Drummer Clare, a magician – Noel Brooks , and a face painter.  Children
will also be able to join in making lots of crafts from a variety of
other organisations, enjoy party games, watch Punch and Judy etc.
 
The programme will include music from two Rye Hills School bands.  There
will be stands from many organisations – the RSPB, Wildflower Ark ,
Groundwork, Recycling, Climate Change, SureStart, the Library, Fire
Brigade, Middlesbrough Environment City and others.
 
One marquee will have the school art competition work displayed in it. 
St. Augustine ’s, Lingfield, Rose Wood and Sunnyside Primary Schools
have entered for the Fairy Dell Cup and it is being judged at the event.
 
Bring your dogs to the event!  The
‘Greyhounds Galore’ charity will be staging competitions for the
waggiest tale, the prettiest bitch and the most handsome dog, starting
at 2pm. Free dog chipping will be available from the Middlesbrough Dog
Warden Service and we hope to have displays from a dog agility team.                           
                                                                        
 
11.00                Rye Hills School Salsa Band
11.30                Rye Hills School ‘Screaming Jelly Babies’ Pop Group
 
11.30               Guided walk around Fairy Dell, meet at notice board
 
12.15                Rye Hills School Salsa Band
12.45                Rye Hills School ‘Screaming Jelly Babies’ Pop Group
 
 1.30                        Guided walk around Fairy Dell, meet at notice board
 
 1.30                         Rye Hills School Salsa Band
 
 2 00                        Greyhounds Galore Fun Dog Show
 
2.30                        Rye Hills School ‘Screaming Jelly Babies’ Pop Group

March 2008

Hello from Fairy Dell, it has been another long absence, with work commitments again taking up so much time.
Spring is upon us once again and all around the Dell new plants are springing up, Dogs Mercury are well on their way as usual and the SnowDrops and Primroses that were planted by the group and local schools are in bloom.

Walking along the Marton Beck on the other side of Gunnergate I found evidence of Deer using the area by the tracks left in the muddy path. I tracked where the single deer had walked along the path until they stopped and it must have headed off through the trees and bushes.

Deer Tracks along Marton West Beck

The Night Heron seems to have gone now as it hasn't been seen for some time at it's usual perch on the island in Gunnergate Lake.

This morning was a good day with lots of birds seen, including a pair of Bullfinches. The highlight of the morning must be the discovery of a female Sparrowhawk carrying nesting material to a half built nest in a crook of a tree. I spent sometime watching the nest from my position behind a bush and saw it fly back and attack a squirrel that ventured a little too close. The squirrel was darting round the trunk with the Sparrowhawk after it with talons out clearly showing it's beautiful wing markings.


Male Bullfinch, Fairy Dell



In the Dell park you might have seen some public art designed and displayed by Julia, one of the Friends of Fairy Dell.

The Bird hide is taking shape.

Pupils from the Kings Academy have been helping out with the carving on the Bird Hide's sleepers.












Birds that can be seen in the Dell have been carved in relief onto both sides of the sleepers. Here's an Owl and a Kingfisher.











Today a rare bird has been spotted around Gunnergate Lake. The bird is a Night Heron, a smaller cousin of the Grey Heron that we normally see down there. The bird has rings on it's legs so it might be that it is an escapee from someone's collection. Hopefully the rings will be identified and then we will know if it is a true wild bird or not. Whatever it's status it is still a great bird to see , last seen having a nap up a tree on the island on the lake.