Protecting bats and butterflies

WHAT an interesting month October was. Some of us had the pleasure of meeting a remarkable Dutch couple, Li an Phoa and Maarten van der Schaaf.

They were walking the length of the Thames from source to mouth for Drinkable Rivers, a charity they set up to highlight the fact that rivers all over the world are becoming polluted by human activity.

As she walks along rivers, Li an meets people involved in the life of the river, including anglers, water treatment executives and environmentalists.

She connects them and their organisations so they can work with each other in improving the quality of the rivers.

Since Li an and Maarten were in Henley, I have read their fascinating book, Drinkable Rivers, and met in print the indigenous peoples and the forward-thinkers, philosophers and environmentalists who have shaped Li an’s purpose to get people walking and talking and doing something for their own particular river.

“We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.” (Aldo Leopold, A Sand Country Almanac.)

If we think of the river as a habitat, rather than an amenity, and consider our neighbours the non-human species who need this natural corridor to survive, shouldn’t we feel ashamed about the way we have abused it?

A NUMBER of us from Greener Henley met a member of the Berkshire Bat Group for a bat walk along the river.

Andy had a clever gizmo attached to a tablet which recorded the echolocation of bats and could identify which ones were present by the pitch of their calls, which of course we humans can’t hear.

With the amazing technology, we managed to identify pipistrelles, soprano pipistrelles and a Debauton’s water bat. We also heard a tawny owl twooing from the other side of the river.

We would certainly like to do more bat walks next year after their winter hibernation. Anyone interested in joining us or even forming a Greener Henley bat group? They are fascinating animals which are under threat, like many of our native species.

THE Upper Thames branch of the Butterfly Conservation Society had a members’ day recently and very educational it was too. Here are some things you might be interested in doing.

Look out for the liquorice theatre moth found on the wild liquorice plant. If you know of any growing around here I’d be most interested. (N.B. It is not related to the plant we get liquorice from and is not to be eaten.)

Try growing some dark mullein in your garden and you might catch a glimpse of the striped lychnis moth.

Will Langdon, a delightful young PhD student, gave an enthusiastic talk on “Mothing without a moth trap”, which he loves doing when he is not studying.

Many moths are active during the daytime, especially the micro-moths which can be quite difficult to find unless you know where to look. Have you ever noticed those squiggly tracks on leaves? These are made by the larvae of micro moths.

Vipers bugloss is a favourite plant for some of these moths, likewise lime trees and the herb pellitory of the wall. First find your plant, then get out your magnifying glass. Apparently, there are about 800 species of micro-moths in this area.

We learnt that the purple emperor butterfly spends 10 months as a caterpillar. The butterflies like to feed on the honeydew on leaves at the top of oak trees.

It used to be thought that they only lived in oaks but we learnt that they really like sallow shrubs, or pussy willows. These plants support more moth species than any so if you’ve got space, plant one in your garden and you might increase the population of purple emperors.

While we are thinking of planting, it’s not too late to plant a square metre of native plants for pollinators and other animals.

Join our Nature2 campaign and create natural stepping stones for our beleaguered wildlife. If you know of a forgotten scrap of land, ask the owner if you could do something to help nature recover.

Finally, Greener Henley’s annual meeting will take place King’s Arms Barn on Wednesday, November 29 from 6.30pm. You would be most welcome to join us and hear about what we have been doing this year and what’s in the pipeline for next year.

Got any ideas on making Henley greener? We’d love to hear from you.

https://greenerhenley.org.uk

Diana Barnett