Ledbury Focus November 2019 Ledbury Focus November 2019 v3 | Page 71

November Events
Redwing - photo courtesy of Margaret Holland
Discover Fungi Workshop
3rd November - 10.15am to 3pm
Learn all about fungi at this workshop run by the
Herefordshire Fungus Survey Group. The day will
include a foray into the woods and a presentation
of your finds.
Venue: Queenswood Country Park & Arboretum,
Dinmore Hill, Nr Leominster, Herefordshire HR6 0PY
Cost: £10.
Booking: essential as limited spaces available.
Hedge Laying Weekend Workshop
Saturday 9th & Sunday 10th November - 9.30am
to 4pm
The workshop is designed to introduce the art of
hedge laying and is suitable for beginners. Over
two days, learners will have the opportunity to
learn about the basic methods of cutting and
laying pleachers, binding and safe tool use. It will
be led by Reserves Officer, Lewis Goldwater.
Venue: Brilley Green Dingle Nature Reserve,
Millhalf, Herefordshire, HR3 6JB
Cost: £90. Booking essential
Tawny Owl - photo courtesy of Russel Savory
birds are escaping the far harsher winters of the
countries they have left - principally Russia and
Scandinavia. Along with song and mistle thrushes,
flocks can be seen across Herefordshire’s orchards
enjoying windfall apples on chilly days and stripping
the hedgerows of berries.
Winter is a great time to hear owls hooting through
the darkness as they call more at this time of year.
The 'too-wit too-woo' of the tawny owl can be heard
during the night and early hours but this is actually
a male and female owl calling to each other - the
female makes the 'too-wit' sound and the male
answers with 'too-woo'. They can be heard in towns
as well as the countryside though woodland is their
preferred habitat.
Starlings – some resident and some flying in for the
winter – flock together in large numbers from around
November onwards and perform spectacular
murmurations through early evening winter skies.
Murmurations are commonly seen over Hereford
city in the winter. It is not fully understood why
starlings put on these amazing shows but it is likely
that part of the reason is to confuse any nearby
predators planning a starling supper.
Ledbury Focus
The Textures of Trees – Exploring with hands &
charcoal!
Wednesday 27th November
This is a hands-on workshop! We will venture into
the North wood to explore the textures of trees.
Gathering up leaves cones, twigs and other bits of
tree from the woodland floor as we go, these will
become our subject for charcoal drawing.
Working at a scale much bigger than life size, we
will use charcoal to find ways to convey the
shapes and textures of our forest treasures.
Venue: Queenswood Country Park & Arboretum,
Dinmore Hill, Hereford. HR6 0PY
Cost: £35
Booking: essential via www.herefordshirewt.org/
events
Talk: Ancient Trees - why are they so important
for people and wildlife
Friday 29th November - 7pm doors open for a
7.30pm start and 9.30pm finish
A wide ranging talk covering the social and natural
history of old trees, particularly in Herefordshire.
Tim Dixon will explore the extraordinary and
complex world of ancient trees from a human and
wildlife perspective and explore some of the
current opportunities that rewilding might offer
for future generations of people and trees.
Venue: The Left Bank, Bridge Street, Hereford
HR4 9DG.
Cost: £3 members, £4 non-members.
Booking: Please book at www.herefordshirewt.
org/events
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