All Blog Posts (210)

Bird Walk 20 September

It was a great turn-out for the first bird walk after the summer break, but actually seeing any birds was a challenge due to the leaf cover, so we contented ourselves with getting to grips with songs and calls. The highlight was a superb Grey Wagtail which spent time on the usually biologically sterile bowling green! List of birds seen and heard as follows:

Robin (many - including lots singing and calling)

Greenfinch (1)

Great Tit (seemed everywhere!)

Coal Tit (heard… Continue

Added by Des Bowring on September 20, 2009 at 15:00 — 2 Comments

Area Green Space Plan - St Andrews Park

Did anyone go to the Area Green Space Plan Meeting at the County Ground?

& if so what was proposed by Richard Fletcher & the Council?

Doug

Added by Doug Reid on July 27, 2009 at 12:41 — 6 Comments

Your chance to comment on Montpelier Park proposals!

Here are the three proposals for the refurbishment of Montpelier Park. Please feel free to comment on the form provided below. The consultation ends on 17th July.

Concept Proposal 1.pdf

Concept Proposal 2.pdf…

Continue

Added by Des Bowring on June 25, 2009 at 22:16 — No Comments

Make your wildlife observations count!

I work at Bristol Regional Environmental Records Centre (BRERC) as a volunteer, and I would urge anyone to send in records of the wildlife they see in the park. The centre has literally millions of records and is busy digitizing them - a mammoth task. The database is an invaluable tool with which to identify key wildlife sites and threatened habitats throughout the Bristol region, and it would be great to see St Andrews Park well and truly put on the map and recognised as a wildlife haven,… Continue

Added by Des Bowring on June 1, 2009 at 22:30 — 1 Comment

BBQ?

Is there support for raising funds to build a communal BBQ installation in the park? It might deter some people from ruining the grass with their portable barbies. Also very social.

Added by Mary Finnigan on June 1, 2009 at 15:33 — 26 Comments

Save Our Green Spaces

The aim is to oppose the removal of the Green Belt status from hundreds of acres of land around Bristol for the development of urban extensions. Check out their
website which was sent to us by Bristol Parks Forum for consideration of the issues. Jo Corke

Added by Jo Corke on May 23, 2009 at 14:00 — No Comments

web site for area

I have just uploaded a web site about St. Andrews and Bishopston including the Park. Comments very welcome. www.walkwithus.co.uk

Added by David Cemlyn on May 22, 2009 at 14:34 — 1 Comment

Josephine Shepard

How can we remove and block such posts? And why on earth did she target this site??

Added by Valerie Karatzas on May 22, 2009 at 12:17 — No Comments

Josephine Shepard

Could we please have all posts by this "Josephine Shepard" removed as soon as possible

Thanks,

Doug

Added by Doug Reid on May 22, 2009 at 8:15 — 1 Comment

Bird Walk 17 May

Despite heavy rain before and after the walk, another good turnout proved that members of the local community are certainly not fair weather birdwatchers! As it transpired, we enjoyed a sunny start and a dry hour for strolling around the park. The highlight was watching a Blue Tit entering and leaving one of the nestboxes we erected in the autumn. The birds seen or heard were as follows:

Blue Tit - three or four birds seen and heard, including the nestbox occupier

Great… Continue

Added by Des Bowring on May 17, 2009 at 12:46 — 1 Comment

Simon Randolph

I would like to thank Simon Randolph for his magnificent photographs in the Photos section.

His attention to detail is marvellous & his knowledge of the Flora & Fauna but more than that some of his

general views of the Park are breathtaking having been taken at all times of the Year.

Thanks,

Doug Reid

Added by Doug Reid on May 9, 2009 at 18:24 — 1 Comment

Mission Accomplished!!

I have now completed the painting of the legs in Black & the varnishing, 2 coats of Mahogany Dacrylate Varnish

to all 33 benches in the Park!! The Council provided all the materials, Paint, Varnish, surgical gloves, brushes &

sandpaper. Sarah Mc Murchie is going to do the last one with her Grandchildren this weekend as she wanted to

"adopt a Bench". It's been a hard slog but it was done with "Friends of St Andrews Park" in mind &… Continue

Added by Doug Reid on May 9, 2009 at 12:14 — No Comments

New tree

I am reliably informed that our new tree is a cedrus atlantica glauca - Blue cedar

Added by David Cemlyn on April 28, 2009 at 17:03 — 2 Comments

Guide to the trees of the park

The guide is now up and running. Select "trees" from the above to view,. ( Its in word so you can save it on your computer.)

Added by David Cemlyn on April 21, 2009 at 18:58 — No Comments

Bird Walk 19 April

We had another good turn-out this morning, but the promised summer visitors and other bird migrants failed to materialise! Instead we had a good collection of resident birds - many posing nicely for us - and a Buzzard being mobbed by Lesser Black-backed Gulls was a highlight.

I counted 16 species (I stand to be corrected if necessary, Simon):

Buzzard

Blue Tit

Great Tit

Chaffinch

Goldfinch

Goldcrest

Robin

Dunnock

Blackbird

Feral… Continue

Added by Des Bowring on April 19, 2009 at 16:19 — 2 Comments

Us and them

I have come to this site because of the well reasoned and unhectoring signs, posted around the park, they are good clear and I hope will cretae the desired effect.... well done..

But I'm drawn to write ( however badly ) because the widening gap between the youth and those who may on the surface be past it, is getting dangerous. I want to raise a rallying call for communication between the generations, for too long this us and themness has been growing, I won't blithly say once we… Continue

Added by andrew stott on March 30, 2009 at 9:19 — 3 Comments

Dawn chorus

Anyone up for an early visit to the park if we can persuade Des to get up at dawn?

Added by David Cemlyn on March 19, 2009 at 17:38 — 2 Comments

Fund rasing for the memorial

The extensive publicity about the plans for a memorial to the crew and local people has bought offers of donations. I have asked Simon to put a tab on the home page but meanwhile here are the details. Donations should be sent to John Mayne, Treasurer, Friends of St. Andrews Park 23 Windsor Road Bristol BS6 5BW. Cheques should be made payable to Friends of St. Andrews Park and will be ring fenced for the memorial.

John Clarke is doing sterling work raising the profile of our… Continue

Added by David Cemlyn on March 19, 2009 at 17:36 — 3 Comments

Bird walk 15th March

A record number of people turned up for today's bird walk on a gorgeous sunny morning. We were rewarded with a real rarity - a Ring-necked Parakeet! This species has a stronghold in the London area but has been threatening to move west and there have been increasing numbers of records in our area in the last few years. Also we heard a Blackcap in full song and another surprise was a Buzzard drifting overhead.

Full list of birds seen and/or heard as follows:

Ring-necked… Continue

Added by Des Bowring on March 15, 2009 at 19:24 — 3 Comments

Hedge Watch

Hedge Watch I have been reading (and quoting from)….

Hedgerows by Anne Angus (1987) This is a year diary (like a Blog, but printed in a book) of her local hedgerow in Wales. It inspired me to start this discussion. Hedgerows in the countryside are, in effect, long woodland edges but without a wood behind them. They attract the species you would find at the margins of woods. As in a wood, the ground beneath a hedge is covered with… Continue

Added by Jo Corke on February 27, 2009 at 18:30 — 5 Comments