EuCAN say what you want, our pond RULES!

I awoke on Saturday morning, ready and eager for a weekend that had been organised by myself and Anne over the last 10 weeks. The Stover fridge was stocked with goodies for a day of work with EuCAN volunteers from across the south west (and slightly beyond) and the sun shone gloriously to greet their arrival.

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The numbers had depleted somewhat over the last few weeks but I was determined to make it a memorable weekend. We had Gary from Portsmouth, who had been on the La Brenne trip last October with Anne and myself, down with his dog Buster; Karen, a local Natural England employee who had visited Hungary, and Anne's husband Shake who travelled to Poland last summer.

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The task for the day was a continuation of Friday's work - cutting ponds into the marsh. The five of us carried tools around the lake on a brief tour and introduction to the park, finishing up on the northern marshes where work would begin.

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The sun shone gloriously and the families were out in great numbers today. We started working on the half-finished pond from Friday, while talking about the park, our work and experiences. We moved onto the next pond, where I discovered a Glowworm larva on my boot - I thought this was an unusual thing to find in the marsh, as there weren't many snails around for it to be feeding on! I quickly relocated it to a safer, dryer edge of the marsh.


While talking about the dragonfly species we hoped to attract through the creation of these ponds, we toyed with the idea of using a little more artistic design in the creation of the next one...

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...and so the world's first dragonfly shaped pond was born!

I'll keep you posted on how the pond develops, once the plants begin to spread and grow - maybe even the dragonflies will take a liking to it, due to an indescribable affinity with its form. Who knows.

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We had a small lunch of quiche, fruit and cake before finishing our last ponds by around 3pm. We headed back to the centre via the reptile refugia on the heath - I was hoping I would come across my first Adder, but no luck there yet again. However, we did find a nice Slowworm which I failed to pick before its coil vanished into the leave litter.

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Back at the centre, Anne sorted out the food while I got the BBQ going - a very easy task thanks to some dry wood shavings for kindling, and Friday's excellent charcoal harvest - it was red hot in no time at all. On went the burgers and sausages, and we feasted. But we all made sure we left room for a treat for dessert... barbecued bananas with rum and chocolate! I added a little creme fraiche to mine, it was delicious!

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We packed up the remaining food and all headed home to change into something more respectable! The sun was still hot, and I managed to find my first 5 damselfly exuviae around the pond - still no sign of the adults though, to my annoyance! Then off to Anne's house, where we enjoyed a few beers and some jokes, and Gary was introduced to some true Devonshire local folk. Buster behaved very well in the local pub, he was having a nice holiday too, I hope!

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The next morning we were all up bright and early on Sunday morning for a trip to Dawlish Warren. We were joined there by Val and Julian, also on from the La Brenne trio, and met with the Devon Wildlife Trust local group for a guided walk by the Teignbridge Ranger Steve Ayres. We first went to look for Sand Lizards - all of us except Buster, who wasn't allowed onto the dunes. They were showing well in the morning sun - just as my camera decided to pack in! We also saw a few Common Lizards. Being out so early, before the dunes became busy with walkers, we were able to see an interesting array of tracks in the sand, from a variety of beetles and insects and some that I assumed must be lizards, due to a line down the centre where a long tail might drag!

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Then we walked back to the visitor centre where the Sand Crocus' were flowering in a fenced off area off grass. The flowers were tiny and almost impossible to spot at first, but it didn't take long to adjust the eye and all of a sudden the ground was littered with these delightful little blooms.

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The crowd gradually disbanded, and we headed down to the beach so that Buster could have a good run around. We inspected the strand line, and I challenged Anne to identify the shells and seaweeds while Buster was chasing his ball all over and made friends with the other dogs. We came across some mermaids purses, sundried so that they felt more like plastic than anything else! I found an unusual item that I could not identify - it looked like a bit of old food! On a closer inspection Anne realised it was a starfish leg - not at all what was expecting, but made perfect sense once I had a better look! Strange yet fascinating!

Then we came across a group of people with a magnificent Newfoundland on the beach - it was retrieving sticks from the sea. Buster was up for a challenge, so they played for a while chasing the sticks. Buster's agility came up trumps as he bravely outran the bear-like dog. The size difference was most amusing! But Buster didn't seem in the slightest bit intimidated!

Then it was time for a picnic. Yesterday's leftovers came out, as did a new array of cakes and biscuits courtesy of Val, and we feasted yet again! I was so full, Gary and I decided to spend the afternoon having a stroll down to Powderham where we watched the Fallow Deer and listening to the noisy Little Egrets in the heronry. It was Buster's thirst that turned us back, and the pleasant drive back over the hills to Chudleigh completed the weekend.

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I still have not seen the Large Red Damselflies - Dad has seen two, but they are persistently elusive to me! Tonight we're off to a Devon Birds meeting where Dad is giving a talk on Birds of the Pacific North West. Should be fun, I always enjoy his presentations!

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