Those who attended the Summer Event to Hexton Chalk Pits and Sharpenhoe clappers last year will be delighted to hear that Jeremy has kindly offered to lead another event, so again we’ll be able to benefit from both his knowledge of wildlife, and his photographic expertise.
Settling in for the night
For this event we’ll be meeting on a Saturday morning (20th June) at 10:00 AM at the Duck End Nature reserve in Maulden.
Duck End is a small local reserve, just 1 acre in size, with ponds, meadow and woodland. It is the last remnant of Maulden Moor, a much larger area of wet peaty grassland which was drained in the 19th century. It is home to rare wetland plants such as bog pimpernel and the insectivorous bladderwort, secretive mammals such as water shrews and in summer is alive with dragonflies and damselflies.
Moor Lane, Maulden [postcode for houses in Moor Lane is MK45 2DJ]
UPDATE from Jeremy 17-070-2019
I’ve been there this morning and checked out the parking options. There is only limited space along Moor Lane and I don’t want to annoy residents so I think its best if most people could park on Ampthill Road and we’ll meet on the corner of Ampthill Road and Moor Lane. We can then walk from there. For anyone arriving late Duck End isn’t easy to find but if you go down Moor Lane and take the track to the right at a fork, the nature reserve is a few hundred metres further on the right.
It has got quite overgrown since I last went so I’d advise people to wear long trousers. The ground is soft and wet at the edges of the ponds so wellies would be worthwhile for anyone wanting to get close to the pond edges.
As regards equipment obviously macro gear but I would say a telephoto lens (with or without an extension tube) would be the most essential piece of kit as lots of the subjects will be out of easy reach in the overgrown vegetation.
I’ll aim to say a few words when we get to the reserve about what can be found there, but also to ask people to stay on the paths as much as possible. It is a small reserve and if we are a large group I don’t want to leave behind lots of trampled vegetation.
Meet at 10 and walk together to the reserve, and then the White Hart pub is very close for those wanting some liquid refreshment from around 12 or whenever people feel the need.
