Wom Brook Blog

One of the Friends of Wom Brook committee, Tim (pictured right within the picture of the long-eared bat), reported the following event:
I just had to tell readers about a Long-Eared bat (pictured) that was reported to me at my place of work 3rd October. It was found clinging to some external stairs, so I went to see what I could do to help. Seeing the position it was in I had no other choice but to move it. The weather was also bad so I put it in
a box, found a warm area so that later that evening I could release it.
At dusk I returned to work with the bat hoping it would take to the air, sadly it was only interested in trying to crawl up my sleeve. Returning home I called the Staffordshire Bat Group and they came down that evening to take a
look at it. With their expert knowledge they informed me that it looked underweight for this time of year. It is important to know that long-eared bats are one of the last species to hibernate so we had a window of opportunity till November to increase the
bat�__s weight.
The Bat Group kindly took the bat with them to give it a fighting chance to survive the coming winter. They kept me informed of its progress, and on the 24th October they returned with the bat to release it back in the area where it had been found.
It was a very rewarding feeling of a job well done, and I was pleased that I had played a small part.

Above are photographs of the remaining winning entries which were displayed during Saturday�__s Friends�__ Group meeting. Each exhibit contained materials normally found along the Wom Brook Walk, such as leaves along with a variety of seeds and twigs.

The bottom right-hand picture made effective use of leaves and an interesting use of colour, in order to represent one of Wombourne’s main landmarks-the road bridge linking Greenhill with Gravel Hill and the centre of the village.

The Friends Group would like to thank all who took part in the competition.

Following Saturday�__s report about the visit of the Animal Antics Team to talk to the Friends of Wom Brook, the above photographs show three of the winning �__Wild Art�__ competition entries. Hopefully the other winning entries will soon be shown in this blog.

Regular readers of this blog may well recall the October 16th entry that announced forthcoming November events to be held by the Friends of Wom Brook.

Today’s event was a morning meeting held at the Methodist Church, mainly for the younger members of the group, when prizes were awarded for the Wild Art competition. The entries were of a high standard, and were grouped according to age groups. I hope to show the winning entries in a further blog entry.

Perhaps the highlight of the morning meeting was the presentation given by Animal Antics-when expert naturalists Len and Sam brought us up close to tarantulas, a scorpion, large millipedes, Madagascan Cockroaches, snakes (pictured above) and a magnificent buzzard.

You can see some of their animals, along with details of what they are able to offer to schools and groups at www.animalantics.net

Don’t worry-you shouldn’t expect to see a python down by the Wom Brook!

Repairs to the sandstone wall undertaken by the Highways Department of Staffordshire County Council at the eastern end of Rookery Road were recently completed.

With the health and safety of members of the public on mind, the workforce duly positioned safety railings to prevent unsuspecting pedestrians from accidentally dislodging stone work while the cement hardened (there is no pavement at that point along Rookery Road, nor for the greater part of that narrow road-such that pedestrians often have to press up close to walls and hedges in order to avoid speeding vehicles).

Shortly after the work was completed, the railings were forcibly removed and damaged, before being thrown into the Brook. Readers might be forgiven for wondering whether those responsible for such actions could perhaps be identified by the similar appearance of their own property. Often people who take a pride in their own appearance, and that of their property, are also keen to see their local environment looking good. Fortunately the majority of Wombourne residents wish to see the Brook looking at its best, and not full of litter, discarded shopping trolleys and scrap metal.

The last blog entry focused on a section of the Brook a couple of miles away and downstream from the old stone bridge featured in the above photograph.
At this point, the speed at which the water flows along the Brook is greater, and as such this makes it difficult for any aquatic plant life to colonise this area of the Wom Brook. During periods of heavy rainfall, the stream water at this point can turn to ‘white water’!

As the photograph shows, other land-dwelling plant life benefits from the readily available source of water.

This footbridge permits pedestrian access from the car park off Mill Lane to the veterinary surgery on Rookery Road.