A Litter pick along the Emm Brook is undertaken on the first Saturday of every month of the year.
The next litter pick will be on Saturday 3rd May 2025 at 10.00 . Meet at Dragonfly Bridge to the rear of Morrisons Supermarket, Woosehill RG41 3SN at 10:00.
Please wear suitable clothing, footwear and gloves.Litter pickers and bags provided. Parking is available at Morrisons.
REGENERATION WORK PARTY 2025
This months event takes place on Saturday 15th March 2025 between 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM (with a well-earned tea/coffee break!).
Meet by the main walk near the balancing pond, next to the mini orchard and the pedestrian entrance from Woosehill Lane (near 80 WH Lane).
What’s Happening?
We’re continuing our work along the Emm Brook, just 25m north of the main walk, using stakes, brush, and cuttings to create vital wildlife habitats.
Get involved in:
Dead Hedge Building – Sorting cuttings, weaving poles, and creating habitat along the brook.
Exploring stream bank stabilisation ideas for future work.
Spotting early spring woodland & meadow flowers.
What to bring
Sturdy footwear & work gloves (a must!).
Loppers, pruning saws, or shears (if you have them – we’ll have extras too!).
Come along, learn new skills, and help us care for this beautiful natural space. See you there!
AGM 2025
This years AGM will be held on Monday 12th May, 2025 at the Woosehill Community Centre, Emmview Cl, Wokingham RG41 3DA .
BALSAM BASHING 2025
The annual Balsam Bashing will be undertaken on the Emm Brook later in the year. Once the Balsam has come into flower.
The Three Amigos will walk the Emm Brook from Area 2 to Area 8 removing Himalayan Balsam as they go In the summer.
MONTHLY BIRD WALKS AROUND DINTON PASTURES 2025
RSPB
The RSPB group runs “A Date With Nature” walk at Dinton Pastures
Country Park on the first Saturday morning of every month of
the year. These start at 9:00 am in the main car park (postcode
RG10 0TH), and finish by 12:30 pm. A donation of £2 per adult
(children free) is requested.
Car park charges at weekends are currently £2.30/hr
up to a maximum of £9.20 (for 4 hours or over).
This
Month on the Emmbrook
What to look for if you are out and about in
APRIL
General
April is a fabulous month for wildlife, as the trees and shrubs burst into leaf with fresh, vibrant green foliage.Now that the clocks have sprung forward and the sun has come out, it feels like wildlife is springing into action again. The birds are singing with gusto as they gear up for the breeding season, frogspawn is filling up ponds, hedgehogs are emerging and butterflies and bees are busy filling up on nectar. This is a fantastic time of year to get out and about.Spring is usually said to start at the beginning of March and the 21st of March is the Spring Equinox; the date on which day and night are of equal length.
This season is a time of days getting longer and the spring sunshine bringing growth and greenery everywhere with buds bursting and leaves unfolding. Birdsong reaches a peak and many flowers appear, in turn attracting insect-life, including bees and butterflies. Animals that hibernated over winter appear on the first warm days of spring so keep an eye out in early Spring for hedgehogs, newly emerged queen bees, frogs, toads, grass snakes, lizards and adders.
Other animals such as squirrels become more active and are easier to spot. Millions of migrant birds arrive, with chiffchaffs, sand martins and wheatears amongst the first to appear in March and swallows, swifts, cuckoos, nightingales and many warblers in April and May. Nature is at its most busy in Spring, every day brings changes, the sap is rising, and for many species finding a mate and successfully breeding is top priority.
Birds
The overwintering bird visitors such as Redwings and Fieldfares leave in April. The summer visiting birds that arrive to replace them include House Martins and many warblers such a Whitethroats,
Sedge and Willow Warblers.
The three birds that also return, and perhaps most signify summer, are the Swallow, the Nightingale and the Cuckoo.
Insects
Late in April the large black swarming St Mark's fly makes an appearance.
It is a welcome food source for newly arrived migrant birds as well as residents. It is very noticeable as its longish black legs lazily trail below as it flies around.
Some species of damselflies can also be spotted on warm days near the river.
Butterflies
Peacock, Orange Tip and Speckled Wood butterflies appear in April. Brimstone butterflies will already have been on the wing for several weeks, having over wintered amongst ivy as adults.
As the garden comes alive once more as the soil warms up , Small Tortoiseshell butterflies and Peacocks flit between the flowers. They may also be found basking in the sun to absorb its warmth.
Other Wildlife
Frog's spawn has become tadpoles by April. The adults now leave the ponds to live on land until Autumn.
They feed on slugs, snails and insects so avoid putting down slug pellets .
Plants
& Trees
Ash trees come into flower in April, but its leaves are one of the last to emerge (May). The male parts consist of a bundle purple pollen filled clusters and the females parts are dangle in the air to pick up wind borne pollen.
One of the hardy flowers that is first to bloom and can be seen all year round is the Red Dead-nettle. Also the common annual Shepherds Purse quickly flowers and sets seed.
In the meadows the Cuckoo flower, and Cowslip emerge. One of the great Spring wildlife sights! In late April and early May bluebells are usually at their best so make sure you don’t miss this amazing Spring spectacle. A carpet of bluebells transforms woodlands into a place of magic and wonder. as more fungi appear on rotting wood, woodland floors and grassland. Look out for fungi in all sorts of colours. There’s more to fungi than a drab, brown toadstool!
Emmbrook Weather
Bernard Burton has been recording the weather alongside the Emm Brook since 1976. His weather station originally situated at Emmbrook Secondary School till 1996 and now at Emmbrook Junior School daily monitors the weather. For a more detailed anaylsis of the previous month's weather visit this link.
Emmbrook Weather
For todays Emm Brook sunrise and sunset times
Click here
Newsletters
At their meeting in November 2010 the FOTEB management committee took the decision to discontinue the printed newsletters for members. This decision was not taken lightly since there is of course a tradition of keeping members informed of events and sightings by way of regular printed newsletters. However, knowing that the majority of members have internet access and are regular visitors to our website - and having received an increasing number of representations from members expressing a wish to receive literature in an electronic format - your committee felt that the time had come to cease the time-consuming and costly production of regular printed newsletters and replace them with an online noticeboard on our website.
Click on Archive page at the top of the screen to view one of the previous News letters.