Autumn 2004
The SuffolkArgus
Regional Officer Eastern Region Report
Nightingales, Butterflies and Chapel St. Luc
by SharonHearle
On 14 June 2003 we had yet to experience our infamous canicule (heat wave) but the weather was warming up nicely with temperaturesrarely falling below 20 deg C at night. During the week a letter had arrivedinviting us to a wine tasting evening at Domain Rossignal (Nightingale in English). Pascal, the owner, who we now know well is the grandson of the original vineron. The grandfather had combined the trades of vineron and blacksmith. His wines were typical of the wines of this area at that time in that they were wet, alcoholic and useful for cleaning down engines. Pascal'sfather increased his area of vineyard and joined the local Cave Cooperatives. This was, and still is, an association of several vinerons, sometimes up to 30 or so, who together have their grapes made into wine at a central jointly owned cave, using skilled labour. This not only shared the cost hut also considerably increased the quality of the wine. When Pascal inherited there was a growing trend to move out of Cave Cooperatives and to become Cave Particulars and this he did. With a Cave Particular a single owner grows the grapes and makes and bottles his own wine. Like a Single Malt whisky in Scotland. The emphasis is now on quality and with each vineron concentrating on the grapes best suited to his vineyards the quality of the local wines holds up well against many of the well-known Bordeaux wines.
By JamesMann
The first species review on the Anglia Regional Action Plan has been completed and includes all activity on 14 high and medium priority butterflies and 35 high priority moths in 2003. A similar review will be completed for 2004. This review provides a useful record of all the work undertaken in the Anglia Region and helps to identify gaps in our knowledge and new priorities.
Griuled Skipper byDouglasHammersley
Dingy Skipperand GrizzledSkipper
It appears that 2004 has been a relatively good year for both skippers. The highest count for Dingy Skipper on the transect at Devil's Dyke near Newmarket was 26 compared to 15 last year. Planning casework at several sites m Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire where butterflies are threatened has been undertaken. Searches for Grizzled Skipper at a few sites in Suffolk have been negative, including one of the most promising along the cut-off channel at Lakenheath. Survey visits to the cut-off channel from Feltwell to Wretton in Norfolk has led to the discovery of several new colonies of Grizzled Skipper, Dingy Skipper, Wall and Brown Argus not recorded before. Survey work for Dingy Skipper in Suffolk has been much more productive as can be seen in Rob Parker's update. A grant of £400.00 from
The Grizzled Skipper day at High Lodge, Brandon in Suffolk on April 24th was well attended by 26 people including staff from Norfolk Wildlife Trust, - WBB Mineral Company and British Trust for Ornithology. There were presentations by Sharon Hearle and Tom Brereton from Head Office who completed a PhD on Grizzled Skipper severalyears ago. There was glorious hot and sunny weather for the field· visit in the afternoon to Foulden Common in Norfolk but no Grizzled Skippers were seen although one had been recorded on the same day in Cambridgeshire. Subsequent visits did reveal good numbers of both Grizzled Skipper and Dingy Skipper at this site. Attendees did go on to complete survey work in both Norfolk and Suffolk searching for both Grizzled Skipper and Dingy Skipper.
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Our invitation was to taste a Cotes du Rousillon red that had won not one, but two, Bacchus awards. We put on our French disguise by driving there in our 1974 Ciuoen Ami 8. Arriving at the table piled high with the usual French nibbles we found Pascal poised with a bottle of the Bacchus wine at just the right temperature and the correct angle to pour the usual generous half glass for tasting. Not this time, at 12.5 Euros per bottle, when I usually buy his Vm de Pays Catalan at just over one euro a litre envrac, we got just a large thimble full, but what wine, superb on the nose and pure nectar to sip. This was not a wine to be guzzled down. It was as far away from his grandfather's wine as it is possible to get. I bought a couple of bottles to lay down for a very special occasion trying not to think that 25 euros was usually enough for a whole months wine. At an earlier visit Pascal had told us that his vineyards were some five kilometres away surrounding Chapel St Luc. We had visited the Chapel before on a three hour round walk from Le Boulou but had never been to it by road. The sun
MarbledWhite on Privet byBerylJohnson 21
