‘Summer time and the living is easy’ - anyway for wildlife - at least at present.

I sit at the bottom of my garden at dusk every evening and enjoy the wildlife.

Bats in Wool including the rare Barbastelle come out at promptly at 9:30pm to fly under the trees and across my meadow (a Local Nature Reserve) catching moths and other night flying insects. There are two different species at least.

The tiny ones are Pipistrelles but there is also a Soprano Pipistrelle. The bigger ones are likely to be common noctule as they roost in trees. Across the road from me is 8 Acre Coppice, Wool’s own Local Nature Reserve. About a quarter of an hour later the Nightjar starts up, a visitor to heathland (Special Protection Area) in the north of our parish arriving from Africa every year to breed here.

At 10pm the hedgehogs start rustling about hunting snails in the hedges. Hedge snails in abundance (coloured jobs with black stripes).

The parish abounds in hedges - hedgehog highways as well as feeding areas and overwintering quarters. If you are feeding yours also provide a bowl of water.

Why not give the crowded beaches a miss now and the again and enjoy the peace and wildlife rich areas of our village - lovely lanes such as that running from the Lulworth Road to New Buildings or its woods along the River Frome (SSSI) - spot a kingfisher, hear a water vole plop onto the water. Dorset is their last stronghold. Cross flower filled organic fields and spot a brown hare.

Wildlife is sadly under severe pressure as planned housing will cause the loss of many of our rarest species of animals and plants - life is sadly under severe pressure as planned housing will threatened so many species of animals and plants - 3,000 + in our present tally. Increased pollution with increasing floods will pollute the river Frome.

Dorchester is threatened by increasing housing levels but in Wool it also threatens our wildlife - 30% housing increase as opposed to 10% in Dorchester.

Wool Flora And Fauna thanks you for your interesting records of wildlife in the parish - keep them coming in.

We promise to run a set of wildlife walks exploring the numerous habitats of Wool’s rich habitat mosaic if Wool wildlife is spared.

RACHEL PALMER

Cologne Road, Bovington