AUTUMN IN THE COPSE

“The season of mists and mellow fruitfulness” is well and truly upon us, and Three Cornered Copse is dripping with berries and fruit. The birds are gorging themselves in preparation for their migration journey in the autumn.

The woodland in the copse has taken on its ragged appearance; no more vibrant greens and vivid blossoms, just the greys and dark greens before yielding to the autumn gold.

The spiders have emerged in their numbers, spinning webs across the bushes and paths. Autumn is when they pair and mate, and so become more visible, having spent spring and summer growing slowly to maturity. It's likely that the spiders you find hanging in the webs at this time of year are female, and are waiting to entice a suitable male.

There are about 650 species of spider in the British Isles, and all are predators which specialise in eating a range of flies, beetles and aphids. Because of this they are a gardener's friend to some extent. They also provide part of the diet for birds, frogs, toads and lizards (all of which have been found in the copse).

It also is the season for building in the garden, particularly for some of the residents that are attached to Three Cornered Copse. Our committee was contacted last month about some fly-tipping that was occurring, as rubble was removed from one of the gardens and dumped on the vegetation in the copse. The Park Rangers' enforcement team served a fixed penalty notice in this case, and the rubble was removed and the ground restored. We are grateful to the Park Rangers for acting swiftly before too much damage was done, and to our members who spotted the incursion. Too often contractors assume that the copse is a common land space that allows ground works material to be dumped, but it's as much a park or garden as say, Hove Park or Stanmer, where they wouldn't begin to consider tipping waste rubble.

Our members have also been in touch about the building in the garden at 14 Woodland Drive, where a temporary fence has been erected across part of the lane leading up from Goldstone Crescent. The owners have assured us that it is only a temporary situation, to prevent any accidents during the building works.

Only a few of us attended our latest work day last month, doubtless due to holidays and summer commitments. More information on upcoming work days on our website: http://www.threecorneredcopse. org.uk/ - all welcome!

Simon Baxendale