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Tuesday
2nd June,
Rowallane
(Botanical)
Meet
in the car park, Rowallane
gardens, Saintfield at 7.00 pm.
We
will be given a tour of the gardens at Rowallane by the head
gardener. There will be a charge of £3 for this event, see
enclosed booking form.
Saturday
6th June,
Belfast Hills
(Zoology)
Conductors :
Dermot McCann (National Trust);
David Nixon (Butterfly Conservation Group)
Meet
at 10.30 a.m. at the National Trust car park, 12 Divis Road (J265
741). This is signposted from M1/Kennedy Way Roundabout. Go straight
across first 2 roundabouts. From Monagh Bypass dual carriageway,
turn left onto Upper Springfield Road. Continue for 2.5 miles
through Hannahstown, a short distance beyond the national speed
limit sign, turn right into Divis Road. NT Car Park is on the left.
Bring lunch, warm clothing, waterproofs and suitable shoes/boots for
walking on the mountains. Toilets are available in the NT office.
We
will have panoramic views over Belfast in this large area of
grassland, upland heath and bog, rich in flora and fauna. The NT
have purchased a new area of land and we will have an opportunity to
look for evidence of Marsh Fritillary as there is plenty of its food
plant, Devil’s-bit Scabious. The most numerous butterflies
we are likely to see up there (given good weather) in
early June are Small Heaths, Green-veined Whites and Orange Tips,
but we may also see Speckled Woods, Large & Small Whites, Small
Copper, Small Tortoiseshell and Peacock.
Saturday
13th June a.m. *
Strangford Lough
(Zoology) p.m. Killard (Botany)
Conductors
: Ivor McDonald and Tom Ennis
Meet
at 9.45 a.m. at the Car Park (J590498) in Strangford, on the right
of the Ferry slipway opposite the Public Toilets. We board the boat
at 10 a.m. On the boat trip we hope to see cormorants, various
species of terns, mergansers, oystercatchers, black guillemots and
seals, returning to Strangford at 1 p.m. Booking is essential for
this part of the day.
Picnic lunch at Cloghy Rock Car Park (J593479)
or wherever preferred.
After lunch we will meet
up at 2 p.m. at Mill Quarter Bay Car Park
(J598446). We will walk through the Nature Reserve to Killard Point
(J612434)
We hope to see a range of orchids including
the bee and frog orchids.
Bring picnic lunch, binoculars, warm clothing
for the boat, wet weather gear and suitable shoes for walking over
the Reserve.
Saturday
27th June, *
Lough Neagh boat trip
(Geological)
Meet at Ballyronan Marina car park on the north west
corner of Lough Neagh ( H 947 855 ) in time to sail at
10.00 am. sharp.
From Belfast : take
the M2 out of town, come through the village of Toome and turn left
just after you cross the river, into the road signposted “Ballyronan”:
continue for 6 or 7 miles, taking two sharp left hand turns on the
way, still following the Ballyronan signs, and turn left into the
marina.
We
will study the effects of glaciation on the ecology and geology of
the area, taking in the extraction of sand and diatomite, the eel
fisheries, archaeology, bird life etc.
We will visit Portglenone forest, with its memorial to the famous 19th
century plant collector Augustine Henry; and it is here we will have
our barbecue lunch.
We
hope to be back at Ballyronan between 5.00 and 5.30pm.
COST: £33 per person to include boat fare and barbecue. Send
enclosed booking form and cheque to Joan Semple by Friday 5th
June.
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