We ignored the prolonged bad weather of winter 2010/11 and created a new ride to give views of the pond. It will do for the time being but needs to be widened. Some of the spindly birch has been cleared around the sallow to create better conditions for this to thrive in the planned ' willow grove'. There's some regeneration along the ride edge and in the birch clearing, though regrowth might have been eaten by deer. There's some improvement along the road edge and at the sunnier end of the ride as a result of our determined bracken control .
The kingfisher didn't appear again after the winter, and although a single great crested grebe was seen earlier in the year, there has been no breeding this summer. No sign of the white admiral butterfly either. It is not clear if this is because they have been absent, or just been missed. Perhaps rideside clearing has destroyed some honeysuckle they use as a foodplant, although there is still plenty of it growing in shady locations next to the ride edges.
Sightings: A group of newly fledged birds including most of the tits, young nuthatch, (with much duller plumage than their colourful parents) , and a family of treecreepers. Blackcap and chiffchaff were singing in the wood, rather surprising , as the wood lacks the shrubby growth they prefer.
A grass snake on the ride, sidling away rapidly up the bank . A short distance further on, the loud screeching of jays, which continued for some time before 3 emerged from the pines in pursuit of a tawny owl, whom they had disturbed from its roost. Over the willow grove, a small bank vole emerged from the scrub to explore nearby logs holding a piece of bread in his paws. A Roe deer, an unusual sight at Old Copse, and redder and springier than the Fallow deer we see all the time.
The kingfisher didn't appear again after the winter, and although a single great crested grebe was seen earlier in the year, there has been no breeding this summer. No sign of the white admiral butterfly either. It is not clear if this is because they have been absent, or just been missed. Perhaps rideside clearing has destroyed some honeysuckle they use as a foodplant, although there is still plenty of it growing in shady locations next to the ride edges.
Sightings: A group of newly fledged birds including most of the tits, young nuthatch, (with much duller plumage than their colourful parents) , and a family of treecreepers. Blackcap and chiffchaff were singing in the wood, rather surprising , as the wood lacks the shrubby growth they prefer.
A grass snake on the ride, sidling away rapidly up the bank . A short distance further on, the loud screeching of jays, which continued for some time before 3 emerged from the pines in pursuit of a tawny owl, whom they had disturbed from its roost. Over the willow grove, a small bank vole emerged from the scrub to explore nearby logs holding a piece of bread in his paws. A Roe deer, an unusual sight at Old Copse, and redder and springier than the Fallow deer we see all the time.
