Willow Pollarding in the snow

Our  Willow Grove at Old Copse hadn't been pollarded (cut at around head height)  since we created it  (together with Milo and Martha) in January 2015,  so this winter we decided it was time to do it again. It was a particularly cold day, and shortly after we started, so did the snow. 

 

John, our forester, and Ana, from Mexico

    A clump of pollarded willow

Goat Willow grows very well in this part of the 'wet wood', the main wet wood nearby is full of very tall Alder trees which are closely associated with wet woodland (see Woodland Trust article). However some goat willows had started to grow tall and spindly and a couple had collapsed onto the ground for the deer to eat.  Old Copse was, and still is to an extent,  lacking in a range of tree age and height, having been completely untouched for many years. Regular pollarding, i.e. cutting  at shoulder height ,  gives trees strength and stability . It also  keeps the foliage out of reach of deer. 

We pollarded half of the Willow Grove this time, leaving the other 50%  until  next year, because the Emperor butterfly, which we are trying to attract, need goat willow leaves, their favourite food plant, to eat and lay their eggs on. Hatched larvae are well camouflaged with the midrib of willow leaves. The caterpillars overwinter in willow twig forks, then pupate in the Summer and are active at night.  

The beautiful Purple Emperor butterfly

As adults, purple emperor's main food sources are aphid honeydew and tree sap, though they also come to ground to feed on animal dung and carrion .During July, males congregate on particularly tall 'master trees' awaiting mates. Females either couple up with a male or swoop to the ground as a signal that they have already mated. 

Despite a decline in the 20th century, thought to have been caused by widespread   large-scale loss and fragmentation of ancient woodland  together with the removal and  'tidying-up' of areas of goat willow, which is usually considered  non-productive 'scrub', it seems the Purple Emperors may be expanding its range again,  even into suburban areas particularly in  South -central England which is still  their  prime territory . Knepp Castle has had enormous success in attracting Purple Emperors due to their rewilding programme, and that isn't far from Old Copse. They favour oak woodland, and though Old Copse has a fair number of oaks, with many regenerating naturally (and protected from deer)  there aren't that many tall ones in the vicinity of the Willow Grove, so we hope they might make use of the tall birches instead.  

Burning the Brash. No chance of setting the woodland floor on fire in the cold and wet

First time we've seen icicles at the cabin

A rare sight - snowing in the wood 

Wet woodland looks different regionally, like this carr with birch, alder and willow.

Credit: Alastair Hotchkiss / WTML