On 25 April this year a pair Pied Flycatchers, the target species, were heard, and then seen in the wood, but there was no sign of them nesting. Then on 15 May four pale blue eggs were discovered in one of the boxes and the adults were observed nearby. To our delight they had taken up residence!
15 boxes are in use by Blue Tits and Great Tits at various stages of development, many with a bird sitting on eggs. One Blue Tit clutch is well advanced with 9 chicks beginning to show their wing feathers. Another nest has an amazing 15 eggs and a total of at least 109 eggs have been laid so far.
As well as the quarries, the lower slopes now have two sunny glades that the volunteers have cleared of alder trees and scrub. These are beginning to regenerate with wild flowers and, despite the day being very windy, we were rewarded by sightings of peacock, green-veined white, large and small white and speckled wood butterflies.
The Ercall Wood is looking beautiful at the moment with swathes of bluebells, interspersed with greater stitchwort, nodding in the dappled sunshine beneath the tree canopy. Many walkers, bird watchers and photographers use the wood, one ancient oak being a star subject for nature snaps.
On leaving we drove past the Forest Glen car park towards Little Wenlock and were thrilled to see three fallow deer gracefully crossing the road from Dairy Pit to the Wrekin woods. A lovely end to a day spent in the Ercall Wood that is literally bursting with life.
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