Continuing the tale of ordinary folk in an ordinary place taking an interest in extraordinary things we returned, with the kind permission of Mark Eccleston, to The Hem in Telford. This is an area of ancient woodland that had been neglected for many years until Mark made the Council an offer they could not refuse and took over its management. Mark is into the second year of a planned coppicing cycle that is making the wood work and bringing life to the coppiced areas.
We visited the site last year and were very impressed with the set up and what we found but, we missed the best of the wild flowers. So, when making the plans for this year’s series of trips I decided to visit The Hem earlier to catch their display. When do bluebells flower? This was the question. My answer was mid-May (the botanists amongst you have my full permission to snigger and ridicule me), so I arranged with Mark to visit mid-May.
Well as most of you will know “Spring” seems to be early this year. The result - we missed the bluebell display by about a fortnight. The best laid plans ... Never mind, Mark, consoled us with a photograph of the bluebells carpeting the site. However there were compensations, Woodruff was in flower in abundance as was Wood melick and Wood millet (hope I have identified these correctly).
Those of you who have worked on coppicing in the Dairy Pits on the Ercall know of the extraordinary lengths we had to go to in order to protect the coppiced trees from deer and their destructive browsing. Well, touch wood, no problems here as last year’s coppiced trunks show healthy growth.
When we arrived on a glorious day, warm sun, little cloud and no wind, I was presented with a beautiful black, yellow and orange cranefly that had landed on Mark’s table. It was a Ctenophora pectinicornis. This is an ichneumon wasp mimic. Not rare, but one that makes you sit up and take notice. It is a species that requires large stands of rotting timber and is classed as an indicator of ancient woodland. Sorry I do not have a photograph of it. An excellent start.
We collected and identified a steady stream of insects, dominated by craneflies and spiders, but with a good mix of other beasties. However one group noticeable by their absence – Shieldbugs – well, we are used to that.
To save embarrassment to the person involved I will not record the incident of the Lost Botanist and the Lost Hat. But, International Rescue saved the day.
I will, however, record our thanks to Mark for allowing us to intrude into his domain and the very warm welcome he gave us. In return here is a link to his website Picks and Sticks. We all look forward to our next visit.
Two days later we carried out a Wildlife Site survey at Bradley Coppice near Farley. This site is part of the Willey estate and the Shropshire Wildlife Trust arranged access for us.
Unfortunately the weather was less kind – overcast with showers of rain. To be fair the rain stayed away for most of the time we were there, it was only as we were considering the site report that it became heavy and unpleasant.
Bradley Coppice is a long strip of woodland on the side of the north-west slope that borders the Buildwas Road around Farley. It is mainly Ash woodland but there is a large area of Larch on the flatter land to the north of the site. It also contains several small disused quarries.
It was in one of these quarries that we started our survey. A haven for ferns, craneflies and spiders.
We then moved into the Larch plantation before heading up the slope into the Ash woodland. Here we got two surprises.
The first came as we crossed a clearing made to accommodate overhead cables, we found ourselves at the top of a quarry. Fortunately we were paying attention to our surroundings.
The second elicited squeals of delight. As we worked our way around the quarry, there, in the middle of the narrow path, was a Greater butterfly orchid.
Uplifted we continued our merry way into the depths of the Ash woodland through swathes of Ramsons and across an attractive stream and had lunch.
As one of the group trotted off for a private moment we got our third surprise. A shout of “Herb paris” may us all follow to see this weird plant.
We continued for a little while after lunch before heading back to the cars and home.
This was a delightful site. Thank you to the Willey Estate for allowing access and the Shropshire Wildlife Trust for arranging the visit.
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Unfortunately the link to Mark's site has mysteriously not made it. Here it is: http://www.picsandsticks.co.uk/
ReplyDeleteKeith