Nature – Melwood Local Nature Reserve

Nature

Melwood Local Nature Reserve

Melwood in Lockdown

Whilst many local clubs and societies are managing to conduct virtual meetings, the Melwood Conservation Group have not yet worked out how to get ZOOM to cut back brush or coppice bushes. It seems we still need the old manual method for this. There have been very few work parties since the first lockdown in March 2020 and all have had limited numbers and careful social distancing. Unfortunately, this means no refreshments and therefore No Chocolate Biscuits! We have also missed the communal enjoyment of the autumn bonfire to dispose of unwanted trimmings.

The latest project in January 2021 was to plant some native bluebells. The pots were collected separately from a doorstep and planted individually into previously marked spaces by volunteers operating separately and not even meeting each other or the person who prepared the bulbs.

It has been strange to see the wood become wilder and we have had to prioritise the annual jobs to only those that are essential.

In June, the meadow area was raked after cutting to disseminate the seed from spring flowers such as Hedge Parsley and Garlic Mustard. With a year involving little maintenance the meadow is now getting seriously overrun by Stinging Nettles and White Dead-nettle to the detriment of the grasses and all the other smaller flowers. This will require serious attention once we can work normally in the reserve again. However, the stinging nettles will have been of use to the Red Admiral butterflies that regularly visit the wood in the summer.

In order to ensure that they did not smother the new growth of young planted saplings, cleavers/goosegrass photo above (Galium ararine – the plant with the irritating sticky seeds) were raked or pulled out. This has ensured that these saplings have thrived well.

The wood normally has a respite from work parties during the summer whilst volunteers go on holiday, and this year the trees again enjoyed this period of unimpeded growth. However, a dry late spring and August heatwave meant that supplementary watering, using river Mel water, was required for the young saplings, as in July 2019. The Met office is predicting that summers will get progressively warmer and by the end of the century the UK could potentially be seeing, on average, 40°C days every 3–4 years.

September saw the start of our autumn round of brush cutting and this continued into October, ensuring that the spring flowers have room to emerge and grow. This has proved beneficial as shoots are starting to appear with a magnificent display of snowdrops already.

We were unable to clean the nest boxes and we hope that the Bluetits and Great tits can learn a lesson from the Great Spotted Woodpeckers, that have used the same nesting hole for the past three years. We assume they have done any cleaning needed themselves, although no-one has actually witnessed it.

The push north by some southern species of butterflies and moths continued apace this year and 5 new species of moths were recorded in a back garden in Meldreth. The Oak Processionary Moth (Thaumetopoea processionea) is a potential pest that has hit the news quite a bit in the London Area due

to the irritant hairs on its larvae (I remember getting a rash as a child). The Gypsy Moth (Lymantria dispar), which is a forestry pest in many parts of the world, was resident in the UK until the early 1900’s. Fortunately the specimens recorded were all male. The females are fairly sedentary, limiting the potential for spread, which is often by wandering or accidentally transported larvae. Important though these species may be, they were nowhere near as exciting as the massive Clifden Nonpareil (Catocala fraxini), known to the Victorians as The Blue Underwing. It has a chequered history of temporary establishments and extinctions in the UK. With broad wings extending to almost 10cm it is really spectacular. Also huge, the Convolvulus Hawkmoth (Agrius convolvuli) photo below is an uncommon but fairly regular migrant from North Africa, considered unlikely to be able to survive a UK winter. This also has a wingspan of 10cm or more but narrower in profile.

We managed a little autumn planting to bulk up a hedge line to the east of the wood and a few woodland flowers were planted in areas of lighter shade.

We are glad that one of the few benefits of the Covid

lock-downs has been more free time resulting in more people walking along the Mel footpath and visiting the reserve. This is evident in the wear and tear of the main paths and the proliferation of new paths through the wood. Unfortunately, however, the latter can result in damage to bulbs, and other flowers, as they start to appear above ground. It can also cause damage to young saplings as they emerge from their protective guards. It is therefore important that visitors keep to the main paths to ensure that the fragile ecosystem of the wood is projected for everyone to enjoy.

Adapted from an article by Jim Reid in the December edition of Meldreth Matters. Mike Pennington

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