Nature Early preparations for spring in Melwood
Work at the autumn work parties was concentrated on ensuring that we have a fine display of spring and summer flowers. The coarse growth of earlier in the year was strimmed to clear a way for the new shoots. Areas where we expect to see spring flowers are now covered with a carpet of fallen leaves, which should provide a bit of winter protection before eventually decomposing to add valuable organic matter to the soil. This will be greatly appreciated by the bluebells we have planted over the last two years. For a while at least, the fallen leaves may also help to protect the leaves of primroses from rabbit predation. With foliage still on the trees and bushes when we held our last work party in November, coppicing has been put back to January or February, but small elder bushes have been cut back to increase the area of open ground. Large elders that are big enough to flower and bear fruit will be left in strategic positions for the benefit of birds and insects. One of the main tasks of the November work party was to clean the nest boxes and repair those that were not too badly damaged. We had 13 boxes on our list, but 2 were found to be missing, one was damaged beyond repair and one was removed for replacement of the lid. The 8 boxes inspected had all been used and we were surprised to find a field mouse sleeping under the old nest material in one of the boxes, despite it being about 15 feet up the tree. It was carefully left to continue its slumbers. Nest material in the boxes was a mixture of moss, lichen and feathers in almost all the boxes. This is typical of Blue Tit or Great Tit and was thus not surprising. One box, however, had a nest of broad dry grass leaves and little else. We have no idea what species produced that, as House Sparrows, a likely alternative, usually include a variety of other material with grass and feathers. We will watch that box carefully next year in case the same bird comes back to it. If it turns out to be a Tree Sparrow, it will be a new record for Melwood. The sides of the Meadow have been cut, in part to supress the nettles but also to allow a few more flowering plants introduced as seedlings to have space and light whilst they get established. The centre of the meadow used to have a small population of cowslips but these seem to have been overtaken by more robust
species. Cowslips thrive on grazed grassland, where the sheep or cattle keep the tallest growth in check, and on roadside verges, where cutting is required for the safe vision of drivers or simply to keep the verge tidy. They flower before the surrounding growth has a chance to overtake them. Similar cutting may serve the same purpose in Melwood. Usually, once summer is over, the pressure on the bonfire site in the wood declines, but this year it seems to have got worse. More large logs have been moved to create seating and we have even seen a second bonfire site emerge. This would not be too bad if the users took their rubbish away with them but the Melwood’s litter pickers have had more work to do than ever. It is very disappointing. However, a large party in January was tidied up, so maybe the message is getting through. Some wildlife is seen fairly regularly in the wood, but many residents are mostly nocturnal and known only from the evidence of their activities. Grazing of wild flowers and stripping of fresh green bark are common winter and spring signs of rabbits and deer. Other species may be present without ever leaving a trace. I spotted one recently, not in the wood but on an early evening visit to Dobbie’s garden centre. As I walked past the outside tables of plants, a fairly large bird scuttled away into the cover of the surrounding hedge. There was no mistaking it – it was a Woodcock. It must be 20 years or more since I last saw one of these in the Melbourn and Meldreth area. On that occasion, it was a pair in the dense cover of the back of Melwood. Such a shy and retiring species would probably remain in areas away from the paths these days, but there is some suitable cover along the woods beside the river and at dusk you may see one if you are very alert, very quiet and very lucky. The resident population is reinforced by a few migrant birds in November and December. Most of the tree and bush work in the wood will now wait for a spell of ambient weather. Damaged in January or February, nest boxes will then also be replaced and I hope it will be possible to introduce some bat boxes. The original ones installed quite a few years ago, were all wrecked by woodpeckers or squirrels. We will need some tougher protection this time. The snowdrops have again produced a magnificent display, especially at the back of the wood. As spring emerges, a wander down the footpath on one of the bright, frosty early spring days is recommended! Bruce Huett, based on Jim Reid article for Meldreth Matters Melwood conservation group Website : www.melwood.org.uk melbournmagazine@gmail.com
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08/02/2022 10:53
