Summer Work-Party

Today was hot (23 degrees C) and sunny again, and very humid.  So it made our maintenance work-party hard work. Mike, Sue, Alan, Catherine and Kim spent a couple of hours trimming back bramble shoots around the trees, cutting back the longer grass on the top of The Mound and weeding around some of the smaller trees.  We were careful not to disturb nesting birds, or even dormice, in the brambles.

Mike, Sue and Catherine

Mike had also cut around the spiral pathway, so we could get access as the grass has grown quickly since its last cut in Spring.  We kept cool with some iced water and finished up with tea and a lovely cake.

Kim

Alan

The air was full of buzzing bees and we saw a handful of butterflies around the grass.

Another dry Summer

In my two visits to the Community Nature Area in June, it has become obvious just how dry it has been recently, with no significant rainfall in the past month.  The smaller trees are struggling, as they do not have the deep root systems needed to withstand drought.  Nevertheless, the blossom continues to be amazing this year, with a lot of Hawthorn, Dog Rose, Alder Buckthorn and Bramble in full flower.  The bees, both Honey Bees and Bumblebees are enjoying the nectar.

Dog Rose in bloom

I also came across a large clump of wonderful Oxeye Daisies at the top of The Mound, and feeding on the pollen were a number of Thick-legged Flower Beetles. It is the males that have the swollen thighs which give it its name.

Oedemera Nobilis

Oxeye Daisies

Brimstone caterpillar

Alder Buckthorn flowers

The grasses are high and some of the grassland butterflies, such as Meadow Browns and Small Skippers have already emerged.

Another Spring on The Mound

Over the Easter weekend, we had some warm sunshine, so we visited The Mound to plant a few hedgerow whips along the line of the first line of trees.  The idea is to thicken up the planting to provide a wind shelter and screening now that the Leylandii hedge is no longer there, as the strongest winds come from the West. In all, 34 whips were planted, some Hawthorn, Green Dogwood and Hazel at a spacing of 20-30cm. In addition, some of the older Red Dogwood had spread widely and layered itself.  So I pruned off the branches which had roots, and planted them along the line, too.

A volunteer from Amfreville, Normandy and a Twinning Friend

Some of the trees are already in flower.  One or two of the Wild Cherry were spectacular with their white blossom. 

Wild Cherry

 I noticed that for the first year, some Field Maples are mature enough to flower.

Strange green Field Maple flowers

Sloe (Blackthorn) and Goat Willow were also in bloom. 

Goat Willow catkins provide a lot of nectar and were very popular with Bumblebees and other insects on the wing.

Buff-tailed Bumblebee Queen

There were several Buff-tailed Queens hunting for nest sites in the tussocky grass.  I saw three different species of Bumblebee Queens: Buff-tailed, White-tailed and Red-tailed (that one was on a Dandelion).  

There were also Goldfinches, Blackbirds, Sparrows, Great Tit, Magpies and Wood Pidgeons in flight or in the hedges.

At the top, primroses were in bloom.  These were a gift from a volunteer in 2019, who sadly is no longer with us and they remind us of her.  Alongside them, our first native Wild Daffodil is in bloom.  This was planted there from locally-sourced bulbs.  They thrive in damp woodland glades. Their seeds are fertile and they will spread.

In memory of Marion

Native Devon Daffodil

An extended Area for Nature comes into being - Lower Meadow

Partly as a consequence of the need to reduce the size of "The Mound", Winkleigh War Memorial Recreation Field Trustees decided to develop an additional area behind the existing one, in order to give more wild space for Nature to thrive. This happened quite quickly, due to the enthusiasm and hard work of WWMRF volunteers and the support of a neighbouring farmer with heavy machinery.  In a few short days in February, an area which had previously been cut for hay or grazed by sheep, had its topsoil stripped off and banks built up around it.  A Common Beech hedge and a few trees were relocated with the aid of a digger.  In addition, many young whips of native species were planted. A central island now holds a log-pile, which will be good for reptiles, such as lizards and great for insects when it rots down.

Central island bank with log pile

View from the North

Beech hedge relocated

10 English Oak, 10 Field Maple, 20 Common Alder, 20 Silver Birch and 10 Mountain Ash (Rowan) were planted on 16th February.

In addition, Hornbeam, Hazel,  Blackthorn, Dogwood and Dog Rose were planted.  Here's the planting plan. The Beech Hedge is on the North side and the Hazel bank on the East side.

Planting Plan - February 2023

In addition 9kg of meadow grass seed and 4kg of wild flower seed was sown around this area. We are now hoping for gentle rain and warmth to provide good germination and we look forward to the muddy expanse being clothed with green shoots.  It will be interesting to see which plants appear either from the seed mix or from the seed bank of the soil. This land has been managed as pasture for at least 75 years, as it has been a recreation field since 1948.

The fencing between the 'old' and the 'new' parts of the Community Nature Area has been removed so that they can merge into one.  We look forward to the species now resident on The Mound also taking up residence in the newer area.

New developments on The Mound

Winkleigh Biodiversity Group, assisted by many volunteers from the local community, has been responsible for managing "The Mound" since August 2012, when the Trustees of Winkleigh War Memorial Recreation Field offered us a small, neglected and unused area. Back then, we were just a group of enthusiastic people wanting to create a wild space where Nature could thrive. We initially called it The Wild Flower Project, until the idea of the Spiral Maze was born. The story of our efforts since the first work-party in August 2012 has been told in these pages.  Since then we have recorded over 100 species of plant, bird, mammal, insect and reptile and sent these records to Devon Biodiversity Records Centre.

Over the past few months we have been in discussion with the Trustees about changes to the original boundary of "The Mound".  First, the boundary hedge was removed last Summer. The muddy tracks made by the large machinery were not surprisingly not a pretty sight!

Muddy tracks

View of old shed

View with Leylandii Hedge 29 August 2022

Then proposals were made to reduce the area significantly, in order to accommodate a junior football pitch. After some months of negotiation, a compromise plan was reached which would move the boundary to half-way across the first row of trees in The Spiral.  This plan minimised the removal and relocation of existing trees and shrubs, which was carried out while they were dormant.  A line was marked out with sticks and yellow tape to show the new boundary.  The proposed pitch will take up all of the first grass path which used to run alongside the boundary Leylandii hedge and approximately half of the the first hedge-row of trees and shrubs.

Yellow tape marking the new boundary

As part of these changes, Winkleigh Biodiversity Group's agreement to rent "The Mound" will not renew on May 1st this year. The Trustees will be taking over responsibility for its management, with co-operation from Biodiversity Group members in a joint working group. This is the start of a new arrangement for the two organisations, but we hope that the biodiversity there will continue to flourish and develop 'under new management'. As part of the plan, recognising the impact on wildlife of the reduction of area, another space has been set aside as an extension to the biodiversity area. This additional area will nearly double the area set aside for Nature. The two areas joined together will have a new name - Winkleigh's Community Nature Area. More on this in the next instalment.