Spotting signs of (wild)life

Thank you to our volunteers who have helped with recent woodland work in the anticipation of spring. It's given us the opportunity to get a close up look at the woodland habitat and to review our efforts at boosting biodiversity. Hearteningly, there are many signs of life! Here are some of the things we've spotted:

Bird boxes are being occupied. We did find evidence of birds nesting, including a blue-tit nest complete with one unhatched egg, and in one box we also found a cache of acorns, presumably stashed away by a foraging woodmouse. Quite a few of the houses have been damaged with entrance holes enlarged by squirrels, others in other ways, and they all needed to be cleaned and re-secured. We repaired quite a few, fitted metal plates with holes of varying size over all the entrances, and hung 17 new boxes,. All the nest boxes are now in good order and they should avoid further damage for this year. 

We did leave some boxes well alone because they were occupied! One of the large nest boxes had evidence of current squirrel occupation, and when we looked inside there were at least two naked and squeaking juvenile squirrels there! We abandoned our investigations quickly and left the box as it is. In another box we found a very healthy-looking wood mouse. 

Flowers are spreading on the forest floor: Before we embarked on our biodiversity project, there were no flowers in the woods. We have planted many plug plants and bulbs, with varying success. There are noticeably more small pockets of snowdrops appearing. 

Light is coming in and working its magic: Next time you are in the wood, take a moment to see what is starting to emerge in the newly cut scallops. The newest scallop is taking shape on the darker, narrower ride on the west side of the wood.

Blackthorn bushes are hosting butterfly eggs: Ok, this is wishful thinking rather than an actual spot - but we're hopeful that Brown Hairstreaks have laid their eggs on this preferred habitat, and we'll be monitoring this closely with our new UV torch that is suitable for looking for fluorescing butterfly larvae. The bright yellow Brimstone is already flying around - and satisfyingly easy to spot!

Life is stirring underwater too: discovered in the blanket weed in the new Community Allotment pond, were many freshwater shrimps (Gammarus spp.) and also dragonfly larvae in abundance. This is great news. The dragonfly can spend 2 years or more (up to 5) in the aquatic larval stage feeding continually in the pond. Once ready, they emerge on a moonless and dark night and transform from larvae into adults (likely any time from mid May to early August), taking flight once their new wings have expanded and become rigid. We have identified the larvae in the as Broad-bodied Chaser dragonfly larvae - see:-

https://british-dragonflies.org.uk/species/broad-bodied-chaser/

Apparently, these can be early colonisers of new ponds. It's wonderful to see them there.