New species

A walk through Brook Wood at the weekend turned up a new species for our checklist. On the footpath in Brook Wood was a dark little creature with a very short tail - a Short-tailed Vole (or Field Vole). I would have frightened it away but my wife, walking more slowly and looking, stopped before it sensed her, so we watched it for several seconds, pottering about in the wood which belongs to it - not to us!
Oh, and by the way, Coronation Meadow has changed its name again! It's now Townfields Meadow - George.

Valley butterflies!

A walk down through Brook Wood on Friday revealed a fine collection of butterflies and other wildlife, which were also seen on the Sandbach A Rocha group walk on Sunday. Here are some pictures:

1. Mating Common Blue butterflies at the trail start below Homebase -

2. Small Skipper butterfly at the trail start below Homebase -

3. Small Tortoiseshell butterfly on the ragwort on Coronation Meadow -

4. Peacock butterfly on Coronation Meadow - the blackest of butterflies when its wings are closed!

5. Field Poppy sown on Coronation Meadow to commemorate the centenary of the Great War's outbreak -

6. Green-veined White butterfly on Coronation Meadow -

7. Goat's Beard seed head on Coronation Meadow -

7. Banded Demoiselle dragonfly on Arclid Brook at Dancing Bridge (and present all down the valley of the Sandbach Wildlife Corridor) -


Take a walk yourself down the wonderful new paths and see! - George Hill

If anyone has not been through Brook Wood recently, they have missed a remarkable transformation! For months Phil Mason and his lads (whenever weather allowed) have been working away on building paths, steps and lots more out of wood. Many tons of hardcore have gone into the paths. There has been much thinning and much more work is hurriedly being put in ahead of the grand opening with Fiona Bruce MP on Saturday April 12th. Some bits have suffered in the process; the Large Bittercress marsh was accidentally damaged but is being restored as I write. The debate on mowing the Coronation Meadow (as it is now called) continues. But we all have a wood to be proud of! Later we will see what wildlife is flourishing - George Hill

Giant Clocks

The wildlife meadow at Townfields has turned out better than was first expected. I was particularly pleased to see not just one plant of Goat's Beard, as I expected but several, with their massive (double size dandelion) "clocks", there. A number of yellow Hawkweeds or Hawk's-beards (I shall have to look more closely at these) also appeared as well as Knapweed which is such a good butterfly plant. There is a plan to sow poppies as part of a national campaign to comemorate the Centenary of World War One next year. This is a fine idea although I doubt they will grow in the turf. They may well do best in the abandoned scruffy bits around the edge, since they are plants of disturbed ground such as cornfields (and battlefields) rather than hedgerows. - George

Springing up!

Two surveys to show parties from Sandbach Town and Cheshire East Councils in the last week or two have found Brook Wood in lovely condition. Today we found the Large Bittercress colony in full flower. The grassy areas have sadly been mown (arrangements are in hand to manage this better) but otherwise the Wood is in fine fettle with much vivid green to be seen, Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps singing, the new paths looking a treat and Bluebells (some true wild but also a few garden escapes) in flower.
All records of wildlife seen in the wood will be gratefully received at the email address of this blog. - George

Spring (and orchids?) cometh!

After a long gap - extended by the bitter weather of late - spring seems near. The first sign was of yellow-jacketed people working in the Park, where relocation of some of the mossy turf (hopefully holding common spotted orchids) from Waterworks Farm was underway. A very enthusiastic group from the Park Friends, SWWG and A Rocha moved turf blocks to both ends of the Park "valley, with more to go around the pond. A few chunks were also inserted into the Morris Homes slope in Brook Wood, where the concrete rubble should be liked by the orchids.

The path through Brook Wood is now looking great at both ends thanks to the efforts of Careforce and others. It was therefore too tempting not to take a walk and look for other signs of spring. See picture below! Below Mill Hill Lane the very first Lesser Celandines were in flower (Pic 1)
as, in Beech Wood was some Gorse and the first Coltsfoot Pic 2). Right by the orchid plantings, a flock of Siskins was feeding. In St Mary's Wood the snowdrop colony is flowering through the carpet of Ivy. And, of course, there's the path (Pic 3)
  - George

 

Winter cometh!

A entry after a long break! (Complicated summer!) The wet summer has left the Brook Wood path muddy in places but well used. If you see tree management (ie. felling) going on at some point, don't worry - it's all green. Various things have been ongoing. The flower slope at the back of Morris Homes may have more species in a year or two, as I have sown some Bee Orchid and Northern Marsh Orchid seed there. It will only germinate if the correct symbiotic fungus is in the soil, and the plants would not flower the first year. But watch that space! And watch for the shy regulars - Godfinches, Jays, Bullfinches, Buzzards and Sparrowhawks. But also watch on any berries around Sandbach for an exciting winter visitor. Waxwings have arrived this week in their hundreds in Scotland and the NE. Who will spot the first in Sandbach?  - George