The commotion in the chicken coop was akin to the sound the birds make when a fox is plundering this forbidden larder, but it was the middle of the day so what was causing these frantic alarm calls?
Closer inspection revealed the cockerel fiercely defending one of the hens, she was cowering in the corner and he was standing guard in front of her, he looked like he had been in a battle. But what was he defending her from? Then it became clear, under the coop, wings mantled, was a Goshawk busily tearing at one of two hens he had obviously killed. He looked a bit bedraggled, probably moulting which explained why he had gone for this relatively easy meal. The jesses on his legs indicated that he was a captive bird that had obviouslydecided that he wanted a taste of freedom; this had now come to an end as Nigel managed to corner and catch him quite easily. He spent the night in the aviary that ranger Ben had built for his Harris Hawk and the next day the bird was reunited with his owner, who lived locally and had asked us to keep an eye out for him a couple of weeks previously. It was fascinating to witness this superb predator close at hand with his piercing eyes and razor sharp talons.
An unexpected interlude during the unchecked march of spring; what glorious weather we have enjoyed, but as I write some welcome rain is drumming on the conservatory roof. There are several stories about how the month of May was named, one of the most fitting is that it was named for Maia, the Roman goddess of spring and growth. The ability for nature to come back to life, seemingly overnight, never ceases to amaze me. It seems only weeks ago that we were watching the weather forecast with temperatures plummeting to -15c and the whole landscape and it’s wildlife held in some sort of frost shrouded suspended animation. Now the ponds are alive with tadpoles, the woodstore robins have already raised their first brood and the bees are filling the hives with honey at an incredible rate.
Out in the wood we have cleared large areas of bramble and thinned out the pioneer species, Birch. This will allow the remaining trees to attain reasonable height and trunk diameter, which in turn will shade the woodland floor, restricting the growth of bramble and encouraging more diverse ground flora. In areas where this has been done the swathes of Bluebells and Wood Anemones have been stunning this year and it is my intention to introduce and encourage a wild orchid area as well. Down at Norton Bigwood the rhododendron and bracken clearance is going well and already we are starting to see an increased and more diverse flora and fauna.
This all bodes well for the emerging Eco-minds project and we are pleased to have on board Nikki Gibson who is an Occupational Therapist with specialist skills in mental health. Nikki will be working with the Hill Holt rangers to develop innovative and therapeutic strategies to assist people with mental health issues; this will be centered around the known benefits of exposure to the natural environment. As Einstein said ‘look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.’
The visitor hut is up and running at the car park at Hill Holt and contains lots of information about the wood and it’s wildlife, do come and have a walk round and don’t forget to fill in the visitors book!
Until next time,
Oliver
Our regular Monday afternoon meeting was pleasantly disturbed by the arrival of a male Sparrowhawk, which came and sat on the fence adjacent to the bird feeders. He remained there for perhaps 30-40 seconds, completely unruffled by the twenty pairs of quizzical eyes watching his every move, before ghosting back into the depths of the wood. You often see glimpses of this fabulous bird flying down hedgerows at speed, swooping from one side to the other in an attempt to frighten out the small birds on which it preys. It is particularly fond of chaffinches and tits but 120 different species have been recorded as having been taken by this supreme hunter. They usually pluck their prey at a favourite stump known as a plucking perch and often this is the only sign that they are present in a locality as they spend much of their time sitting motionless in deep cover. They have made a good recovery from the effects that agricultural pesticides had on the wildlife population and now they match the Kestrel in numbers of breeding pairs, ‘hovering!’ around 40,000 pairs.
On the bird of prey theme one of our senior rangers, Ben, is currently training to own a Harris Hawk that will be housed at the wood. This is the result of Hill Holt’s five year award plan where staff members who have completed five years service get the opportunity to train in something that they have a personal interest in but that will also benefit the learners that we have on programme.
Ben intends to teach the young people in the basics of Falconry and also have the bird as another point of interest for the wood and its visitors. At present he is busily constructing a bespoke aviary to accommodate what will be a most welcome and interesting addition to the team. On the training front I am currently attending a beekeeping course at Whisby nature park that will hopefully stand me in good stead for the first season of Hill Holt Hives. Hopefully in years to come we will not only be training young people in the fascinating art of beekeeping but also running introductory courses of our own for people in the local community. Andy Wattam, the National Bee Inspector, is coming over shortly to see how our first swarm of bees have faired this winter, fingers crossed!
We not only aim to teach our own students about all things environmental and sustainable but also university undergraduates who are looking for practical experience. We recently hosted 50 students from Nottingham Trent University who came to have a tour around our exemplar eco-buildings and also get hands-on with the basics of straw-bale building. The whole visit was a great success and we are looking forward to repeating this type of event with other educational establishments.
The wood is a bit drab and muddy at the moment but it wont be long before the beautiful wood anemones start to poke through and the rides and glades are filled with carpets of bluebells, roll on spring! ‘There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature – the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter.’ Rachel Carson.