Dynamic forces shape the sand dunes of Braunton Burrows in North Devon, but alongside the wind and waves are powerful agents of change on four legs. High impact animals are key elements of an ecosystem, whose effects ripple across the landscape. The way in which cattle and rabbits graze plants; nibbling, browsing, trampling and digging shapes the wildflower communities and benefits a multitude of other species including dung beetles, birds and pollinators.
From the point of high tide across to the fields of Braunton Marsh lie shifting beach-side foredunes graduating to fixed grasslands that form the second largest sand dune system in the UK. Braunton Burrows has been called one of the last wild habitats in the country. Standing atop a sandy peak, over 1,000 hectares of rolling dunes spread before you; the wind-blown dry ridges tumbling down into the damp grassy plains criss-crossed with paths made by man, animal and machine. As well as being a Site of Special Scientific Interest, the Burrows has hosted military training activities since the 19th century. Rather than being destructive, the disturbance from heavy tanks and other vehicles helps to keep the dune habitats open and in an early stage of succession; mimicking the impact of grazing animals.
Ruby Red Devon cattle on Braunton Burrows
Without the actions of cattle, sheep and horses, many special grassland species lose out as open grasses and herbs turn into tall, tangled scrub. Scrub is an excellent habitat, but is best in smaller proportions alongside other habitats including ponds and meadows. Nature can be in a perpetual battle as some habitats conquer others depending on their management. Before humans came along to cut and coppice, dig and drain, our landscape was moulded by now-extinct megafauna; bison, aurochs, wild horses, even elephants and rhino. Almost all of these species are long gone, but it is possible for living animals to act as proxies, such as a cow stepping into the role of the extinct aurochs (a species of wild cattle).
Many species rely on the activity of these grazing animals to survive. A cow will trample a path through the long grass, creating ideal open feeding areas for young skylarks which search for insects close to the ground. As the cattle forage, they produce a huge amount of dung (up to 30kg a day!); their cow pats become a feast for hundreds of hungry dung beetles, which themselves become dinner for greater horseshoe bats. A scrape in the sand by a rabbit becomes a perfect place for a seed to germinate, which will later unfurl a bouquet of flowers to feed bumblebees. It is for this reason that the term ‘Ecosystem engineer’ is used when describing an animal that has knock-on effects for other species.
Dung glorious dung!
Animals have evolved alongside plants for millions of years; plants can be friend and foe, providing medicinal qualities but also containing fatal toxins. On the dunes, the cattle avoid the poisonous ragwort, which supports many invertebrates, but will consume herbs such as bird’s-foot trefoil, which has anti-parasitic properties. Willow bark contains a compound that is now replicated as aspirin and legumes like red clover have a high protein content, meaning they are more nutritious.
These unique dunes hold hundreds of plant species; some found almost nowhere else in the UK. Sand toadflax, Round-headed club-rush and Water germander are some of the rarities, attracting botanists to see them from as early as 1662. Some of the areas of the Burrows are named after their floral interest, with ‘Bugloss Hill’, ‘Twayblade Slack’, ‘Wintergreen Slack’ and ‘Thyme Plain’ being a good indication of the types of plants to be found there.
A carpet of Wild thyme on the Burrows
Animals have had a role to play in moulding the dune habitats at Braunton Burrows for a long time. The name ‘Burrows’ indicates that there has been rabbit presence since the Middle ages and livestock have been grazing here for hundreds of years. The plant communities here have lived and adapted alongside these animals, with many wildflowers of the dunes having a biennial lifecycle. They spend their first year growing leaves and the second year flowering, before repeating the cycle. Living this way means the continuous availability of open places for seeds to grow is needed – species like Viper’s bugloss, Evening primrose and Sea stock (a UK rarity) all benefit from the bare, sandy soil that is thrown up by the wind and the animals.
Rosebay willowherb springing up in a newly created scrape
Flowers attract pollinators and with such a dazzling array to feed upon on the Burrows, many species can be found, including the gold-fringed mason bee and the ashy mining bee. Last year a scarce species of solitary bee was discovered here for the first time – the early colletes bee. Of particular interest are the rare bumblebees, notably the Brown-banded and Moss carder bees, which are the focus of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust’s West Country Buzz project. Over the past 5 years, this project has provided advice to landowners, created pollinator-friendly habitats and trained local people with bumblebee identification skills across the North Devon coast.
Braunton Burrows is a case study site for this project and contains a nationally important population of Brown-banded carder bees. These beautiful golden bees are lovers of expansive, wildflower-rich landscapes; something we have lost across the wider countryside, although fragments remain here at the Burrows. Saving these bees from extinction requires frequent surveys and targeted habitat restoration to allow them to expand their range. Project officers carry out plant and bumblebee surveys throughout the spring and summer. Vegetation surveys monitor the number of flowers available to feed on and Beewalks count the species of bumblebee along a fixed transect – over the years, this data can create a valuable picture of how the wildflowers and bumblebees are faring and if we need to undertake management interventions to help.
With the exceptional botanical diversity found at Braunton Burrows, the Bumblebee Conservation Trust has been collecting wildflower seeds with kind permission from the landowner and Natural England. These seeds have been sown by the National Trust’s grasslands project to restore wildflower meadows along the North Devon coast. Sharing this special resource means that wildflower species and their associated bumblebee populations won’t be so vulnerable and isolated, being able to spread and thrive.
A rare Brown-banded carder bee feeding on Viper’s bugloss
My recent MSc study on the dunes found that the presence of cattle grazing increases plant species diversity as well as positive indicator species. Rabbit grazing also helped to increase the positive indicator species – these are plants distinctive of the dune grasslands that can be scarce elsewhere; their presence acting as a good sign that the habitat condition is as it should be. Species like Sand sedge, Carline thistle, Fairy flax and Wild thyme are indicators of healthy drier dunes and Bog pimpernel, Water mint, Southern marsh orchid and Marsh pennywort are key species of damper dune habitats. Forming the foundation of the food chain, the greater the diversity of plants, the more species can be supported, creating a rich and complex ecosystem.
Whilst the animals can be very effective land managers, the best results for the plant community are achieved with the inclusion of mowing, as this helps to tackle thick, woody scrub that is mostly avoided by cattle. Just outside of the fenceline, the difference between the areas with management and without is stark. Although the rabbits can graze anywhere, only the cattle and the mowing are within the fenced areas of the dunes. The cattle’s grazing habits of breaking open areas of long grass and short scrub actually enables access to the rabbits to graze, creating a more complex mosaic of habitats when multiple grazers are involved. Excluding grazers leads to less diversity, less life and lower amounts of indicator species that make this dune system so special.
The ecosystem engineers of the dunes
With all of those grazers, a lot of dung is created, meaning a continuous feast for the many types of dung beetle that live here! With an incredible sense of smell, dune beetles can sniff out freshly deposited dung and fly straight to it. Different species have different life strategies, with some dwelling inside the dung to lay their eggs and others tunnelling underneath; taking a ball of dung into the earth to keep their young safe from the ravenous rove beetles that prowl the dung pat feeding on smaller beetles. My study found that there are many more dung beetles where the cattle graze compared to the areas on the other side of the fence where they are excluded. With over 100% more dung beetles in the grazed areas, recycling nutrients, reducing parasites and being important prey for bats, this is a key reason the cattle are so vital for the dune habitats.
The animals are central to the ecosystem, connecting many different species. However, on top of the ecological benefits, the cattle help to preserve our cultural history, being a heritage breed called Devon Ruby Reds. They are a source of local, high welfare and nutrient-dense meat with very few food miles, efficient at converting land that couldn’t be used for any other agricultural use into high-quality food. Here is an example of farming in harmony with nature, with wildlife conservation as the most important goal. Whatever term is used, be it ‘Conservation grazers’, ‘Ecosystem engineers’ or ‘Keystone species’, the grazing animals of Braunton Burrows will continue to help shape the dunes for the better.
In late March to early April 2022, I went on a field course up to Scotland as part of a module for my MSc in Conservation and Biodiversity at the University of Exeter, entitled Rewilding the UK.
The word ‘Rewilding’ can be contentious. This title may indicate that successful nature conservation entails abandonment, ‘de-peopling’ and leaving nature alone. However, our lives and the lives of the wildlife alongside us are deeply intertwined and it became clear on this trip that active, intentional management with people in mind is crucial for effective conservation.
Covering two weeks and multiple locations across Scotland, we were lucky to meet rangers, land managers and conservationists who shared their experience and perspectives with us…
Mountains of western Scotland
Our first location was Langholm Moor & Tarras valley NR; a community initiative in southern Scotland covering 5,200 acres. Estate manager Jenny Barlow explained how this project is a nature-led recovery of the land with people giving a helping hand. Allowing natural succession without intense management for grouse, a mix of tree planting and regeneration is happening here. They are aiming for catchment and landscape-scale habitat improvements to improve broader biodiversity, rather than a species-specific approach to conservation. There is a real sense of community ownership here, with the local schoolchildren having visited and starting to call it ‘our woods’ and ‘our moor’.
We watched a male hen harrier sky dancing, swooping, rolling and plummeting above us just after we had been talking about how wonderful it would be to see such a display. Langholm felt full of hope and expectation, and it will be fascinating to see how this site develops into the future.
Looking out over Langholm Moor
Golden eagles once soared the skies throughout Scotland, but in the south their populations fell perilously low. Today, there are about 540 pairs in Scotland, but the South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project hasbeen translocating eagles to bolster the tiny number of only six birds in the area. Dr Cat Barlow (Project Manager) told us how firstly habitat availability was mapped to find the most suitable areas for the eagles before 22 birds were released. Grouse moors provide good habitat for eagles, whereas commercial coniferous forestry and wind farms are more damaging forms of land use for them.
A key part of the reintroduction process is working closely with neighbouring grouse moors to have open communication regarding the eagles. This has helped the moor managers to be more aware of the eagles and live alongside them without persecution. The project recently had a Golden eagle nest right next to a working grouse shoot that had a successful shooting season. A former gamekeeper handles their engagement, making valuable relationships with other keepers and the local community. As with Langholm, the local schoolchildren have helped name one of the eagles, a feisty female named Beaky!
A managed grouse moor with mosaics of muirburn on the heather
Next on our journey was Carrifran Wildwood, where Britain’s oldest longbow was discovered. To restore the valley to this landscape of 6,000 years ago, a team of volunteers have been reforesting the 1,620 acres. Led by Philip Ashmole, 750,000 native trees were planted since 2000, of a wide range of species that are now growing nicely. Our group’s species tally racked up a great score here with the highest number of trees as well as a variety of birds.
Silvery stems and bruised hues of early spring trees ascended the hillsides, with altitude dictating their size. If we hadn’t been told that the trees had been planted, I would have assumed they had established of their own accord. A lot of work has gone into aiding the recovery of this landscape, including helping the trees establish with weed control and ongoing deer culling to limit tree herbivory. The stalker takes out 20-30 deer a year and ensures to leave some carcasses for the eagles to feast upon. This was one of many examples that we encountered along the trip demonstrating that what at first appears wild, has our fingerprints all over it.
Carrifran Wildwood
Different approaches to tree establishment have been demonstrated at Carrifran and at our next location, Knapdale; where natural regeneration has seen trees springing up across the hillsides. Interestingly, the results at both sites looked similar, with both the planted and naturally seeded trees appearing almost the same. We learnt that the natural seed source at Knapdale was abundant compared to extremely low seed availability at Carrifran, meaning the trees at this former plantation could quickly spring up. However, the trees here have challenges in the form of an old adversary they haven’t lived alongside for the last 400 years… beavers.
After some disruption to our original plan, and not being able to catch the ferry to Islay, we had some luck in bumping into Pete who works at the Argyll Wildlife Centre in Knapdale. He gave our group a quick impromptu talk about Knapdale’s famous beavers. A mixture of Norwegian and German beavers were introduced in 2009. Originally, four families were released and today there are around 700 animals in Scotland.
A tree felled by a beaver’s powerful teeth
Pete the ranger explained how the beavers got to work quickly, creating their first wetland within 6 weeks of arrival. As well as felling small trees, beavers strip bark for winter sustenance and eat over 100 types of riparian plants, creating open meadows and glades. The original coppicers, beavers trim and cut down trees to construct their lodges, and frequently shifting the locations of their lodges allows tree regeneration to occur.
Their dam engineering results in deadwood and pools that attract a multitude of species, from amphibians to bats, otters to swallows, dragonflies to eels. Alongside the high biodiversity benefits from beavers, there is a compelling need to recognise the other services provided; improved water quality and water retention on the land, as well as benefits to local communities. Beavers give people like Pete employment, with 20% of locals working in tourism and ecotourism being an important part of Scotland’s economy.
Goosanders need high-quality freshwater habitats rich in fish
When it comes to animal reintroductions, who better to speak to than Roy Dennis! Our group was lucky to have an evening chatting with Roy, who was warm, inspiring and brimming with enthusiasm. He has been instrumental in the reintroductions for a range of species: Ospreys, Red squirrels, Red kites, White-tailed eagles and more. With his endless passion and drive, he’s seen many species experience dramatic recoveries, including Red kites increase from just 40 to <6,000 pairs in his lifetime.
Roy explained how we need to strive for nature recovery, through positive action and pushing for true landscape restoration. He said we show concern about the destruction of the rainforest, but what is happening here?
Meeting Roy Dennis
When the big granny pines of the Cairngorms started growing, wolves were still here. The actions of browsing and trampling by elk, aurochs and boar would have maintained the forest habitat, creating open conditions for heather and many species of bird. But ‘the forest is dead without wolves and lynx’. Roy remarked that if you released lynx in the UK tomorrow, you’d never see one!
He’s concerned that there are too many badgers and that the country is ‘dominated by middle-guild predators’, but ‘how do you get real biodiversity management accepted by the general public?’ as this includes predator control of species such as foxes. This sentiment was echoed by many of the land managers and keepers we met with later in the week. Without apex predators in the landscape, the phenomenon called ‘Mesopredator release’ occurs, impacting upon populations of ground nesting birds.
When we visited the Isle of Mull, Roy’s legacy could be seen soaring over the mountains in the form of ‘flying barn doors’. Back in 1975, 100 White-tailed eagles were released on Rum, with the first chick hatching in 1985. Today Roy is still involved in helping to restore them to their former range, explaining how some of the recently released Isle of Wight birds have been doing well – one male eagle recently caught 3 cuttlefish in a day. Despite challenges from illegal poisoning this year, Roy was keen to keep moving forward, pushing for stronger laws and focusing on the birds that are alive.
A White-tailed eagle soaring overhead on Mull
Roy commented on the positive feedback from members of the public, saying that they never thought we could have birds that big in England and that eagles were ‘giving people a feeling of wildness’. Iconic flagship species like eagles can help to persuade people of the benefits of nature conservation, hopefully getting more people on board with a worthwhile cause compared to other less ‘pretty’ or impressive species. I was excited to hear that in Devon where I live, the more undisturbed areas of Exmoor would be the most suitable place for White-tailed eagles to be reintroduced, which I hope to see happen one day soon. In Roy’s words, it’s ‘Not a matter of if, but when!’
On projects, Roy explained the value of optimism and motivation, whilst some might succeed, some might fail, but to: ‘Never let anyone stop you, just keep going!’
View of Mull
After some transport issues, we were lucky to spend a few days on the Isle of Mull, where we saw some amazing birdlife: 20 eagles, including seven White-tailed eagles at once circling above Mull’s highest mountain, Ben More. We also saw Hen harrier, Slavonian grebe, Great northern diver, Goshawk, Wheatear, Barnacle goose, Curlew, Skylark and Goldcrest. Mammals spotted included Red and Fallow deer, as well as Harbour porpoise, Grey seal and Otter.
A peek into the White-tailed eagle nest in Abernethy forest from the nestcam
For the second week of the trip, we headed to the Cairngorms, where we visited some large estates in the area. Thousands of hectares in size, the land management on the estates has a substantial impact on the wildlife that lives in and around them.
Topographical map giving a sense of scale of the Cairngorms and Glen Tanar Estate
Glen Tanar is a 10,000ha estate with diverse uses including forestry, tourism and farming. They have the third largest native pinewood in Scotland, with some of the highest area of old-growth native woodland. But the estate managers were keen to explain that although this appears to be a wild landscape, it is actually very much managed. It’s incredible that any of this woodland remains considering by WW2, 100,000 tonnes of timber were extracted here over just 3 years. I asked about the value of timber production and was surprised to learn that the UK imports 80% of its wood. Here they practise a continuous cover forestry system using natural regeneration: much less dramatic than a clearfell system and not requiring a deer fence around it.
Timber stacks at Glen Tanar
The gamekeeper explained how they control the deer numbers on the estate (a key part of tree protection), but occasionally keep mature Roe bucks in parts of the forest to discourage high densities of deer as the males protect their territories – a natural form of deer management. He didn’t think that Lynx (if they were ever to be reintroduced) would have a significant impact on deer numbers. A few of the gamekeepers explained how venison is such a sustainable, high quality meat, being a by-product of essential management – it would be ideal if it had a larger market.
Eric the ranger reflects on estate tourism by asking how good a time did the visitors have, but how bad a time did the environment have? They try to encourage visitors to disperse across the estate to reduce impacts and have positive communication with them to promote responsibility.
Looking across the forest of Glen Tanar
The Kinveachy Estate contains 23,000ha of moorland, forestry, farming, shooting and fishing with SSSI woodland. The land was designated a SAC for Capercaillie and Crested tit, which meant that deer numbers needed to be reduced to prevent overgrazing. Once, the deer density was 40 per km2! Now, the aim is for 3-5 deer per km2. Instead of fencing to protect regenerating saplings, only deer control is used, which culls but also moves the deer around the landscape, mimicking the actions of apex predators. This is preferable to fencing which can be detrimental to Capercaillie, as they can accidentally fly into deer fences. The deer control has had the desired effect, with browsing being reduced by up to 80% and lots of saplings visibly establishing.
Mature Scots pines with regenerating saplings amongst the heather
To restore the woodland, over the years a mixture of planting and regeneration have been implemented, with naturally grown seedlings smaller than their planted relatives. This may be a result of planted seedlings having a more established root system, although both have their value, creating a more varied age and physical structure, as well as increased genetic diversity. The estate managers explained that this is ecological restoration, but also a long-term resource for future generations. Some of the trees could one day be timber, biomass or even replacements for plastic or glass.
The benefits of well-managed grazing are well appreciated here. In the valley, without grazers, the grassland became long and tussocky, with a thick thatch. This prevented waders like Lapwing and Curlew from being able to feed. Reintroduction of cattle restored the habitat, opening up the dense sward and dropping dung, allowing the birds to reach the soil for their invertebrate food. With cattle once again present, they had record wader counts. Cattle can be fantastic ecosystem engineers, positively impacting on a multitude of species – their presence can not only restore habitats, but like the deer, provide a source of high-quality food for local people.
Unimproved grasslands filled with tussocky grass host Lapwings and Curlews at Kinveachy
On the grouse moors here, Golden eagles can thrive, with up to 60% of their diet comprising of Red grouse. Rather than demonising them, the estate acknowledges that having one pair with a territory keeps other eagles away, reducing potential conflicts. Here, they are proud of their breeding populations of raptors, with White-tailed eagles, Golden eagles, Peregrine falcon, Goshawk, Raven, Kestrel, Hobby, Osprey and owls. They have even donated Osprey and White-tailed eagles to the south of England for reintroduction projects. Engagement is important for them, so they maintain good communication with the local community.
Eagle nests in the trees of Kinveachy
At Kinveachy, the keepers carry out predator control of species such as Foxes and Hooded crows to protect Capercaillie and other ground nesting birds. However, problems can arise when protected species predate on other protected species, such as Badgers and Pine martens targeting Capercaillie, which are still declining despite best management efforts. Spillover of predators can also occur if neighbouring estates take no management action. Cathy from GWCT accompanied us at Kinveachy and explained that this continual predator control is important in key seasons such as spring: breeding success of waders can increase 3 to 4 times.
Kinveachy’s keeper Ewan said: ‘There’ll be a beautiful woodland with no wildlife in it if we can’t control the balance…If we don’t manage this synthetic man-made environment, we’ll have a lot less species.’
A beautiful view of Black Grouse on our last day
Alladale Wilderness Reserve was certainly the most remote estate we visited, being well known for its ambitious reintroduction of lost species such as wild boar, bison and moose. However, due to being classed as dangerous animals, these species were required to be in fenced enclosures. This created conflicts with the rights to roam as the enclosures couldn’t be large enough without impeding access. This was not the vision of wild and free animals the owner, Paul Lister had originally intended, so these animals were rehomed.
Alladale Wilderness Reserve
Today the estate focuses on landscape-scale restoration, with this conservation work funded by hospitality and tourism. Red squirrels were reintroduced with the help of Roy Dennis, peatlands are being restored, as are the moorlands, with cattle helping to shape the habitats. Due to a lack of natural seed sources, trees need to be introduced by planting, but Inis recognised that nature restoration takes lifetimes. It was disappointing that original plans for large native mammal reintroduction had been scuppered, but I hope the trend will go in the right direction as we see Beavers and other species expand their ranges once more. If we can’t return Lynx, Moose and more to the middle of nowhere, where can we have them?
Red squirrels have been one of the species to benefit from reintroduction to various locations
Tourism is an important element of many of the places we visited – the Scottish landscape and its wildlife attracts millions of visitors each year. However, tourism and access to land has its own challenges, as Laura McNally, Manager of Loch Insh explained. Although extremely important for the local economy and visitor’s mental and physical wellbeing, tourism can cause a multitude of problems. Litter, fires, vandalism, even dog and human faeces by visitors are damaging our national parks. Signage is used to steer visitors away from SSSI’s and towards less sensitive areas – often called honeypots. Laura thinks that the right to roam in Scotland can be problematic and that the right of access is based on responsibility but is often misunderstood. The environmental needs of our parks and landscapes should be respected, with restrictions of certain activities in the most sensitive locations, for example in prime Capercaillie habitat. Laura explained that ultimately, what is needed is education and a shift in culture to change behaviours so that our interactions with nature have the least damaging footprint.
Snow bunting
Trying to find the balance between people, values and politics is Ben Ross from Naturescot who discussed his role on developing plans for nature recovery. He explained that any plans to increase the amount of protected areas should be careful not to exclude people from the land – we need integrated land uses, such as keeping people in the countryside producing food and nurturing wildlife at the same time. As most people are urban dwellers, the importance of nature on people’s doorsteps is vital for our connections to nature. If people know and care about nature, they should be able to make some noise and influence decision-makers. The presence of natural green spaces in and around urban areas can play a huge role in rewilding our environment and people, and is something we should have more of.
The Cairngorms
Throughout the trip, we saw and heard a range of viewpoints and attitudes towards rewilding and land management. The word rewilding is contentious at Kinveachy: they would rather it be known as land management, and Mark from Cairngorms Connect thought that it shouldn’t be called rewilding as it can be associated with de-peopling. However, Roy Dennis thinks that we must have ‘bold and broad visions’ if we truly want to drive ecological restoration, which is in his mind another term for rewilding.
Whilst those at either end of the rewilding spectrum may have different visions for our future landscapes, there are many subtle shades between the extremes. Couldn’t rewilding mean bringing back wildflowers as well as reintroducing large species? What is clear is that we need to take an active role in managing the land, in shaping habitats, even in making the decision to loosen our grip a little in some places – but nature recovery most certainly has people in the picture.
There are many things those on both sides of the debate can agree on and finding the middle ground could be a way forward. Ed the Knapdale ranger said that with species reintroductions, often it’s only the most extreme viewpoints that are heard and we need to consider middle ground attitudes more. Inis, the wildlife manager at Alladale thinks we need to reconcile the difference between rewilders/conservationists and more traditional mindsets as both ultimately ‘want wildlife and nice landscapes.’
Siskin
A fascinating, inspiring and wildlife-filled trip left me with so much to think about, but with a greater motivation to get out and do some positive work in the world of conservation!
Bottlenose dolphin at Chanonry point
A big thankyou to everyone who met with us throughout the trip and to Dave Hodgson and Stuart Bearhop for leading the field course.
This summer I spent time in the rainforest, amongst vineyards of the Mediterranean, in the South African Fynbos and on the American prairies. I was at the Eden Project.
American prairie in front of Eden’s rainforest biome
Hidden away in its own man-made valley, you wouldn’t know anything was there until you step out of the entrance and see the Eden Project’s biomes in all their glory, framed by layers of colour and greenery zigzagging to the bottom. The range and multitude of plants growing at the Eden Project in astonishing. Species from all over the world in one place. Fantastic and bizarre flowers of every colour, leaves the size of hammocks, richly-scented fruits, tree trunks reaching to the top of the domes. The only thing missing from the biomes were the animals; the birds, insects and mammals flitting and swooping through the trees and feeding on flowers and fruits.
Waterfall and blue ginger
An interactive lesson in biology and ecology, there was so much to see and learn about. From the earliest and most enduring photosynthetic beings (phytoplankton) to the complex and diverse world of angiosperms (flowering plants) – their very existence can seem almost miraculous. The forms that flowers have evolved can tell a tale about their pollination. The elongated trumpets of the tobacco flower relies on long-tongued moths to spread pollen and the titan arum attracts pollinating flies and dung beetles by emitting the strong odour of a rotting corpse. One flower that caught my eye in the rainforest biome was the stunning Coral hibiscus with elegant drooping stamens – pollinated by birds and butterflies whose long wings brush against the pollen.
Hibiscus schizopetalus is native to the Eastern African tropics
The Eden Project’s seed sculpture is skilfully made and is a perfect symbol of the purpose and realisation of the eco-endeavour. Placed on site in Bodelva, the project has flourished and bloomed around it, transforming from a barren scar in the land to a verdant green paradise. Filled to the brim with exotic plants, luckily the beauty of our own native flowers has not been forgotten; the Cornish garden showcased gorse, heather and purple loosestrife.
Eden’s seed sculpture
Plants perhaps get less attention from us than they deserve. Even amongst nature lovers, the names of plants growing right outside their doors can sometimes elude them. I remember when as a child I didn’t know the names of trees or flowers…unless perhaps a horse chestnut tree when the conkers appeared! They were features of the natural world that I wasn’t yet on first-name terms with. But when I started to actually open my eyes and look properly, a whole world was revealed. Careful observation led to accumulating knowledge: identifying a plant a day was how I started. Later, a botany module for my BSc in Land Management involved creating a herbarium of British trees and plants. It is like understanding a special language to tell someone the name of a plant and a little bit about its properties.
Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)
Plants are the foundation that so much in the natural world rests upon – in alliance with the kingdom of fungi. Knowing which plant species an animal relies upon is essential for conservation: the common blue butterfly needs bird’s-foot trefoil to lay its eggs on, the hazel dormouse needs honeysuckle bark to weave its nest and the oak tree can exclusively support 320 species!
Honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum)
During my visit to the Eden Project I saw in-person some tropical species I had been researching for a Terrestrial Biodiversity assignment. I had chosen to focus on plants as almost everybody picks animal species or wider ecosystem issues to talk about. Here are some of the themes I explored with some of the species I have now met in all their green goodness!
Corkwood (Musanga cecropioides) a pioneer species that can help regenerate the rainforest
Plants and us – how plants of the Amazon are intertwined with people and hold the key to saving the rainforest.
It is difficult to imagine a life without plants, especially trees. They provide our oxygen, fibres, building materials, fuel and even artistic inspiration. For indigenous people who live so closely to the land, trees and plants are the foundation of ecosystems, for food and medicine. The Earth’s largest rainforest, the Amazon, is a fountain of diversity, containing 16,000 species of tree. We often hear of the damage and destruction being wreaked upon the rainforest, but rarely that to preserve the rainforest, the people that live there can hold the keys to achieve this.
Medicinal plants that we have harnessed for our own use – Madagascan periwinkle has properties that can treat cancer
The people and the trees of the Amazon rainforest are intimately connected: 46% of Amazonia is covered by protected areas and territories of indigenous people. People have been influencing the Amazon for thousands of years – some previously considered ‘pristine’ forests are actually cultural landscapes where shifting small-scale agriculture has been practised sustainably in forest clearings. Many biodiverse areas with high endemism remain unprotected; however, even protected areas are still threatened by agribusinesses seeking to erode these defences.
I believe that by harnessing the power of trees, there could be the potential to protect and restore the Amazon rainforest through using innovative restoration techniques and reconnecting with traditional practices. After protection, forest restoration and agroforestry are priority conservation approaches.
Small-scale farming has been practised for thousands of years in the Amazon, with native species such as cacao being grown with other plants such as avocado, citrus and plantains in an agrobiodiverse system that is considered a type of forest restoration. Cacao (from which chocolate is made) is adapted to semi-shade conditions in the forest understorey. As well as producing higher quality cocoa beans, agroforestry with shade-grown cacao increases biodiversity, results in more organic soil material and reduced erosion, and lessens reliance on chemicals. 80% of global cacao is grown on family farms: small growers are actually more efficient and produce more pods per hectare than big corporate growers. Buying premium quality chocolate is one way to help prevent the forest being cleared for monocultures and promotes a diverse system, whilst supporting indigenous farmers.
Cacao tree (Theobroma cacao) with flowers and pods
Secondary forests are another restoration approach. Rainforest establishment can struggle in the absence of seed dispersers and can take a long time, lacking the full assemblage of species. Keystone species have great potential for boosting biodiversity, with figs being an excellent example. Fig trees provide a year-round supply of food for a variety of species and are the most important plants for frugivores in the tropics. Because of their abundant fruit, they are hotspots of seed dispersal. Strangler figs can help kick-start forest recovery due to their ease of propagation. Studies have found that cuttings of fig tree branches can easily take root and readily produce fruit in under two years. Speeding up the process of forest restoration, figs can create favourable structural and microclimatic conditions, aiding establishment of other forest plants around them. This method could be a quick and effective way to facilitate the recovery of the rainforest.
The Asian Roxburgh Fig (Ficus auriculata), with sweet smelling fruits in the rainforest biome
Another approach to justify long-term protection is to use the power of the connection between people and the rainforest: the long history of stewardship of healthy ecosystems has led to many indigenous sites being protected today. Sacred Natural Sites are a type of protection that can be considered as some of the oldest conservation areas in the world.
A Chief of the Cofán Nation, Ecuador has said:
‘Our most sacred site is our land, it is about the complete environment rich in spirituality. It is the stewardship of rivers, trees and animals… it is a world where we are part of the whole‘
The spirit of Colita de Gavilan – a healing plant
One of the tallest trees in the Amazon is the Kapok, growing up to 70m tall. In many places, the Kapok is deeply rooted in spirituality. In Suriname, traditional beliefs have held the tree to be sacred and to possess magical properties: known as the ‘God of the Forest’, it is considered bad luck to fell them and tribes would also bury their chiefs under a special Kapok tree. The Sani Kichwa people of Ecuador hold the Kapok in special regard, claiming that the tree contains a lot of knowledge and is the father of all animals and in Peru it is known as the ‘Mother of the Forest’. There is good reason for such reverence, as the Kapok is an island of biodiversity, providing flowers and fruits, with 200 tree species growing beneath its canopy. One sloth can even spend its entire lifetime in a single Kapok tree.
Young Kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra) at the Eden Project
Protecting trees as part of sacred forests could retain important cultural values and preserve wildlife at the same time. However, more recognition is needed for sacred sites and indigenous-owned sites as part of formal protected areas, as land protected by indigenous people can have lower rates of deforestation. In Peru, legal titles of indigenous land reduced deforestation by 75%. These systems aren’t perfect as fires, exploitation and deforestation can still occur in them, but empowering local and indigenous people to protect their rightfully-owned land is a positive move. Could the revered status of the Kapok tree contribute towards protecting greater tracts of rainforest?
Leaf of the Bo tree (Ficus religiosa) which is sacred to Buddhists and Hindus
At the end of my visit, I was aware of how much plants contributed to my everyday life – the clothes I was wearing, the paper of my notebook, the scent of my perfume and the ingredients in my burrito! I believe that in the UK we should hold greater reverence towards our special plant species. The oak tree occupies a special place in our history and our hearts and was seen as sacred by the ancient Druids. Perhaps if oaks were even more highly regarded, they could be protected to an even greater degree and we wouldn’t see them lost unnecessarily to development.
Looking out over my carefully stewarded meadow, having just completed a bee survey, I was pretty pleased with the results. The sweet scent of fragrant white clover floated in the air alongside the drowsy hum of hundreds of bumblebees foraging on the sweet nectar. Grassland-specialist butterflies were having a good summer: multiple meadow browns, ringlets, skippers and common blues dancing over the grass.
Then a visitor walking by made a comment that it was a shame it wasn’t the way it used to be. She said she remembered when the meadows of her childhood would really buzz with bees, there would be clouds of insects struck up from every footfall and how we had lost so much. I had just been appreciating what I thought was insect life in abundance; a meadow, not perfect, but recording high numbers of pollinators that had increased year on year.
Bumblebee feeding on common ragwort in the meadows
This was an example of shifting baselines. What I had thought was a pretty good habitat was just a shadow of what our local countryside used to be. Yes, lots of insects were thriving here on the Local Nature Reserve, but beyond? Digging out some old maps of the area from 1838 revealed the scale of loss. Field after field of little land parcels all jumbled together into a tapestry of grasses, herbs and hedges spoke of the pastoral history of this part of southern Leicestershire. It’s difficult to comprehend how the vastness of a traditionally farmed landscape would have maintained an incredible abundance of wildflowers, birds and insects compared to what we see today. Bit by bit, the spreading stain of urbanisation swallowed up almost every part of the map, transforming a rural farming landscape into an urban one. Clinging to the edge, my meadow refuge in Brocks Hill Country Park (from the fields named ‘Broxhill’ on the old map) still retains fragments of the wildlife lost over the wider area.
Map of the expanse of pasture and meadowland in Oadby, Leicestershire from 1838
This summer I have been carrying out botanical surveys on Braunton Burrows in North Devon. The site is a treasure trove of wildflowers, with over 600 species on record – I have been discovering plants I have never seen before quite frequently. The former site warden, John Breeds has told me how different the area used to look in the 1960’s and ’70’s. Instead of patchy scrub, he said the dunes were entirely covered in low herb-rich rabbit grazed grassland, with flowers that have since disappeared. Those who have known the burrows well over the years lament the decline in rabbit numbers and subsequent scrub invasion. Current and future conservation work must be dependent on their baselines to inform the appropriate habitat condition to aim for, but I do wonder what the burrows looked like 100 years ago, or even 1,000?!
Colourful rabbit grazed turf on Braunton Burrows
On the Burrows, I have often been distracted by a multitude of caterpillars, grasshoppers, ants, butterflies and other insects whilst noting down plants for my surveys. Some of these insect species are present in numbers much greater than in the wider countryside. For example, the garden tiger moth has suffered huge declines across the UK, but here on the Burrows, it has a refuge.
Garden Tiger moth caterpillar
These ‘woolly bears’ are one of the favourite foods of the cuckoo, but I haven’t heard a single cuckoo this spring. Distribution maps from the 1970’s show that cuckoos were found in almost every part of Devon (1). Now they are concentrated mainly on Dartmoor, holding on in countryside that has enough grassland and heathland cover to suit its needs. Are the Burrows, at around 1,000 hectares, just too small to conserve this species?
Garden Tiger moth adult
Reading the excellent book Rebirding by Benedict Macdonald, he illustrates how the scale of the landscape required by many of our iconic bird species must be extensive. The number of insects a cuckoo needs to fuel itself before and after migration, to feed and breed is enormous. The landscape filled with suitable plants for these insects to feed on must also be vast. Is this my generation’s baseline? We won’t remember cuckoos filling every corner of the county, so we won’t expect them to. We might just shrug and forget they were ever formerly distributed so widely and not bother trying to tailor more sympathetic land management for them. I believe that one of the most important things to do when approaching conservation is to open the history books and learn from the past.
When my mother was a child she remembered feeding the sparrows and pigeons that flocked in London’s Trafalgar Square. When I was younger I was surrounded by hundreds of pigeons as I fed them cups of bird seed in Trafalgar Square. Admittedly I bought two cups brimming with seed and promptly dropped both on the ground, causing a swarm of peckish birds to flock around me – I still remember the sensation of being in the middle of a throng of pigeons. Feathery chaos. I loved it. Since the early 2000’s, feeding the Trafalgar pigeons was discouraged and bird seed sellers went out of business, even though the pigeons had been flocking to this spot since Victorian times. Although some people might be glad at the reduction in pigeon droppings, contact with nature, especially in urban environments where it can be scarce can foster an appreciation and love of the natural world from an early age.
House sparrows have declined by 65% and starlings by 82% since 1970 (2). Both are on the Red List, meaning they are species with the greatest conservation concern. How did birds that were once so common see such huge declines? Habitat degradation and loss, pesticides, intensive farming practices, lack of insect food and difficulty finding suitable nesting sites are all contributing factors.
My new bird box being claimed by a House Sparrow
Since moving to a small coastal town last year I have been treasuring the presence of the small, local flocks of starlings and house sparrows, aware that they have declined, but not able to imagine their former abundance. The cheerful cheeping of the sparrows in the bushes and the starlings swirling low over the beach in a winter murmuration are things that we absolutely should not lose. I put up a starling nest box on my house earlier in the year, which was promptly colonised by house sparrows… I think I might need to put up a couple more! Installing a nest box is something so simple but effective and can help in some small way towards securing a future for our local birds. Small and large-scale conservation measures are what’s needed to restore species throughout their historical ranges and distribution. Targeted efforts on the ground, education and engagement are now so necessary to shift those baselines back in the opposite direction. We’ve shown it can be done with red kites, beavers and white tailed eagles in this country – that it is entirely possible to leave the natural world richer than how we found it. I hope this trend can continue into the future.
On the Taw and Torridge Estuary in North Devon where I live, the swirling clouds of muddy water flow towards the sea in winter. A sheltered estuary, with mudflats and salt marsh providing important feeding areas for a multitude of wading birds, the two rivers meet and head out to the Atlantic, flanked by the beaches of Saunton Sands and Northam. Since learning more about the many impacts humans have had on the environment, stretching much farther back in time than I had first envisaged, I wonder if the landscapes I’m looking at are completely ‘natural’ or a shadow of their former selves?
View from the Taw Torridge Estuary out to sea
The opening lines of Westward Ho! By Charles Kingsley, written in 1855, describe:
‘The little white town of Bideford, which slopes upwards from its broad tide-river paved with yellow sands and many-arched old bridge where salmon wait for autumn floods towards the pleasant upland on the west’
This sparked my interest, as I had previously associated salmon with the wilds of Alaska or Scottish rivers and having arrived on the estuary in autumn, I saw no evidence of masses of fish heading upriver to spawn. Henry Williamson, author of Tarka the Otter, also wrote Salar the Salmon, set in 1935 and concerning the adventures of a salmon through the very rivers and tributaries on my doorstep. A keen fisherman and observer, Williamson wrote of springtime:
‘In all the pure rivers of Great Britain, the young salmon are dropping down to the ocean. The symbol of baptism, of rebirth, was anciently a fish; and the noblest of fish is the salmon. Yet pollution has despoiled many of our rivers. In some, inanimate sludge has taken the life out of the water – the oxygen – without which plants cannot grow, mayflies arise, or fish breathe…’ (1)
An unspoiled river heading towards Bucks Mills
Atlantic salmon have suffered dramatic declines in recent decades, but also over the last few hundred years as the effects of large-scale land conversion to agriculture, river modifications, deforestation and pollution have threatened their aquatic environment. A 2017 survey of the Torridge river catchment found salmon fry numbers approaching normal (2), however, the baseline of ‘normal’ may require a more historical perspective. For each generation it is becoming harder to judge what is normal as each generation accepts a degraded and impoverished state of nature to be natural. The term ‘shifting baselines’ accurately describes this predicament.
‘Years ago I caught 300 salmon, but many, many tides ago that was… there were 36 netsmen catching salmon on this river, but now there’s only 3 licences left’ Stephen Taylor, fisherman on the Taw-Torridge rivers (3).
Worldwide, migratory freshwater fish have suffered declines of 76% in the past 50 years (4). However, from as early as the 11th century, detrimental effects were being felt by fish inhabiting the waterways of Britain. Increasing human populations were having noticeable effects on the environment; expanding agriculture and the creation of dams for mills led to degradation of waterways through siltation. In combination with ever more intense fishing pressure, freshwater fish declined, forcing a shift in the medieval diet towards marine fish (5).
It’s astounding to discover the magnitude of impacts humans were having hundreds of years ago, and frustrating that we have not yet remedied the situation. There are plans across the country to improve the water quality and physical characteristics of rivers to provide favourable conditions once again for salmon. In the southwest, the River Camel in Cornwall has been the focus of restoration efforts involving removing barriers such as old concrete weirs, reprofiling riverbanks to reduce erosion and working in the catchment to reduce pollution from sewage and agricultural run-off (6). This project restores the ability of the river to flow naturally and will hopefully provide more suitable habitat for salmon swimming upstream to spawn. Perhaps this will be repeated across other important rivers, including the Taw and Torridge. Whilst restoring salmon populations is a worthy objective in its own right, it is still somewhat sobering to think of the species that thrived with the salmon hundreds and thousands of years ago. Once there would have been bears in the UK feasting at spawning time, alongside wolves and even white-tailed sea eagles… imagine that!
Taw Torridge Estuary with golden plover and other wading birds in winter
Along the same stretch of my part of the estuary, I scramble over rocks encrusted in barnacles and deep inky-blue mussels at low tide. Occasionally I find an oyster and again that gets me thinking about the present and historic condition of where I’m standing. Oysters are ecosystem engineers, able to shape the landscape by creating habitats for other species and providing excellent water filtration services. They can reduce nitrogen levels, improving water quality and provide important nursery grounds for young fish (7). Oysters have been present around Britain since the prehistoric period, being a part of the diet of Neolithic humans foraging by the sea. Oyster beds used to cover a much larger proportion of our coastline, with records of an oyster bed the size of Wales off the North Sea coast in 1883 (8). In the 13th century, the Firth of Forth had oyster beds six miles wide, with 6,000 oysters being caught a day by the 1830’s. The abundance of British oysters was such that in 1864, 700 million of them were eaten in London. However, worldwide 85% of oyster beds have become functionally extinct and 95% have been lost in the UK (7,9). Today, former oyster beds have been replaced by oyster farms in places such as Porlock Bay, Exmoor.
Oyster on the rocks at Appledore
On my part of the estuary, oysters were abundant in the medieval period, discovered in an 11th/12th century midden at Braunton Burrows (10). Amongst other shells discarded in the midden, oysters were the most numerous, which raises questions about the estuarine environment back then. Oysters are able to settle on a range of substrates including sand, gravel and rocks, but prefer other oyster shells; in this way a reef is formed. As oyster reefs that formed over hundreds and thousands of years are destroyed, it is a less desirable environment for larval oysters to settle in and become established.
Oyster beds during the 19th Century (Olsen, 1883) (11)
The scarcity of oysters on the estuary today must be a shadow of former thriving oyster beds in the estuary. At present, there are a number of areas where wild mussels are harvested, but in terms of oyster production, there is just one oyster farm, where they are grown on racks, although these are the Pacific species not our native European oyster, Ostrea edulis. Wouldn’t it be a good idea to restore our native oyster beds for wildlife as well as a wild harvest? The UK imports between 292-450 tonnes of oysters per year, although we also export over 1,000 tonnes of home-grown oysters each year (12). What if we encouraged consumption of locally grown, sustainably sourced oysters with fewer food miles? There have been a range of oyster bed restoration attempts, with varying success: techniques involved providing shell substratum, introducing adults and spat, but these projects have experienced problems including sedimentation, parasites and diseases resulting in mortality (11). It appears difficult to re-establish oyster beds with long-term viability: their vulnerability could be exacerbated due to the drastic changes in the marine environment, requiring broader catchment-scale approaches that tackle the problems of water quality and siltation.
It is of vital importance that we understand the historic ecology of an area to inform current attitudes and future aspirations. I believe that if we just settle for the present state of the environment, in ignorance of what came before, we risk further impoverishing our precious ecosystems. Some habitats may already have reached a point of no return, but for others, ambitious protection and restoration are conservation approaches that can make a real difference.
…In the second part of Shifting Baselines I will explore themes relating to the terrestrial environment… stay tuned!
Four years ago I took on the role of Park Ranger at Brocks Hill Country Park in Oadby, Leicestershire. 67 acres of land located on the urban fringe of the town, the park is an important green wedge sandwiched by urban development and intensive agriculture. The park had a devoted team of volunteers, but the absence of a ranger when I started had left the area covered in an air of neglect, with uncut meadows, overgrown woodlands and ponds covered in reeds. The habitats were in need of extensive management to fulfil their potential.
First designed and created as a ‘Millennium Park’, Brocks Hill was intended to allow nature to flourish and provide a green haven for locals. Formerly a farm, much of the land had suffered from post-war agricultural improvements, having once been rich in farmland wildlife, as much of the surrounding countryside would also have been. From the year 2000, habitat creation and enhancement at Brocks Hill included new woodland planting, hedgelaying, wildflower meadow seeding and new ponds being dug.
The frontage of Brocks Hill before and after some TLC
Throughout the past two decades, it became apparent that a country park of this size required a great deal of active management, with some habitats needing more than others. Sometimes the tasks became too extensive and fell by the wayside. Whilst allowing natural processes to shape the landscape is an appealing prospect, this has to be viewed with a historical perspective. As well as abiotic factors, such as storms and floods, our countryside was once home to an amazing variety of large mammals that engineered habitats, such as aurochs, bison, wild boar and deer. These species would have maintained open grassland and scrub habitats, in the same way that we see reintroduced beavers creating open wetlands and ponds today.
The meadows at Brocks Hill are one of the most important habitats not just in the park itself, but in the locality. With wildflower meadows experiencing a 97% decline across the UK since the 1930’s, every little patch is important. Much of Leicestershire was once covered in species-rich pasture and meadow, so maintaining diverse grasslands at the country park is vital to keep this habitat and the wildlife that relies on it alive.
One of the wildflower meadows at Brocks Hill
Meadows, large and small are scattered around Brocks Hill and the key to their continued existence is an annual hay cut. Cutting and removing the hay is a vital management technique to prevent nutrient enrichment and to allow the delicate herbs and grasses enough space to grow the next year without being smothered by competitive coarse grasses. Fostering a good relationship with the local farmer was key to ensuring the hay cut could go ahead. With all the machinery needed to get the job done and an efficient team, I managed to make a suitable arrangement with the farmer to ensure the grass was cut and removed at the end of summer.
Grange Meadow after a few years of appropriate meadow management
However, preparing the meadows for their cut became a challenge as some fields had ragwort spreading across them – something that couldn’t be touched by the machinery. Despite being poisonous to livestock, ragwort is a fantastic plant in its own right, supporting over 200 species of invertebrate that feed on it. Because of its wildlife value, I made sure that ragwort was retained in other areas, whilst focusing on removing it from the meadows. Many hours of hard work each summer resulted in successful hay cuts, although one year the task became too much. I had to think creatively as to how we could still maintain one particular field as a meadow whilst also being able to tackle its proliferation of ragwort. Luckily, a budget for special projects allowed for a win-win solution. The 1ha of field that was too problematic and filled with coarse grasses and weeds could be enhanced into a flower-rich wildflower meadow – Brocks Meadow.
Brocks Meadow before and after
With the help of the local farmer, the 1ha of field was deep ploughed, harrowed and sown with a varied species mix suitable for heavy clay soils in autumn, 2018. Many people see species such as poppies, cornflower and corn marigold sown from a packet and think ‘wildflower meadow’. Beautiful as they are, these are actually annual arable ‘weeds’ that once grew alongside wheat and barley crops and can only thrive in disturbed soil. Perennial meadow plants establish and grow again and again, knitting into a tapestry of leaves and flowers that actually thrives from the process of being cut. After establishing a yearly schedule of late summer hay cutting, the large meadows at Brocks Hill improved in their floral diversity.
The year after sowing, the new meadow was taking shape with over 65 plants counted and a select number of species becoming dominant. In 2020, after establishing their leaves the year before, those plants flowered in full. It was quite a spectacle in early summer when the oxeye daisies carpeted the meadow like snow, with lots of visitors remarking on the breath-taking beauty of so many flowers. Later, red clover, tufted vetch, field scabious and meadow vetchling painted the sward with their colours and were alive with insects.
Two years after sowing, Brocks Meadow contained a variety of beautiful flowers
The success of the meadow creation and management at Brocks Hill was a key reason for the site being awarded Bees’ Needs Awards by DEFRA and Keep Britain Tidy in 2018 and 2019. I was very excited to go to London on both occasions to receive the awards, the first time to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the second to the Wax Chandlers Guild Hall. Building on these achievements, I worked on a proposal to designate the country park as a Local Nature Reserve. This was approved by the council and in 2019, Brocks Hill became a LNR, due to its importance for biodiversity, education and recreation for the local community.
Receiving Brocks Hill’s Bees’ Needs Award at Kew Gardens in 2018
The biggest, most urgent task at the park was to tackle the young, planted woodlands. Woodland covers just 4% of Leicestershire, with tree cover much lower in the southern parts of the county. The addition of new woodlands at Brocks Hill was a valuable contribution to the locality, but follow-up management is an important aspect to consider.
Small areas had previously been lightly thinned, but the majority of the woodland blocks were a densely spaced tangle of branches, with no light reaching through the canopy. Today, woodland planting often seems unable to break free from the commercial forestry mindset, where trees would be planted very closely, to grow straight for timber. Trees planted for amenity and wildlife purposes do not need to be crowded in at less than 2m apart, unless there are extensive resources available for appropriate thinning for the next few decades. This is rarely the case, and some trees cannot grow to their full potential if not planted with sufficient space. Just stand underneath a mature oak tree and measure its spreading branches… twenty, thirty metres across the canopy, bathing in the sunlight… this is how oak trees are supposed to grow!
An amazing ancient oak over 400 years old at Bradgate Park, Leicestershire
Thinning commenced and continued throughout the winter months, with me and two other chainsaw operators from the Grounds Maintenance team felling trees. When making the tough decision to mark up the trees to fell, you have to view the wood differently. You need to look at the best trees and visualise how to give them space through the removal of adjacent trees. Making this more problematic were the pests and diseases that have become commonplace throughout the country.
Damage from grey squirrels and ash dieback meant that some trees had to be felled for safety reasons and others were dead or dying. Despite being cute and fluffy, the abundance of squirrels at Brocks Hill meant that they could quickly overwhelm the young trees through stripping bark from the branches and trunks. Once ring barked, the vital cambium layer of the tree is severed and the branch or tree can die. Whilst not an easy problem to overcome, taking measures to promote biodiversity offers a partial solution. Trees such as oak, aspen and willow are particularly vulnerable to squirrel attack, but cherry, lime and crab apple much less so. Maintaining a diverse mix of trees in a woodland can help in the face of numerous threats, as some will always survive.
Brocks Hill woodland blocks beforeBrocks Hill woodlands after thinning
At Brocks Hill there are a few mature trees that have stood since the site was farmland. Some of these grand trees had been swallowed up by the new tree planting and were suffering. Unable to compete with the young, fast growing saplings, they were being starved of light – one of the most important factors dictating plant growth. Halo thinning is a technique that removes a ring of trees around a mature or veteran specimen, giving them the space and light they require. This was successfully carried out on a few trees at the park, most notably the old hollow ash tree.
The old ash tree at Brocks Hill, now able to bathe in sunlight after having been crowded by young trees
Thinning trees is one method of woodland management, but once that had been carried out, what then? As the woodland blocks were newly planted onto former pastureland, they were a wood in name, but not in nature. In the soil (one of the most important parts of the woodland), it was still a grassland, no complex networks of woodland fungi had yet spread, no woodland wildflowers were lying in wait for spring, and no dead wood sat decaying and enriching the ground with recycled nutrients. These elements of a young wood would take a long time to develop, if at all, without a little bit of help.
I set about to introduce three important things to enhance the woodlands of Brocks Hill: a diverse shrub layer, woodland wildflowers and dead wood. After opening up the canopy through thinning, the increased light can reach down to the next level in the woodland – the shrub layer. In some areas, natural regeneration was taking place, but as previously mentioned, diversity is key to resilience, so whips of a variety of species were planted in blocks that had been thinned. One flaw in the woodland planting design for Brocks Hill was that many trees were placed in same species blocks. Underplanting in the ash blocks was especially important, as many of those trees may die from ash dieback. Ensuring that field maple, oak, alder, cherry, beech and others can take their place allows the woodland to continue to thrive.
Naturally regenerating and planted tree species forming a shrub layer, with planted native bluebells
One of the most notable features of an ancient woodland is the rich and varied ground flora. This is a feature lacking from young planted woodlands, and unlikely to arrive without intervention, especially on sites isolated from existing woods. Common species such as cow parsley and garlic mustard grew in some areas of the park, but other than small areas of historical bulb planting, the majority of the woodland blocks had no specialist plants in the ground flora. To remedy this at the park, I sourced native woodland wildflower seeds and bulbs from a company called Naturescape. Seeds were sown on bare patches and bulbs were planted in recently thinned woodland blocks in autumn to allow for better establishment. After a couple of years, the results were pleasing: native English bluebells were popping up alongside the occasional wild daffodil, to be followed by selfheal, hedge bedstraw, nettle-leaved bellflower and red campion. Over time, I hope that these flowers will continue to spread throughout the woodland, so that in the future, it will be a more complete woodland with the valuable element of a diverse ground flora.
Red campion establishing two years after being sown
The last and often overlooked element that is essential to a functioning woodland is the presence of dead and decaying wood. Planting trees and wildflowers are activities that appeal to the public, whereas cutting down trees (when essential for management of a young woodland) and leaving dead wood are not so attractive. When I began managing Brocks Hill, I made sure to inform visitors of the rationale behind thinning and log piles, as some people believed this to be destructive or messy. Utilising the wood after thinning was something I strived to do: logs were used for forest schools, poles for hedgelaying stakes, branches for the popular den building area and brash turned into wood chip. The leftover wood was used to create log piles and dead hedges, introducing dead wood into the woodland blocks. It didn’t take long for these log piles to begin to break down, attracting fruiting fungi, a host of invertebrates, hibernating amphibians and a feeding place for birds and small mammals.
Robin on a log pile at Brocks Hill
Creating diversity and habitat complexity within the woodlands enhances them now and into the future – such an enduring habitat takes over a hundred years to grow and develop, and will thrive with careful and considered management.
Ponds are one of those habitats that would have been kept open by large herbivores, such as beavers. Without management, rushes and reeds smother the surface and then scrub follows, drying them out. The ponds at Brocks Hill were becoming covered in vegetation when I set eyes on them and were in need of a good clear out. Contractors came in to carry out the difficult task of pond clearance, which really made a difference to the amount of open water. Ideally, a balance should be struck between the amount of open water, floating and marginal vegetation, with a third of the pond to contain reeds and rushes to shelter birds such as moorhens and provide perching spots for kingfishers. Ensuring there is a good amount of open water is important for breeding amphibians: frogs, toads and newts all benefit from open, shallow margins for spawning and laying eggs.
A mass of tadpoles in the big pond
It doesn’t take long for vegetation to cover the pond again, with a year’s growth quickly enveloping the open water. Instead of allowing it to become unmanageable, I established a yearly regime of pond clearance, with the help of the trusty volunteers. The small pond could be cleared by hand wearing a pair of waders, whereas the larger pond required a small boat to navigate around in. This turned into an enjoyable yet essential task to maintain the ponds in optimal condition for a range of species.
Small pond before and afterLarge pond before and after
Hedges are a man-made habitat that mimic open grown scrub and tightly browsed shrubs in a wilder landscape. To maintain them in optimal condition, hedges can be laid every 10 years to create a bushy structure that provides ideal habitat for breeding birds and shelter for small mammals. Hawthorn and blackthorn are the most common hedgerow species and when intertwined with bramble and dog rose, can provide a bountiful feast of berries in autumn after the spring and summer blossoms. There are many hedges across the country park that have been laid in the past, but I only had enough time to focus on select areas. During my first few months, I noticed that one of the ponds at the top of the park was barely noticeable, hidden behind a tangle of shrubs and regularly muddied by dogs jumping in and out. Reading through historical documents, I then found out that this pond had been named a Local Wildlife Site for its population of smooth newts. Something needed to be done to protect and enhance the area so that it would provide the best habitat for wildlife.
With the help of a work experience student, we ‘cleaned out’ the line of hawthorn and blackthorn – this is the process of removing certain tangled branches and growth at the base to allow access for laying with a billhook. We then laid the hedge, made and knocked in stakes and filled in gaps with the cut branches to make it dog-proof. The finishing touch is to weave the binders (made from supple hazel branches) along the top of the stakes to secure the new hedge. This solved the problem of reducing the shade over the pond and created a barrier to prevent dogs entering the water and disturbing breeding newts. I followed up this work by adding fencing around the other edges of the pond – as Brocks Hill is a popular site for dog walkers, continual disturbance could affect the newts, especially in the breeding season.
Hedgelaying around the field pond – before and after
That simple task was an effective way to create a new habitat; a thick, bushy hedge, whilst enhancing an existing pond habitat. As a special reward, we were treated to some excellent views of smooth newts swimming in the pond as we were putting the finishing touches to the new hedge. The nearby woodland blocks with their newly created log piles would also provide excellent areas for foraging and hibernating newts. Wildlife is interconnected, existing as a complex network across a range of habitats. By appropriately managing the woodlands, grasslands, hedges and ponds at the park, more species would benefit.
The newly laid hedge the following May
As the weeks passed, I noticed more and more species at the park. I noted down everything I spotted, and as spring arrived, began recording lots of new plant and insect species, especially bees. I looked at the management plan for Brocks Hill and it was outdated, with little reference to plants and animals or any detailed habitat management information. Over the next couple of years I brought the management plan up to date, with a new habitat management programme, a brand new map and an extensive species list. After four years, the final totals of records at Brocks Hill were as follows: 72 bird species, 19 mammal, 22 butterfly, 77 moth, 65 bee and wasp and 221 plant species. These were a combination of new sightings and historical records and show how much wildlife a new country park on the edge of a town can hold.
The new interpretation panels I designed, illustrated and installed in 2020
There will be many more species yet to discover in a park that continues to develop and deserves to thrive with the right management. As my time at Brocks Hill has come to an end, I can look back with pride at these accomplishments, achieved with the help of hard-working volunteers for the benefit of a variety of wildlife. Brocks Hill was created with the motto: ‘to protect the countryside, preserve the local landscape and nurture wildlife’ and I hope that I have helped to ensure that it continues to do just that.
Spring has to be my favourite season. A sudden re-birth, life appearing after the long, drawn-out winter. Spring comes at its own pace, ebbing and flowing like a river. Sometimes it creeps slowly along, in stops and starts, an insect here, a flower there; other times it rushes along at full force, with green shoots exploding from the trees and hedges, birds out singing, colour and life everywhere you look.
This spring started relatively slowly throughout March, but has since arrived spectacularly with a spell of glorious warm, sunny weather. Despite the current unusual situation occurring in human societies, wildlife carries on as normal. There is food to forage, mates to find, nests to build and young to rear. Perhaps many species are experiencing a more peaceful breeding season with the absence of humans in their habitats. I am thankful to live and work in wildlife-rich areas, meaning I can observe many of my favourite spring events.
Blackthorn blossom
The first, most impressive sight of spring is the blackthorn blossom that illuminates overgrown hedges. A mass of tiny, star-shaped flowers, like a billowing white cloud spilling over into the fields. This can be seen when many of the trees are still in their winter dormancy, however, after a spell of warm weather the bare, sleeping branches suddenly burst into a sprinkling of golden-green leaves. If the fine weather holds, leaves can expand and grow in an amazingly short period of time, and before long, the landscape has become lush and green.
Oak trees come into leaf at varying rates
With the onset of spring, woodland flowers start to open on the ground. They are the early-risers of the woodland, benefitting from the increased light levels before the canopy above them closes over as trees come into leaf. Shiny, golden lesser celandines open up on bright days, a reflection of the sun. A constellation of star-shaped white wood anemone carpet the floor and rosettes of primrose and tiny dog violets blend into the streamside banks. Vivid green heart-shaped leaves of wood sorrel cluster at the base of trees and yellow marsh marigolds grow contentedly in the wet, boggy patches of the wood.
Wood anemone, lesser celandine and marsh marigold carpet a coppiced woodland floor
After this beautiful show, the appearance of the bluebells takes centre stage. At first, one or two flowers unfurl, then whole swathes of the woodland floor are coloured an intense purple-blue. Members of the hyacinth family, bluebells have a heady perfume that fills the air on a sunny day. Bluebell sap was once used for binding books – being very sticky and insecticidal, it proved to be an effective glue and preservative. Bluebells are linked with ancient woodlands, particularly found amongst old coppice coupes. This traditional management technique maintained high levels of light to encourage straight growth of stems from hazel stools, which also benefits light demanding woodland species like bluebells. More than half of the world’s bluebells can be found across the UK, so we should celebrate and treasure them.
Bluebells
What is happening below, is happening above, as resident and migrant birds start up the dawn chorus. Birds that are here all year round are well placed to defend their territories and choose a prime spot to proclaim as theirs, whilst a succession of migratory birds, such as the distinctive sounding chiffchaff arrive to stake a claim to their own spot. Song and mistle thrushes call out their repetitive songs from the branches of tall trees, whilst woodpeckers drum on dead branches. Blackcaps reel out scratchy, melodious songs from deep within the scrub and the sound of the tiny wren’s song is startlingly loud for such a small bird. Some places are lucky to hear the increasingly elusive call of the cuckoo, but almost everyone can enjoy the beautiful song of the humble robin.
Mistle thrush in an ash tree
Skylarks rain down their joyful, fluid songs, never stopping to catch their breath, never stopping to rest their wings. A bird’s voice box is called a syrinx, and it enables the bird to continue to sing and breathe at the same time – a skylark for instance can sing uninterrupted for 18 minutes! Even if it is sometimes difficult to pick out or identify the songs and calls of every bird making up the cacophony of the dawn chorus, it is still a joy to hear.
Peacocks feeding on wild cherry blossom
One event that makes the spring is the appearance of pollinators. After the long, cold, windy and wet months of winter, it seems to be a miracle that such small, delicate creatures have survived at all. The overwintering butterflies are the first to brighten the sky in early spring – peacocks, small tortoiseshells, commas and the vivid sulphur yellow of a brimstone. These species will make the most of each sunny day to feed on flowers and find a mate to create the next brood. A sure sign of spring is the flight of an orange tip – their bright orange hue painted on the tips of the male’s wings can’t be found on other butterflies.
Male orange tip butterfly
Hoverflies, bees and bee flies buzz in the warm air; the deep hum of a hefty queen bee is most noticeable of all. Searching for nest sites or foraging on flowers, queen bees are easy to hear and to spot. This April I counted 34 queen bumblebees of various species on my monthly Beewalk survey. Surveying bees is a favourite activity of mine – once a warm spring day arrives, so do a variety of species. Hairy footed flower bees are one of the first to be seen, hovering and darting from flower to flower with lightening speed. Their long tongues mean that they preferentially feed on flowers with long corollas, such as cowslips and lungwort, however they are partial to apple and cherry blossom at this time of year too. Many solitary bee species thrive on the bountiful nectar and pollen provided by cherry, plum and apple trees in spring. Species such as tawny mining bees, ashy mining bees and mason bees have hairy bodies – fruit tree pollen readily sticks to their fur, meaning that they are particularly effective pollinators.
Ashy mining bee on apple blossom
On warm, still spring nights, the bats appear from the ruins of the neighbouring monastery for the first time in the year. Walking out at dusk with my bat detector, I can sometimes hear the bats before I see them, chip-chopping sounds, noises like rapid gunfire and swift buzzes as they echolocate and catch their insect prey. All of this life in the skies reminds me to put out the moth trap one evening to see what’s out and about. Last week I managed to catch over 50 moths of 13 species. Classic spring moths include common quakers, small quakers, twin-spot quakers, clouded drabs, Hebrew characters and early thorns. My favourites from the trap included brindled beauties and a lesser swallow prominent.
Lesser swallow prominent moth
What full spring experience would be complete without a peek into a pond? This is the time of year when ponds and their residents are at their busiest. In November, my volunteers and I don chest-high waders to trudge through the black sludge of the pond bottom. We remove some of the vigorous rushes and reeds that have began to invade the open water in the middle of the pond to make sure that it is in perfect condition for the breeding amphibians in spring. The frogs are the first to arrive, in some places of the UK they will breed at the end of winter; at the ponds in my park, the frogs spawn in early March. Toads come a little later, but for both species it is a flurry of activity and noise over a few days and then all that is left is the spawn, waiting ripe and expectantly.
Frogspawn
The toad spawn I have in a jam jar on the windowsill will be marvelled at in the same way the frog spawn was last year. Sometimes it seems to be like the process of evolution sped up before my eyes: from water dwelling and primitive, to developing limbs, to walking and living on land. The rapid development of one big, black full stop into a tiny swimming tadpole that grows every day is fascinating to watch. Newts are another of my favourite creatures and I was pleased to observe a small number of smooth newts in one of my park’s ponds. The males are more obvious, developing magnificent crests along their back and tails. Their bellies are vivid orange with black spots, each individual possessing it own pattern. Sitting by the pond, I watch them float to the surface for a bubble of air, swimming around the pondweed and chasing tadpoles. A whole ecosystem on a small scale is held within the pond.
I visited the Knepp Estate in West Sussex last July – after reading ‘Wilding’ by Isabella Tree (wife of owner Charlie Burrell); one of the best books I have ever read about conservation. I was keen to visit and experience this exciting and developing landscape, taking part in a rewilding workshop and a bat and moth evening. Described as a journey, rather than a final destination, the rewilding project at Knepp strives to give more space to nature, whilst still running a profitable business through tourism, selling organic, free-range meat and rent of former farm buildings.
The entrance to Knepp Wildland
3,500 acres in size, the Knepp Estate used to be an intensive dairy and arable farm until the year 2000. The low-grade heavy clay soils of the farm meant that it was a struggle to achieve good yields whilst barely making a profit; to maintain the business meant ever more investments and improvements which were simply not sustainable.
The heavy clay soils of Knepp cracked in the summer sun
It became clear to Charlie and Isabella that something had to change. Inspired by tree specialist Ted Green and Frans Vera’s theories on grazing ecology, they visited the Oostvaardersplassen in the Netherlands to observe an ambitious rewilding project, which in turn was inspired by the ecosystems of the African savannah. Fossil evidence reveals that many species of large animals were present in Britain and Europe during the previous interglacial period and it was likely that they shaped the landscape around them before humans took over. ‘Where did all these species so happy in meadows and pastures, coppices and commons, live before we arrived with our oxen and pitchforks, our billhooks, hay carts and flails?’ * Recreating grazing systems that would echo those that once took place across our landscape would surely provide positive benefits for our native wildlife.
Fallow deer at Knepp
In 2002, they sent a letter to Natural England informing them of their desire to establish ‘ a biodiverse wilderness area in the Low Weald of Sussex’. The first part of the project was to re-establish a former area of deer park present on the estate in the 19th Century. Other parts of Knepp became an experiment to sit back and see what would happen to the land once intensive farming ceased. Fields in the Southern Block were gradually taken out of arable production between 2001 and 2006, then left to their own devices with no seeding and no immediate introduction of grazing animals. In the first years of the project, some effects were immediate: ‘The land, released from its cycle of drudgery, seemed to be breathing a sigh of relief… something gentler, more harmonious, seemed to be stirring into life. For the first time, we were doing something with the land, rather than battling against it.’*
Marsh Woundwort
Unlike the management of many nature reserves and SSSI’s, the vision for Knepp was to allow natural processes to lead the way and observe the changes. Charlie explained how rewilding is a spectrum and we can’t attempt to recreate an Arcadia of the past, but must work with what we have now to create a suite of wildlife habitats for the future.
Contrary to the mainstream narrative, Britain was not covered in a continuous wildwood in prehistory, but contained a mixture of open grasslands, wetlands, scrub and woodland. Around 6,000 years ago, approximately one third of the UK would have been covered in closed canopy woodland, with many trees and shrubs present and growing in the open. Hazel is very common in the pollen records and can only flower in the open, indicating the character of our ancestral landscapes. Indeed, the high proportion of tree pollen in the records is most probably a result of open-grown trees that produce far more pollen than if they were growing crowded in dense woodland. Studies show around a third of beetle species in the fossil record are saproxylic beetles that feed on open-grown dead wood and the majority of lichens have evolved to inhabit open situations.
Mature open grown oak trees at Knepp
The grazing animals that ‘manage’ Knepp act as proxies for extinct mammals: Longhorn cattle for aurochs, Tamworth pigs for wild boar and Exmoor ponies for wild horses. Fallow and red deer are also present and are important for browsing and pushing back dense woodland. Large herbivores that have evolved alongside our current suite of native plants include rhinos, hippopotamus and straight-tusked elephants; however attempting to restore these species to the landscape would be far more challenging!
The cattle graze and browse vegetation in a distinctive manner, leaving tufts of grass, pruning shrubs and poaching/trampling the ground. They transfer nutrients through their dung and can transport the seeds of 230 plant species. The Tamworth pigs act as a keystone species, engineering the land to suit turtle doves, emperor butterflies, solitary bees and annual plants through their disturbance and rootling of the soil. Horses also graze in a characteristic way, creating shortly cropped swards with well-frequented dunging areas. The missing pieces of the puzzle include carnivores such as wolves and lynx, which would require a great deal more land and positive public opinion before any possible reintroductions. In the absence of predators, the numbers of grazing animals are controlled through culling, with high quality pasture-fed meat as the end product.
A field in the Southern Block showing disturbance from pigs and browsing by cattle and deer
It took a great deal of courage to not interfere with the processes unfolding before their eyes: initial colonisation of former arable fields by pioneer species such as creeping thistle and ragwort provoked extreme responses from local people. The eruptions of these plants are an inevitable consequence of large swathes of bare ground, but will find an equilibrium with time. Total eradication of these plants would be undesirable as many ‘weed’ species support a wide range of insects – creeping thistle is one of the top five nectar producing plants and ragwort is visited by over 170 pollinating insects.
Cinnabar moth caterpillars on ragwort growing at Knepp
Different areas of the site have evolved and developed in their own way depending on the amount and type of grazing animals and the grazing density. The middle block is heavily grazed with deer and cattle, creating a typical parkland and the southern block is diverse, with each field responding in their own way. Fields that were under identical arable systems in 2006 today look vastly different:
This field has developed as a grassy sward……and this field has developed with plenty of scattered scrub
Grazing animals were introduced into the southern block in 2009, just as scrub and young trees were starting to establish in many places. The herbivores immediately set to work shaping the vegetation. In a natural situation, the period of a few years between the arrival of vegetation and animals would occur as the result of a mass die-off due to disease or drought. I found it particularly interesting how different some of the fields looked considering they ceased being farmed at the same time: it was a perfect demonstration of the various factors controlling the successional processes on the site. As an animal lover, it was pleasing to see cows and especially pigs enjoying such a high-welfare and thoroughly free-range lifestyle, able to behave in as natural a way as possible. Watching a female Tamworth with her piglets sunbathing in the grass nearby was lovely to see.
Tamworth sow behind her sleeping piglets at Knepp
Subsequent appearance of scrubby and thorny growth is perceived by many today to be untidy and neglected, but it appears this is a generational issue. Speaking to grandparents that had experienced the agricultural depression following on from the First World War, the developing landscape of Knepp was familiar to them, recalling vivid memories of the abundance of wildlife they experienced in the habitats back then. Trapped in a Victorian mindset that the countryside should be neat and tidy, we are too quick to destroy scrubby areas, remove dead wood and dying trees and keep grass and hedges trimmed. As a keen naturalist, I could see that the mosaic of habitats at Knepp provide the perfect conditions for so many species. Bramble patches smothered in scented flowers were sprouting amongst grasses and herbs including white clover, marsh woundwort and lots of fleabane: foodplants for many insects. Closely trimmed hawthorn bushes shielded young oaks waiting to become grand ancient trees of the future. Bare ground provided the perfect place for plants to germinate and insects to bask in the sun.
Flowering bramble and white clover provide a feast for bees
As of 2019, Knepp is home to over 3,000 species, 75 of which are nationally scarce. 22 Red List birds have been recorded here and surveys report high numbers of birds: for example, 600 blackcaps were caught and ringed in one week – more than the bird ringer had done in his life! A small number of turtle doves now also frequent Knepp, benefitting from the scrub, weed seeds and wet pasture: having experienced a decline of 96% in the UK, this special bird has found a safe refuge here. Over 11,000 dung beetles were recorded in surveys at Knepp, compared to 500 at an organic farm. Organic matter in the soil has also more than doubled; an indication that it is recovering and improving. On the evening of the bat walk, we recorded soprano and common pipistrelles, noctules and lots of Daubenton’s bats feeding on the abundance of insects – Daubenton’s in particular seemed to be relishing the spectacular amount of midges by the lake. The small things at the bottom of the food chain are so very important.
River running through the estate – hippopotamuses would be quite at home here!
The results of this large-scale land experiment meant that we have had to re-write the rulebook on species once considered to be confined to ancient woodland habitats. Purple emperor butterflies feed only on sallow, which requires bare, moist ground on which to germinate. Leaving some fields unsown allowed natural colonisation of sallow scrub, and once established, it was only a matter of time. June 2017 saw a record-breaking count of 148 purple emperors at Knepp, meaning the site now hosts the largest breeding colony in the country. Our assumption that this butterfly is a strictly ancient woodland species is dictated by the fragments of what remains in our denuded landscape. I managed to get a glimpse of these beautiful butterflies perched territorially atop their favourite oaks on my visit. Although I didn’t get close enough to enjoy their vivid violet colours, I was lucky to find the wing of a purple hairstreak, another butterfly species that can be found in the oak canopy.
Purple hairstreak butterfly wing
Nightingales are also thought of as a woodland bird, but they prefer dense, scrubby habitats. The hedgerows at Knepp had been released from their routine of regular cutting and had billowed outwards, forming thickets of blackthorn. Before the beginning of the project, 9 nightingale territories had been recorded on the estate, but by 2012, 34 were counted, an exciting increase considering this was unintentional. It appears that some species cling on in sub-optimal habitats that we assume to be highly favoured by them, because we have no knowledge of any other situation.
If Charlie and Isabella had set out to increase nightingales and purple emperors, they may have consulted the existing literature on these species and assumed they would have to wait hundreds of years for ancient woodland to develop. Instead, it appears we are keen to compartmentalise species and habitats, when in reality, our native plants and animals have evolved in a much more fluid landscape, occupying a variety of habitats and the spaces inbetween.
Common centaury
Interesting natural process were also observed in the developing southern block. One jay can plant more than 7,500 acorns over a month and at Knepp they discovered that jays preferentially plant acorns next to a sprig of emerging hawthorn or bramble – perhaps as a little landmark to help them remember where it is buried. Oaks do not grow in dense shade but young saplings in the open can easily be eaten; however they can thrive in the protection of enveloping thorny scrub. ‘An old forest proverb – the thorn bush is the mother of the oak’ – Arthur Standish. So important was scrub historically, that a New Forest statute from 1768 punished people for damaging thorny bushes.
The busy, wildlife-rich naturally regenerating areas of scrub and trees is contrasted by an area of young plantation woodland at Knepp. Dark, crowded and foreboding, this ‘woodland’ is an example of a forestry model originating from the 19th century to produce quick growing, straight timber. Within a couple of decades, the trees form a dense canopy if left unthinned, shading out most ground flora and stifling the spreading growth of trees that prefer a more open situation. Soundscapes were recorded across the open, regenerating areas of Knepp, ringing with insects and birdsong; but when the plantation was listened to, all was silent.
Dense shade inside the tree plantation
Knepp have just been granted permission by Natural England to release beavers on their land later this year. Although these native mammals are required to be in a fenced enclosure, they are proficient at engineering the ecosystem, coppicing trees and creating sheltered pools which benefit wildflowers, amphibians, fish and insects. White storks are also in the process of being re-introduced to Knepp – I was lucky enough to spot them circling over their release enclosure on my visit. These beautiful birds should benefit greatly from the restored wetlands and grasslands at Knepp.
White stork at Knepp
Knepp has been full of surprises and is sure to yield ever more exciting results as the years pass. The techniques being utilised here can provide inspiration for other nature conservation projects across the country. Whilst certain habitats are rare, regionally important or under SSSI prescriptions, creating new spaces for wildlife on low grade agricultural land or unproductive areas can be full of potential for imaginative new management methods. Native trees and wildflowers could be introduced to boost establishment, or natural regeneration could be relied upon depending on the seed source of the surrounding area.
Many parts of our country are biologically impoverished, with diverse natural resources scattered in isolated pockets. The vision at Knepp extends far beyond the estate’s boundaries – Charlie and Isabella hope to see the wider landscape reconnected, with habitat features enhanced, wood pastures created and former wetlands re-wetted. This could be a real possibility, if attention and resources are focused in the right places. This could be achieved without sacrificing too much productive land: studies have shown a proven increase in yields on farms that allowed at least 10% of their land to provide space for nature.
Marbled white butterflies
If we are to see the recovery of nature in the UK, it needs to be on a much larger scale: ‘Knepp is an island… powerless, on its own, to save a species on a trajectory to extinction… Compared with Knepp, most of Britain seems like a desert. It brings an aching sadness, a sense of loss and frustration…’* I hope we can capture some of the enterprising and ambitious spirit of Knepp to apply to Britain’s nature conservation in the future. I spent a wonderful weekend exploring the exciting habitats and hope to visit again soon to experience the dawn chorus in all its glory.
* All quotes from ‘Wilding’ by Isabella Tree, 2018.
The hay is cut – a bittersweet moment in the year of the meadow. The thick, tangled sward, the riot of colour from grasses, herbs and rushes all jostling for space suddenly lie flat, to be dried by the summer sun and become sweet hay. The cattle responsible for conservation grazing across Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust’s reserves now have a good store of hay to tide them over throughout the winter months.
After hay cutting at Herbert’s Meadow
This is an important and essential part of meadow management: without cutting or grazing, grasses become overly vigorous and smother the growth of delicate wildflowers. Hay meadows are the ultimate sustainable food source: growing each year with minimum input, they used to be the most important parcels of land on the farm. Consuming meat and dairy products from animals fed on native grasses and herbs (rather than grain) has significant health benefits, with increased omega-3, vitamins A and E and healthy fatty acids which can support the heart and immune system (1). Our modern intensive farming model isn’t good for us, the animals or the environment.
Herbert’s Meadow is one of the best places to see orchids in Leicestershire
The hay in question is from Herbert’s Meadow: a gem of a meadow in Leicestershire, part of the Ulverscroft Valley Site of Special Scientific Interest. At 4 hectares, it is quite small in area, but more than makes up for this with its wealth of biodiversity. It holds the title of being the most species-rich field in Leicestershire. Luckily I live very close by, so have had the chance to visit the meadow on many occasions throughout the year.
Devil’s-bit scabious covers the meadow in late summer
Over winter the meadow can appear to be the same as any old field, but on closer inspection the basal leaves of many different plant species are there, waiting for the turn of the seasons. In June, the first flowers appear and begin to paint the meadow with colour. At this time of year, the grass height is slightly lower, allowing the beautiful orchids to be observed in all their glory.
Hundreds of orchids carpet the meadow: upright spikes of various shades of pink and purple, with a fantastic array of petals patterned with dots, streaks and spots. Common spotted and heath spotted orchids and their hybrids can be seen, with amazing diversity of pattern: I don’t think two orchids look exactly alike. Another speciality on show is the fragrant orchid. These beautiful orchids have bright, shimmering pink flowers, with a rich, sweet scent. The combined elements of the flower’s long spur and its scent increasing in intensity at dusk both indicate the method of pollination: moths! (2).
Fragrant Orchid
The earliest meadow species to flower include quaking grass, red clover, hawkbits, meadow buttercup, yellow rattle, pignut, germander speedwell, ribwort plaintain and crested dog’s tail. Wetter areas of the meadow have patches of bugle, cuckoo flower and ragged robin growing amongst the rushes.
Quaking grass
Traditionally, hay meadows would begin to be cut from mid-June onwards: the herbs and grasses are at their most nutritious when in flower. In today’s landscape, hay meadows are small and fragmented, meaning that the hay cut can result in the sudden disappearance of a vast floral resource. This year, Herbert’s Meadow was cut late in the summer with a wide strip left around the edges; something I’m sure the local pollinators thrived upon. Historically, hay meadows could account for between a quarter and a third of land use on farmland (3). Having lost 97% of our meadows, it is an impoverished landscape that many species struggle to reside in today.
An insect’s eye view of the sward
Later on in June, other plants become more prominent, such as betony, bird’s-foot trefoil, common sorrel and oxeye daisy. Marsh thistle sprouts here and there, an important flower for pollinators to visit, being one of the top nectar-producing plants of all of our wildflowers. The flowers are complemented by the presence of woodland and scrub surrounding the meadow. From a pollinator’s perspective, there are abundant resources throughout the seasons: willow trees for the first nectar and pollen of spring, lesser celandine and bluebells to follow and bramble flowers as summer sets in.
The trees and shrubs surrounding Herbert’s Meadow also host a wealth of wildlife
Looking closely at the flowers one sunny day, I saw a flash of brilliant turquoise: I had found a forester moth! Relatively rare in Leicestershire, these day-flying beauties are found in a cluster of locations in the Charnwood Forest, but a few years can pass without seeing them in some places, such as Herbert’s meadow. This was my first forester of the year; I was lucky enough to find two more individuals at Herbert’s meadow and another two at the nearby Priory Pasture SSSI. Forester moths have a local distribution, with their colonies being vulnerable to habitat destruction and fragmentation. One of its foodplants is common sorrel, an abundant plant across the county; however this beautiful moth is declining in many places. Loss of the extent and connectivity of flower-rich habitats is largely to blame, additionally; the forester may be more vulnerable overwintering as a larva in over-grazed habitats.
Forester moth – this one is a female because of the thin antennae
As July comes around, the earlier spring plants give way to others. Common knapweed, great burnet, greater bird’s-foot trefoil, meadowsweet and devil’s-bit scabious cover the meadow. The sward takes on a purplish haze as bent grasses flower, their open panicles creating a soft, misty effect and obscuring some of the shorter plants. Evidence of the larger animals that visit the meadow can be scarce: the scat of a badger here, the smell of a fox there… although once I did spot a weasel in the grass!
Betony and greater bird’s-foot trefoil
We had reached high summer, and peak time for bees and butterflies! On a warm, sunny day I walked around just over half of Herbert’s Meadow to conduct a survey for Butterfly Conservation’s Big Butterfly Count. In 15 minutes, I had spotted 12 species of butterfly and moth and 81 individuals in total: a fantastic result. Noticing the abundance of bees that I couldn’t count at the same time as the butterflies, I walked back around again and counted 216 bees in just over 40 minutes. The meadow was absolutely buzzing with bees feeding on knapweed, marsh thistle, betony and bird’s-foot trefoil. As well as these eye-catching pollinators, many more insects fill the meadow with life throughout the summer months, including beetles, flies, hoverflies, dragonflies, crickets, grasshoppers and spiders.
Buff tailed bumblebee feeding on betony
Late summer and the meadow isn’t quite finished yet. Being such a botanically diverse grassland, there are plants flowering from spring all the way through to the autumn. Devil’s-bit scabious colours the meadow a beautiful shade of purple in August: one of my favourite flowers that persists until quite late in the year. The only problem I find is its name: it doesn’t sound particularly appealing, having been named after its stubby roots that were supposedly bitten off by the Devil who was angered by the plant’s medicinal properties. I think a more appropriate name for the plant would be something like ‘Meadow Button’, which sums the plant up nicely!
Red admirals on devil’s-bit scabious flowers
Beautiful hay fields such as Herbert’s Meadow were once common across our countryside. Sadly, sites such as this are tiny and scattered across the landscape. The hard work of organisations such as the Wildlife Trust ensures these habitats are managed appropriately so that they can continue to thrive into the future. Sometimes I wonder if it is enough to cling on to these small pieces of a much bigger puzzle: I believe that to truly strive to conserve special habitats, we must try to expand them where possible. If money were no object, how wonderful it would be to start transforming the adjacent arable fields using green hay techniques (to preserve plants best adapted to local conditions) to create even more wildflower meadows.
References
Wilding (2018) Isabella Tree, Picador
Biological Flora of the British Isles: Gymnadenia conopsea s.l. (2012) Meekers et al. Journal of Ecology
Meadows (2017) George Peterken, Bloomsbury Natural History
At the weekend I visited Birdfair at Rutland Water for the first time. This is the 31st year of Birdfair, raising money for species in Cambodia, including three species of critically endangered vultures and the metre-tall Giant ibis.
Books, leaflets and other things from Birdfair 2019
The event covers much more than just birds, encompassing other animals and the rest of the natural world.
I started the day by attending a talk in the author’s forum about a book called ‘The Missing Lynx’ by Ross Barnett. The book covers the fantastic species that have been lost from Britain, some a few thousand years ago, some more recently. Contemplating giant cave lions, cave hyenas and woolly mammoths roaming the historic British and European landscape is an exciting thought, but a sobering one when we consider the reasons for their disappearance.
It is no mere coincidence that the extinction of many large animals occurs when humans colonise landmasses and islands. Cave bear fossils have been found with flint arrowheads piercing their bones and woolly mammoths disappeared from the fossil record when humans arrived on their island homes.
Ross concluded with the hope that we can remember what we have lost and try and restore species that can fit into our modern landscape, such as beavers.
I walked around some of the nearby marquees after this, looking at the beautiful garden display by the Butterfly Brothers and seeing some interesting moths and caterpillars up close at the Butterfly Conservation stand.
The Butterfly Brother’s garden display
I was astounded by the number and diversity of places to visit: the majority of stands were showcasing exciting locations to see birds and other wildlife. Peru, Ghana, Estonia, Iceland, Australia, Ecuador, Sri Lanka, Portugal, Japan… so many places with fantastic bird life and biodiversity.
What struck me was how important eco-tourism is to many of these countries. Talking to someone from Costa Rica Birding Hotspots, I was interested to learn that tourism accounts for over half of the Costa Rican economy. This small country has over 50% of its land covered in rainforest and contains 10% of all the birds in the world!
Whilst some conservationists may wish to avoid flying to reduce their environmental impacts, it is essential to these places that tourists continue to visit and cherish their natural capital. If it pays to retain nature, countries will strive to protect it.
This idea was discussed by Jeremy Purseglove in his author’s forum talk about his book ‘Working with Nature’. Using examples from around the world, he explained how preserving native species and natural habitats is key to some people’s livelihoods. For example, in Africa, shea nut trees are protected, as the bountiful harvests of nuts they produce attract a good price from the cosmetics industry. Additionally, cocoa plants only thrive in the shade, therefore maintaining healthy forest systems also benefits the cocoa farmers. Jeremy brought the theme home as he talked about his work restoring waterways in the UK. However, there is still a lot of work to be done, requiring more urgent action: in many places we aren’t working with nature, but losing species, degrading habitats and threatening our the health of our soil and water.
Common buzzard
If you are a wildlife enthusiast, there are plenty of celebrities to see at Birdfair. I just had to buy a print from Richard Lewington, the illustrator of so many of my natural history books. Identifying moths, butterflies and bees has been made so much easier with his beautifully detailed and accurate illustrations. In the end I settled for a painting of a noble chafer beetle, but it was a difficult choice!
I also saw Chris Packham signing copies of his book. Having already read ‘Fingers in the sparkle jar’, I took the opportunity to ask a question regarding his current campaign to see the end of driven grouse shooting. I have read how there can be greater success of ground-nesting birds on grouse moors where predators are controlled. Chris outlined the broader issues of ground-nesting birds such as curlews struggling in the wider landscape, due to land mismanagement and habitat destruction. Grouse moors don’t keep records of the amount of predators killed and also shoot some declining species such as golden plover. He said that if driven grouse shooting ceased, the moors would still need managing (obviously tailored to benefit wildlife) and that the current management has far more negative impacts than positive.
One of the highlights for me was watching the bird-ringing demonstrations. I haven’t done any bird ringing for some time, so it was interesting to watch and get to release a blue tit and great tit. The majority of the catch at this time of year is great tit and blue tit fledglings: it appears they have had quite a productive season this year.
Starling
At the end of the day I attended a talk about conserving predators in Kenya by the Kenya Wildlife Trust. Recognised as keystone and umbrella species, the conservation of animals such as lions, hyenas, leopards and cheetahs protects the other species that are part of the ecosystem. The Trust are working to try and reverse the declines of these amazing carnivores.
Education and incentives for the local community are key to reducing human-animal conflicts. Again, tourism is an influencing factor here: visitors want to see exciting large predators, so it is worthwhile for conservancies to try and maintain healthy populations of them. As well as gathering data on key species, the Trust helps to provide improved healthcare for local communities, takes local schoolchildren on safari trips and provides scholarship programmes to educate locals about their native wildlife. Working with the community is key to ensuring that the protection of predators can be in everyone’s interest.
My day at Birdfair began with a vision of a world we have lost, of fascinating species now extinct. Appreciating what we still have, taking steps to learn about it and protect it is how my day concluded. I hope that we can avoid living in a world where all we know of some of our birds, elephants and lions is from pictures and words.
Observations of nature from the countryside to the coastline
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