2014

New ponds in our meadows. Ponds are wonderful habitats for wildlife and over the years we have developed eight ponds across the Reserve but always dreamt of having a pond in every meadow. Well, thanks to funding from a couple of grants our wish has nearly been fulfilled. We obtained funding for a further six ponds.

The location for each pond was marked out ready for digging. Each pond varied in size but all would be far too large for our volunteers to dig! A local contractor was hired and work began.

The first pond to be dug was located in the 5 Acre Meadow next to our little car park and here is the pictorial story of the work that was involved. As you can see it involved a lot more than just digging a hole!

5 Acre Pond dug Photo by Fred Izzett

5 Acre Pond dug
Photo by Fred Izzett

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wonder what the sheep are thinking Photo by Fred Izzett

Wonder what the sheep are thinking
Photo by Fred Izzett

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cutting the pond underlay Photo by Fred Izzett

Cutting the pond underlay
Photo by Fred Izzett

 

 

Once the hole had been dug it needed to be lined. The first layer of lining is the underlay

 

 

 

 

Laying the underlay Photo by Fred Izzett

Laying the underlay
Photo by Fred Izzett

 

 

 

 

 

Underlay complete Photo by Fred Izzett

Underlay complete
Photo by Fred Izzett

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Putting in the pond liner Photo by Fred Izzett

Putting in the pond liner
Photo by Fred Izzett

 

 

 

Next came the pond liner

 

 

 

laying out the pond liner Photo by Fred Izzett

laying out the pond liner
Photo by Fred Izzett

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nearly there Photo by Fred Izzett

Nearly there
Photo by Fred Izzett

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reached the other side Photo by Fred Izzett

Reached the other side
Photo by Fred Izzett

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Putting the fleece over the pond liner Photo by Fred Izzett

Putting the fleece over the pond liner
Photo by Fred Izzett

 

 

 

Once the pond liner was finished it had to be covered by a layer of fleece

 

 

 

Starting to cover the fleece Photo by Fred Izzett

Starting to cover the fleece
Photo by Fred Izzett

 

 

 

The fleece is then covered by soil

 

 

 

Cover up Photo by Fred Izzett

Cover up
Photo by Fred Izzett

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5 Acre Pond nearly full Photo by Su Haselton

5 Acre Pond nearly full
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

 

 

Last but not least we need water

 

 

 

5 Acre Pond full of icy water Photo by Su Haselton

5 Acre Pond full of icy water
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

 

 

 

One down another five to go!

 

 

 

The new 5 Acre pond is quite small compared to the one being dug in the 12 Acre meadow

12 Acre Pond Photo by Su Haselton

12 Acre Pond
Photo by Su Haselton

 

Nearly all the ponds have been completed now. It has been hard work but well worth it. We just need to let the ground settle and next year plant up around the edges and wait for the wildlife to move in.

 

Other snippets from around the Reserve:

 

Holly Berries Photo Su Haselton

Holly Berries
Photo Su Haselton

 

Our hawthorn hedges and hollies have been laden with berries this year and we are seeing increasing flocks of Fieldfare and Redwing arriving to enjoy the feast.

 

Pink-foot geese continue to pass noisily over the Reserve going to and from Martin Mere visiting their feeding grounds in adjacent fields.

 

Sheep manage our meadows Photo Su Haselton

Sheep manage our meadows
Photo Su Haselton

 

We have flocks of sheep grazing at the moment. Sheep are used to manage our meadows over the winter months.

 

 

 

 

Hedgehog Box Photo Su Haselton

Hedgehog Box
Photo Su Haselton

 

 

Over the summer we made some new hedgehog boxes – we hope they are being well used and are providing a safe and snug home.

 

 

 

 

 

Apple Celebration Weekend 11th & 12th October

On Friday 10th it rained; on Monday 13th it rained; but, the weather over the weekend was glorious; we were so lucky.

Ready for visitors Photo by Fred Izzett

Ready for visitors
Photo by Fred Izzett

 

 

Everything was ready – display boards put up and pre-bottled pure pasteurised apple juice and bottles of cider were displayed ready for sale.

 

 

Ready for apple pressing Photo by Su Haselton

Ready for apple pressing
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

The apple juicing demonstration area was all set to go with plenty of sterilised bottles ready for the fresh apple juice.

 

 

 

Betty's tasty jams Photo by Su Haselton

Betty’s tasty jams
Photo by Su Haselton

 

Betty's jars of home made delicious jams Photo by Su Haselton

Betty’s jars of home made delicious jams
Photo by Su Haselton

 

Betty’s delicious jams and chutneys were ready for sale

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Freshly dug carrots from our 'Veg Plot' for sale Photo by Su Haselton

Freshly dug carrots from our ‘Veg Plot’ for sale
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

Unusual cucumber varieties from our 'Veg Plot' Photo by Su Haselton

Unusual cucumber varieties from our ‘Veg Plot’
Photo by Su Haselton

As well as freshly dug and picked produce from our ‘Veg Plot’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A selection of produce for sale Photo by Su Haselton

A selection of produce for sale
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

The doors were open, everything was ready.

 

 

 

 

Information Cabin transformed into Cabin Cafe Photo by Su Haselton

Information Cabin transformed into Cabin Cafe
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

The Visitor Information Cabin was transformed into the Cabin Cafe

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to Cabin Cafe Photo by Fred Izzett

Welcome to Cabin Cafe
Photo by Fred Izzett

 

Our volunteers were ready to serve teas, coffees and home made cakes as well as glasses of apple juice!

 

 

 

Calm before the rush Photo by Fred Izzett

Calm before the rush
Photo by Fred Izzett

 

 

 

 

At first there was just a trickle of visitors

 

 

Visitors start to arrive Photo by Fred Izzett

Visitors start to arrive
Photo by Fred Izzett

 

 

 

 

more people came

 

 

Apple tasting Photo by Su Haselton

Apple tasting
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

Apple tasting soon became popular

 

 

 

Juicing gets underway Photo by Fred Izzett

Juicing gets underway
Photo by Fred Izzett

 

 

 

and apple pressing got underway

 

 

 

waiting for the orchard tour Photo by Su Haselton

waiting for the orchard tour
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

 

There were four tours of the heritage orchard each day

 

 

 

Jonathan explaining the history of the orchard Photo by Su Haselton

Jonathan explaining the history of the orchard
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

The tours were led by our Reserve Manager Jonathan

 

 

 

Orchard tour Photo by Su Haselton

Orchard tour
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

He explained the history of our orchard and visitors could wander freely and seek out their favourite varieties.

 

 

 

Jonathan offering advice on pruning your apple tree Photo by Su Haselton

Jonathan offering advice on pruning your apple tree
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

There was advice on how to prune the trees and how we maintain the orchard

 

 

 

More pruning tips Photo by Su Haselton

More pruning tips
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Getting busy Photo by Fred Izzett

Getting busy
Photo by Fred Izzett

 

 

 

Back from the tour to seek out the varieties to taste and buy and children brought back apples from the orchard to watch them being turned into juice.

 

 

Enjoying the Sunshine Photo by Su Haselton

Enjoying the Sunshine
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

Visitors were free to wander around Cabin Wood and make the most of the wonderful weather.

 

 

 

 

We welcomed over 500 visitors to our event and raised over £2000 to further the work of Gorse Hill Nature Reserve. We were thrilled with the response to our weekend event and thank all our visitors for their generosity and also say a big thank you to our volunteers who worked so hard to make the weekend a success.

Q Local Ormskirk also covered our event – for its coverage and pictures please visit their website

 

Berries, seeds and galls star in August 2014.

Last August we featured on this page a gall found on wild roses, in our case on a Dog Rose, called Robin’s

Robin's Pincushion August 2014 Photo by Su Haselton

Robin’s Pincushion August 2014
Photo by Su Haselton

Pincushion. The same rose bush has produced further Pincushions this year but we have also discovered other roses in the same woodland area have produced these galls for the larvae of the tiny gall wasp Diplolepsis rosae as well.

 

 

 

 

 

Smooth Pea Gall on Dog Rose August 2014 Photo by Su Haselton

Smooth Pea Gall on Dog Rose August 2014
Photo by Su Haselton

 

Dog Roses also are favoured by another gall – the Smooth Pea Gall which is caused either by cynipid wasp Diplolepis nervosa or by Diplolepis eglanteriae.

This example was found on a Dog Rose very close to Seldom Pond in Cabin Wood.

Each gall is, in effect, a hollow, fleshy nursery chamber for a small white grub, the larva of theDiplolepis gall wasp, which feeds on the chamber wall. The galls appear to detach from the leaves before leaf fall and will lie in the leaf litter until the grub pupates and emerges as the small adult wasp, only about 4 mm long in the Spring.(Information taken from Naturespot click here)

Birdsfoot Trefoil with its beautiful bright yellow flowers can be seen across the Reserve but its name comes from the shape of the seed heads rather than the shape of the flowers or leaves.

Birdsfoot Trefoil August 2014 Photo by Su Haselton

Birdsfoot Trefoil August 2014
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

 

 

 

Birdsfoot Trefoil Seed Head August 2014 Photo by Su Haselton

Birdsfoot Trefoil Seed Head August 2014
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hawthorn Berries August 2014 Photo by Su Haselton

Hawthorn Berries August 2014
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

More berries are ripening across the Reserve, Hawthorn berries are showing in red swathes across the hedgerows ready to provide a real treat for our birds. Birds and insects are however in competition for the juicy ripe blackberries, we find them very tasty as well!

Blackberries August 2014 Photo by Su Haselton

Blackberries August 2014
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seldom Pond and its vegetation is now returning to normal after our clearance efforts last year to remove the invasive New Zealand Pygmy Weed and the flooding earlier this year.

Seldom Pond August 2014 Photo by Su Haselton

Seldom Pond August 2014
Photo by Su Haselton

 

Wildflower and Butterfly Walk Sunday 22 June. We could not have wished for better weather – warm sunshine and blue skies were perfect for a stroll through the meadows.

Wildflower Walk - Hilary explains about wild grasses Photo by Tim Izzett

Wildflower Walk – Hilary explains about wild grasses
Photo by Tim Izzett

 

Hilary Bedford led the walk helping us to identify the wide variety of wildflowers and grasses we found and answering all our questions.

 

 

 

 

Overall we identified 40 different wildflowers and 14 grasses. A full list can be found at the end.

Meadowsweet Photo by Su Haselton

Meadowsweet
Photo by Su Haselton

 

Meadowsweet can be found right across the Reserve and visitors to Cabin Wood can see it flowering now by Seldom Pond. Anglo-Saxons knew this as ‘mede-sweet’ and used it to flavour mead. In Tudor times it was used as an air freshener, mixed with the rushes on the floor it sweetened the air.

 

 

 

Common Vetch Photo by Su Haselton

Common Vetch
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

If you look closely you can see the tiny ‘spur’ at the end of each leaf of the Common Vetch. At the end of summer the flowers develop into seed pods (similar to pea pods).

 

 

Tufted Vetch Photo by Tim Izzett

Tufted Vetch
Photo by Tim Izzett

 

 

 

Each spike of Tufted Vetch can carry as many as 30 little flowers which grow on only one side of the long stalk. We found several large patches of Tufted Vetch in the 5 Acre meadow.

 

Yorkshire Fog Photo by Su Haselton

Yorkshire Fog
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

 

Yorkshire Fog Photo by Su Haselton

Yorkshire Fog
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yorkshire Fog grass gives wonderful colour to may of our meadows turning them into swaying seas of pink.

 

 

Wildflower Walk in 5 Acre Meadow Photo by Su Haselton

Wildflower Walk in 5 Acre Meadow
Photo by Su Haselton

 

Goatsbeard Closed Flower Head Photo by Su Haselton

Goatsbeard Closed Flower Head
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

 

Goatsbeard 'Clock' Photo by Su Haselton

Goatsbeard ‘Clock’
Photo by Su Haselton

 

Goatsbeard is also commonly known as ‘Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon’ because the yellow dandelion flowers only open in the morning and close around midday.

 

 

After flowering they develop the characteristic ‘clock’ but much larger than the common dandelion.

 

 

 

Meadow Cranesbill Photo by Su Haselton

Meadow Cranesbill
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

Several patches of flowering Meadow Cranesbill can be seen along the public footpath on the Outcrop.

 

Black (Common) Knapweed Photo by Su Haselton

Black (Common) Knapweed
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

 

The flower heads of Black Knapweed look very similar to thistle but it is a much more gentle plant – there are no prickles!

 

 

 

A walk through Margaret's Meadow Photo by Tim Izzett

A walk through Margaret’s Meadow
Photo by Tim Izzett

Yarrow Photo by Su Haselton

Yarrow
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

 

Yarrow flowers in dense flat heads, often white but in the 5 Acre meadow pale pink was the predominant colour.

 

 

 

 

Foxglove Photo by Su Haselton

Foxglove
Photo by Su Haselton

 

Foxgloves are beautiful but every part of the plant is poisonous. That said, digitalis from its leaves is used to treat heart disease. Foxgloves are usually this vibrant pink/purple but we do have white forms flowering on the Reserve as well.

Orange Hawkweed (Fox and Cubs) Photo by Su Haselton

Orange Hawkweed (Fox and Cubs)
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

 

This Orange Hawkweed is flowering along the entrance track to our car park. Also known as Fox and Cubs – it gets this name because of the way some of the unopened buds hide under the open flowers.

Viper's Bugloss Photo by Su Haselton

Viper’s Bugloss
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

 

 

Bees and butterflies are attracted to the sugary nectar of Viper’s Bugloss and we grow some of these plants from seed and have planted them in the small flower bed in front of the Visitor’s Cabin.

 

 

 

One of our special finds on our walk was along side the public footpath on the Outcrop – a beautiful Bee Orchid.

Bee Orchid Photo by Su Haselton

Bee Orchid
Photo by Su Haselton

Common Blue Butterfly Photo by Su Haselton

Common Blue Butterfly
Photo by Su Haselton

 

Other highlights of our walk were butterflies and insects, we saw Sawflies, Meadow Browns, Speckled Woods and Large Skippers as well as the lovely Common Blue Butterflies.

 

 

Cinnabar Moth Photo by Tim Izzett

Cinnabar Moth
Photo by Tim Izzett

 

 

 

A Cinnabar Moth decided that it would pose for a photo and picked out some pale blue knitwear as a background.

 

 

 

Peacock Butterfly Caterpillar Photo by Su Haselton

Peacock Butterfly Caterpillar
Photo by Su Haselton

 

It was also caterpillar time and we found some lovely black Peacock Butterfly caterpillars.

 

 

 

 

 

We also had time to look up and were rewarded with views of Swifts and a Common Buzzard, a flypast by a male Yellowhammer and could hear the familiar song of Chiffchaffs, Whitethroats and, of course, Woodpigeon!

 

Everyone enjoyed their stroll and we finished back at the Visitor’s Cabin for tea and cakes. Our thanks go to Hilary for leading our walk.

List of species seen:

Flowers:

Scented Mayweed Corn Spurrey Greater Plantain Ribwort Plantain Heath Bedstraw

Dock Black Medic Common Vetch Red Clover White Clover

Meadow Buttercup Birdsfoot Trefoil Yarrow Black Knapweed Ox-eye Daisy

Common Mouse-ear Tufted Vetch Restharrow Common Catsear Hogweed

Meadow Vetchling Common Sorrell Sheep’s Sorrell Meadow Cranesbill Goatsbeard

Common Spotted Orchid Meadowsweet Bee Orchid Rosebay Willowherb Silverweed

Red Campion Hedge Woundwort Common Cleavers Foxglove Herb Robert

Nipplewort Viper’s Bugloss Forget-me-not Orange Hawkweed

Wood Avens (Herb Bennet)

Grasses:

Yorkshire Fog Ryegrass Timothy Common Bent

Sweet Vernal Grass Quaking Grass Lesser Pond Sedge Soft Brome

Cocksfoot Crested Dog’s Tail Tufted Hair Grass Red Fescue

Soft Rush Mat Grass

 

Tadpoles and insects seeking a photo opportunity.

Tadpoles Photo by Su Haselton

Tadpoles
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

These tadpoles were taking advantage of a sunny spot in the shallows of one of the ponds.

 

 

 

Yellow Flag Iris Photo by Su Haselton

Yellow Flag Iris
Photo by Su Haselton

 

This Yellow Flag Iris attracted an insect determined to get into the photo

 

 

 

Ox-Eye Daisy Photo by Su Haselton

Ox-Eye Daisy
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

If you look closely at the top Ox-Eye Daisy on the right of the photo you can just see an insect peeping over the top of the petals

 

 

 

 

 

 

You never know what you will find. Whilst doing our small mammal survey on 10 May we came across a rather large caterpillar and Liz took this wonderful photograph.

The Drinker caterpillar Photo by Liz Brotherstone

The Drinker caterpillar
Photo by Liz Brotherstone

 

This is the caterpillar of The Drinker moth (Euthrix potatoria). The species gets its name from the habits of the caterpillar which is supposed to have a liking for drops of dew.

 

 

 

 

 

Baby Rabbits and Baby Birds – 17 May 2014.

We found and rescued six orphaned baby rabbits, too young to fend for themselves and, over the last week, Matthew and Jonathan have been feeding them by hand. So far so good – they are taking the high fat cream through a small pipette.

Hand Held Feeding Photo by Su Haselton

Hand Held Feeding
Photo by Su Haselton

 

Five of the tiny rabbits need to be held to feed

 

 

 

 

 

Independent Photo by Su Haselton

Independent
Photo by Su Haselton

 

But one rabbit is clearly more independent, standing alone

 

 

 

 

I can stand by myself Photo by Su Haselton

I can stand by myself
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

Feeding alone

 

 

 

Holding a pose Photo by Su Haselton

Holding a pose
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

and even posing for the camera

 

 

 

Milky Fingers Photo by Mark Walters

Milky Fingers
Photo by Mark Walters

 

 

Of course, sometimes not all the cream goes where it should!

 

 

 

 

The nest box survey is now well under way, some young have already fledged

Hungry Blue Tits Photo by Su Haselton

Hungry Blue Tits
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

some are very new into the world

 

 

 

 

Great Tit Nest Photo by Su Haselton

Great Tit Nest
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

and some have been here a little longer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dawn Chorus Event on 3rd May was enjoyed by a small band of early risers. We set off in the darkness at 4 a.m. faintly hearing the first bird song of the morning which gradually increased as more and more species woke and started to proclaim their territory and attract a mate. Blackbirds were the first to be heard very quickly followed by Robins, Pheasant and a Wren. As we walked around the Reserve it became lighter and lighter, but it was bitterly cold and we needed to be well wrapped up.

Early Risers Photo by Su Haselton

Early Risers
Photo by Su Haselton

 

Here is a list of the 41 species we heard and saw in the order that we encountered them:

Blackbird, Robin, Pheasant, Wren, Reed Bunting, Blackcap, Song Thrush, Wood Pigeon, Red-legged Partridge, Whitethroat, Chiffchaff, Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Great Tit, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Yellowhammer, Tawny Owl, Skylark, Carrion Crow, Greenfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker (pair), Willow Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, Linnet, Magpie, Jackdaw, Collared Dove, Starlings, Corn Bunting, Grey Partridge, Swallow, House Martin, Jay, Mallard, Moorhen, Tree Sparrows, Coal Tit, Dunnock and Long-tailed Tit.

We would like to thank everyone who took part, especially Graham Clarkson for leading the walk and to Jonathan for providing and cooking a very welcome breakfast!

Speckled Wood Butterfly 19 April 2014. Whitethroat have arrived on the Reserve; seen and heard on the public footpath on the Outcrop and the first Speckled Wood Butterfly was also seen.

Peacock Butterfly Photo by Su Haselton

Peacock Butterfly
Photo by Su Haselton

 

Easter Saturday was a bright sunny day and Peacock Butterflies could be seen across the Reserve.

 

 

Herb Robert Photo by Su Haselton

Herb Robert
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

We also saw our first flowering Hawthorn and alongside several public footpaths Herb Robert was in full flower.

 

 

Buds of Crab Apple Blossom Photo by Su Haselton

Buds of Crab Apple Blossom
Photo by Su Haselton

 

Crab Apple trees in Cabin Wood are showing signs of bursting into blossom and, in some parts of the Reserve, you can still see the remains of dried fruits on branches together with new blossom buds.

 

The fine weather attracted several visitors to the Reserve and surrounding public footpaths and late afternoon visitors enjoyed the sunshine and tranquillity of Seldom Pond

Seldom Pond bathed in Early Evening Sunshine Photo by Su Haselton

Seldom Pond bathed in Early Evening Sunshine
Photo by Su Haselton

 

Early April and Spring is in full swing, plus a very friendly Bank Vole!

Daffodil Walk in early April Photo by Su Haselton

Daffodil Walk in early April
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

Daffodil Walk is a path leading down to our Heritage Orchard and always looks lovely in Spring thanks to some kind volunteers who, over several years, donated and planted daffodil bulbs.

 

 

 

 

Pear Tree in blossom Photo by Su Haselton

Pear Tree in blossom
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

The Orchard is also bursting into life with pear trees in full blossom and some apple trees showing first signs of flower buds.

 

 

Apple Blossom Buds Photo by Su Haselton

Apple Blossom Buds
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bluebells Photo by Su Haselton

Bluebells
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

Native English bluebells can be found on the Reserve and we have enhanced the numbers by growing hundreds more from seed; a very long process but worth it.

 

 

 

 

 

A beautiful Brimstone butterfly has been added to our sightings record and other season ‘firsts’ are Willow Warblers and Blackcaps. Red Campion is in flower and flower buds have formed on the Horse Chestnut on the public footpath leading to the Outcrop and flower buds are also appearing on some Hawthorns.

April sees the first of our small mammal surveys and is a trial run for our main 6 month survey starting in May. We use humane Longworth mammal traps, fill them with warm hay bedding and provide food for this overnight accommodation. Opening the trap to see what we have caught is always an exciting moment and we were not disappointed. Out of the 35 traps set we caught 18 small mammals; 4 Bank Voles, 4 Field Voles, 4 Wood Mice and 6 Common Shrews (we do hold a licence for this). We were particularly pleased with the Common Shrew count, it was higher than our total caught during the whole of the 2013 main survey!

Common Shrew 12 April 2014 Photo by Su Haselton

Common Shrew 12 April 2014
Photo by Su Haselton

 

Common Shrews can deliver quite a nasty nip so we do not handle them. This one was initially very lively but soon settled down and was quite content to nibble some of the food from the trap whilst we watched. If you look closely you can see it had previously been injured; it has a mark around its head and one of its legs did not function properly but this did not seem to hinder it in any way.

The star attraction was however a Bank Vole. It initially made a break for freedom but then decided that Mark’s shoulder was a good place to settle down and watch the world go by!

Bank Vole 1 Photo by Su Haselton

Bank Vole 1
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bank Vole 2 Photo by Su Haselton

Bank Vole 2
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bank Vole 3 Photo by Su Haselton

Bank Vole 3
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A new woodland is born and exciting Spring wildlife sightings.

The last Saturday in March was a great day weather wise and a great day for seeing wildlife out and about on the bird feeding round across the Reserve. Many of our ponds have frog spawn and we saw our first tadpoles. In this particular pond they hatched just in time as the water level was beginning to recede. In Bluebell Wood, whilst looking at frog spawn in another pond we did not see any tadpoles but we did see three newts, unfortunately we could not see whether they were Smooth, Palmate or our famous Great Crested newts.

Butterflies were out and about as well and sightings included Small Tortoiseshell, Comma and Peacock. Chiffchaffs were singing across the Reserve as were Yellowhammers and fortunately both species were seen as well as heard. Small groups of Linnets were regularly seen and a beautiful male Bullfinch made an appearance. In North Wood a Tawny Owl flew past closely followed by a female Sparrowhawk. All in all a good day.

Gorsey Croft is probably the highest of our fields and one of the most exposed. Poor for meadowland and hay making so we have often thought about converting it into a woodland with grassy rides and a pond. Our opportunity came with help from The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) who obtained funding and provided trees (whips), stakes and tree guards. They also joined our volunteers on 12 March and planted 751 trees! All were staked and guarded. A magnificent effort by all concerned.

New Woodland for Gorsey Croft Photo by Su Haselton

New Woodland for Gorsey Croft
Photo by Su Haselton

As you can see the volunteers were rewarded with great views over Ormskirk and the surrounding countryside from this high vantage point.

The following tree species were planted:

Rowan, Downy Birch, Hazel, Wild Cherry, Guelder Rose, Alder, Goat Willow, White Willow and Pedunculate Oak.

We have not yet finished this development as we will be planting some elderberry and excavating a pond.

 

 

Old and new plus a nest box surprise. Early and mid March sees seeds still being set and combines this with the excitement of new buds, leaves, flowers and new life.

Reed Mace Photo by Su Haselton

Reed Mace
Photo by Su Haselton

 

Reed Mace head bursting open with seeds to scatter in the wind and provide food for birds.

 

 

 

 

Broom Photo by Su Haselton

Broom
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

Broom coming into flower always adds a wonderful splash of yellow to brighten the day.

 

 

 

March Primrose Photo by Su Haselton

March Primrose
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

Primroses are coming into flower.

 

 

 

Red Campion Photo by Su Haselton

Red Campion
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

First signs of Red Campion.

 

 

 

 

Horse Chestnut Photo by Su Haselton

Horse Chestnut
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

Horse Chestnut is still in bud in Cabin Wood

 

 

 

Horse Chestnut Leaf Burst Photo by Su Haselton

Horse Chestnut Leaf Burst
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

but in leaf on the Outcrop footpath.

 

 

 

Mother & Baby Photo by Su Haselton

Mother & Baby
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

 

 

Our meadows over the autumn and winter months are managed by grazing sheep, some rare breed sheep and some ‘commercial’ sheep. Here is one of the ‘commercial’ mothers with her young lamb. A sure sign of Spring!

 

 

 

Wood Mouse Photo by Su Haselton

Wood Mouse
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

As the weather has been so mild and there have been signs of birds gathering nesting material, the time had come for a first look inside some of our nest boxes sited across the Reserve. A couple of boxes had partially completed nests but one box contained a surprise – a Wood Mouse had made itself quite at home. We left it undisturbed!

 

 

 

 

Close encounters at the feeding station on 22 February. Here are some photographs of birds that arrived at one of our feeding stations as we were still filling up the feeders!

Long-Tailed Tit Photo by Su Haselton

Long-Tailed Tit
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blue Tit Photo by Su Haselton

Blue Tit
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robin in the sun Photo by Su Haselton

Robin in the sun
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Long-Tailed Tit Photo by Su Haselton

Long-Tailed Tit
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blue Tit Photo by Su Haselton

Blue Tit
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On 27 February Edge Hill University ran an event advertising jobs and volunteering opportunities for their students and we were invited to attend.

Our Stand at Edge Hill 27 Feb 2014 Photo by Su Haselton

Our Stand at Edge Hill 27 Feb 2014
Photo by Su Haselton

 

We were still setting up our stand when the first students arrived to chat to us and quite a number of students visited our stand throughout the 4 hours we were there.

 

We enjoyed meeting and talking to the students and look forward to seeing some of them come and visit the Reserve and hopefully volunteer.

We would also like to thank Edge Hill University for giving us the opportunity to attend their event and for the help they provided in ensuring we could find the venue and transport our display materials to and from the car park. All their stewards/porters were extremely helpful and cheerful.

Wet, wet and wet! February continues to be wet and Seldom Pond is always a good indicator of just how saturated the land has become. Compare the following pictures with that shown in our January entry (Welcome break from the rain) below

Seldom Pond Island slowly submerging Photo by Su Haselton

Seldom Pond Island slowly submerging
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

 

View from bird hide Photo by Su Haselton

View from bird hide
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seldom Pond Boardwalk Photo by Su Haselton

Seldom Pond Boardwalk
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Public Footpath to Outcrop - rather wet! Photo by Su Haselton

Public Footpath to Outcrop – rather wet!
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

Even the public footpaths have turned into streams in places.

 

 

Snowdrops in Car Park Photo by Su Haselton

Snowdrops in Car Park
Photo by Su Haselton

 

On a brighter note the little copse by our car park is full of wonderful snowdrops and the first daffodils are in flower in Daffodil Walk leading down to the orchard

 

 

First daffs in Daffodil Walk Photo by Su Haselton

First daffs in Daffodil Walk
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

 

 

 

Early Daffodils Photo by Su Haselton

Early Daffodils
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Daffodil Walk also boasts its own Bug Hotels, again demonstrating you can use whatever is to hand and showing they can come in small and large sizes to suit any available space.

Bug Hotels can be small Photo by Su Haselton

Bug Hotels can be small
Photo by Su Haselton

Bug Hotel Daffodil Walk Photo by Su Haselton

Bug Hotel Daffodil Walk
Photo by Su Haselton

Wet Weather Work - cutting and bagging kindling Photo by Su Haselton

Wet Weather Work – cutting and bagging kindling
Photo by Su Haselton

 

Work does not stop just because it is raining. There is usually work to do in the Polytunnel, even if it is just cutting and bagging kindling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In fact, our Polytunnel now contains some new raised beds and the wildflower seeds we planted last year have germinated and the seedlings are looking healthy.

New raised beds in Polytunnel Photo by Su Haselton

New raised beds in Polytunnel
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wildflower seedlings in Polytunnel Photo by Su Haselton

Wildflower seedlings in Polytunnel
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well Staked 'Winter' Orchard Photo by Su Haselton

Well Staked ‘Winter’ Orchard
Photo by Su Haselton

 

We were taking no chances in the orchard with the recent strong winds, large stakes ensure the trees stay upright

 

 

 

 

 

Good news – a Willow Tit was heard yesterday 19th February, a note has been added to our bird sub page

Hazel flowers in January! Unopened hazel catkins have been on most of our hazel trees for some weeks now but on Saturday 18th several trees not only had fully opened catkins but also had the small red female flowers.

Hazel Flower Photo by Su Haselton

Hazel Flower
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hazel Catkins Photo by Su Haselton

Hazel Catkins
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hazel Flower Photo by Su Haselton

Hazel Flower
Photo by Su Haselton

 

 

 

 

 

Hazel has both male and female flowers on the same tree – although flowers must be pollinated from a different hazel tree.

 

 

 

 

 

The male yellow catkins appear before the leaves, usually around mid February so these are early. Female flowers are tiny and once pollinated develop oval fruits maturing into nuts, loved by jays, woodpeckers and some small mammals.

 

Welcome break from the rain. We have been lucky compared to some parts of the country and have avoided flooding but the heavy rain has started to fill up Seldom Pond and the water level has risen to just below the board-walk.

Water Level Rising in Seldom Pond Photo Su Haselton

Water Level Rising in Seldom Pond
Photo Su Haselton

However the welcome break in the rain on Saturday 11th January allowed the sun to shine through highlighting views through the bare trees and highlighting the strange and colourful lichen on the branches.

Strange Shapes Photo Su Haselton

Strange Shapes
Photo Su Haselton

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sculpture in January Sunshine Photo Su Haselton

Sculpture in January Sunshine
Photo Su Haselton

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Strange Shapes and Colours Photo Su Haselton

Strange Shapes and Colours
Photo Su Haselton

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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