Spring is definitely around the corner. When I arrived yesterday, lots of small birds were flitting around in the tree tops, looking for mates and exploring nooks and crannies. I spotted one tree which was earmarked for felling, had a couple of small holes in the trunk high up and a bluetit was busy peering into them. I’ll have to leave that one alone now!
Fifth bird box located on an old crab apple tree
Sixth bird box for wrens and robins, well hidden and low down between the two trees. Hope the birds find it.
Bird box number seven is for great tits attached to a larch tree
It was yet another gloriously sunny and mild day. I got an early start and fitted three new bird nest boxes. Two for great tits and one for wrens and robins. It might be too late in the year for birds to adopt them as they usually need to get used to them being there. But fingers crossed. I carried on clearing away the limbs of hazel that I had cut down last time and felled two more young sycamore to bring in more light to the area. Still a bit more clearing to do there before erecting the deer netting around it.
There’s an area in the woods that is lacking groundcover where pheasants had been reared. Eventually I shall fell some of the poor trees there to bring light in and hope for natural regeneration of plants. In the meantime, I’m going to start transplanting a few from other areas. So yesterday I divided some clumps of Lords and Ladies and replanted five pieces and marked them with a colours stick so I can monitor their progress through the season. I shall try to gather seeds of other plants during summer and propagate more plants this way. A slow process but I’d prefer to keep the plant inventory to the natural ones that are already growing, just want more of them and maybe some that are present in other people’s woods but lacking in mine.
All in all it was a satisfying and productive day. Plenty of time to enjoy the experience of being there and getting useful jobs done. I love that place.
