It was a lovely morning yesterday and I was determined sort out my birds’ nest boxes. I made one for Little Owl’s after hearing one had been seen nearby. Normally they prefer field edges rather than woodlands but as they are one of my favourite owls, I thought I’d like to put a box up and see if I can entice them into my woods. They like to have a tunnel inside the hole, leading into the box, so it is quite an intricate design inside. I placed it fairly high up on an open ride-side spot. Next job was to go around all the small boxes (nine in all) that I put up last winter and see how many had been used and clear out the old material ready for spring. I was pleased to find that five out of the nine had been used. I moved one of the unused ones to another location as it was rather near to the feeding area and might be too “busy”. Also I erected a new one I had made out of a sycamore log which looks more natural. It was my first attempt and I’ll make some more when I get time.

Little Owl nest box

Nest box made from a sycamore log

It was the busiest day ever for visitors. I called to see A. and J. (just initials for anonymity) nearby and on the way back met S. and J. Later on A. & H. called by and as they were leaving P. and family were having a walk (not met them before) then the new neighbours who have taken the plot next to mine arrived with their family. They were doing some sawing and L. & J. came round to see what the noise was. It is another aspect of owning these woods that I very much enjoy. Nice to swap notes and see what others are doing with theirs.

In between visits I managed to cut down four more small trees in the area I’ve been clearing. I got two of them wrong and trapped my chainsaw twice but luckily managed to wriggle it out. It happens when you make your felling cut and you’ve worked out the direction it should fall incorrectly. I used my new log lifter tool which rolls and lifts the trunks slightly off the ground so that you can cut into logs without hitting the ground with the chainsaw. It works great and saves a lot of back ache. My log pile is growing each week and the area looking progressively more open and light ready for some new planting soon.

Work in progress

fungi growing on a dead tree stump

Couldn’t wait to get back into my woods. Been a stressful week and in much need of some woodland therapy. Autumn is approaching and the wood is changing. There’s still a lot of green around but the sycamore are starting to drop their leaves and numerous flushes of fungi are to be found, though I haven’t learnt how to ID many of them yet. My aim on this visit was to continue clearing the top NE corner by brushcutting a big section of the brambles around the trees I have recently felled and the ones I will be felling next. You really need to have good access around your trees when felling, brambles make excellent trip-wires and you don’t want that when the tree starts to fall and you need to “leg it” out of the way.

I started my day’s work by cutting up the remaining brash from the last visit and piling it into the dead hedge I started. It’s starting to take shape and gain some height now. I was really pleased to watch a tiny wren investigating it later as I stood to survey my day’s work. Build it and they will come. They love to bob around in dead branches and that was one of the reasons for building it. I’m hoping something might build a nest in it next spring, blackbirds and robins also like hedges for nesting.

brash dead hedge starting to take shape

I managed to clear quite a large patch of brambles by the end of the day. The result looks sparse now, no ground cover, just chopped bramble and the tree trunks but I know it will start to bounce back next spring now that the extra light can get to it. The bramble will have to be cut again when it starts to regrow and part of the day was spent going back over areas I did last winter that have regrown. Now the next paragraph and photo are a bit gruesome so those of a nervous disposition look away now!

I spotted a patch of something grey near my rest area and went to investigate. It turned out to be a male blackbird carcass and it was ripped apart and many of the feathers had been plucked and scattered around. It’s a sad sight because blackbirds are one of my favourite species. They are friendly to humans, have a lovely song and stay with us through winter. I rarely see them in my woods too, so seeing one dead and mutilated wasn’t the best bit of bird spotting. But in a woodland, life and death walk hand in hand. Everything is living off something else and I found some consolation in knowing that some other animal has benefited and found a meal (probably a buzzard or owl) and so will many smaller creatures as the carcass decomposes and returns to the earth. It serves to remind us of how fragile life is but how natural death is too. A subject that is very much on my mind these days. I took the gruesome photo because we shouldn’t shy away from this aspect and it will be interesting too to see how long it takes to disappear completely.

Blackbird carcass

On a lighter note, I had the pleasure of meeting some of my woodland owners, Janet & Simon who were working on their plot nearby. They are new owners too and have been making good progress, clearing laurel and making paths. Their wood is very different to mine, more of a coniferous woodland with lots of larch and pine. They kindly and enthusiastically gave me a guided tour. We enjoyed spotting other tree species that are growing naturally among the larch and their prize fungi which was three magnificent red and white spotted ones, like you see in fairy tale books. I was quite envious! We chatted for ages about our woods and I had to drag myself away to get some more work done but the social aspect of woodlots and having good neighbours to chew the fat with is something I enjoy. Until next time and if you have a woodland near you, go and take walk and see what you can find, it’s a good time of year to do it and you’ll feel more alive.

October sunshine in my woods

After lots of rain it was a beautiful sunny morning. I was keen to get some more serious work done but I remind myself that the woods are to be enjoyed first. So as usual I took a leisurely walk around seeing just what has changed, sussing out the plans I have been making since last visit and taking some photos. The sun was creating some lovely shade patterns on tree trunks like these.

There was a special moment when I stood still amongst the coppice and spotted a wren bobbing in and out of the brash. I played my bird song app on my phone (it works a treat with wrens) and to my surprise another one popped out and returned my call. As I watched the two tiny birds, a grey squirrel appeared on the ground and headed toward me, stopped and looked for a few seconds, then carried on it’s way. I felt like I was in some sort of Disney animation. For those few minutes, rather than being a human visitor, I truly felt like I was a component of woodland life. That’s the magic of being “in the moment” and trying to blend with your surroundings, quietly observing.

So the plan was to start building my small dead hedge using the brash from last visit’s felling activities and possibly cut some more trees in the same area. So that’s just what I did – another hectic, tiring but rewarding day. Another pile of logs stacked for seasoning and the little open glade I am trying to create for new planting gets a little bigger.

New log pile and lighter “glade” for replanting.

The “dead” hedge is situated around the northern corner of my woods, one side next to a track and the other side is the border with the next plot. It’s close to where I have been felling. The purpose of it is threefold. To organise the brash that is left after snedding the felled trees into a space that covers less ground, to provide habitat for all sorts of wild life (nice nesting for blackbirds, robins, wrens etc and finally to mark the corner of my territory and provide a something of a barrier to the open area I am creating. At the moment it looks like a pile of leaves but there are branches among it and as it settles, I’ll keep topping it up.

“Brash” or “dead” hedge

I got to try out two new “tools” – a post rammer which is a very heavy metal tube with handles and blocked at one end. You place it over the post you want to drive into the ground and let the weight go and it does a great job. The other item is a wooden tool box I made last week. It’s easy to lose tools in the woods, so essential to be organised to some degree. The canvas bag I was using to hold my various large tools was dropping to bits and was difficult to access. So an open topped, rigid toolbox seemed ideal. You can take it to where you’re working and see at a glance what’s in it and throw your tools in to keep them safe instead of having them lying on the ground. Next time – more felling, bramble clearing the area and who knows what else. There’s always something unexpected.

My post rammer and homemade tool box.