Out for a walk after the various festivities?  Perhaps you might be able to help the People’s Trust for Endangered Species by undertaking a hedgerow survey.   Across the UK there are many, many hedgerows.  Hedgerows can Provide shelter, homes, perches for a variety of animals,  Food for mammals, birds and invertebrates in the form of flowers, berries and nuts.   Harbour insects that act as important pollinators of wild flowers and crops. Help to reduce flooding and soil erosion,  Help mitigate air and water pollution levels  Store carbon  Act as corridors along which animals, such as hedgehogs and dormice can travel across the countryside. The Trust is looking for volunteers to fill in a survey form and record features of their chosen hedge, such as  the height,  width,  structure and  which tree species are present.  The results will help the trust to build a picture of the health of our hedgerows and how they are changing over time.  To find out more and to take part in the Great British Hedgerow Survey, visit the PTES website for more information : https://hedgerowsurvey.ptes.org/about-our-hedge-surveys

Back in 2006 (and 2007), the blog posted information about the Natural History Museum Bluebell Survey. https://www.woodlands.co.uk/blog/flora-and-fauna/recording-your-bluebells/ https://www.woodlands.co.uk/blog/flora-and-fauna/bluebell-survey-2007/ This is an ongoing project, apart from studying the distribution of native and spanish bluebells (and the hybrids, which now may be more common than their Spanish 'parent') - the project is also looking at the flowering time of the bluebell (in relation to climate change / variability).  Full details of the project  (and lots of information about bluebells) can be found at the NHM website. Read more...

I am currently studying for a Foundation Degree in Forestry and Woodland Management at Plumpton College in East Sussex and am preparing a dissertation on dead wood in coppice woodlands. Coppicing is a well-known silvicultural practice, carried out in the UK for the purpose of habitat and wildlife conservation, and for sustainable timber production / products. It is widely accepted that, whilst coppicing has many benefits for conservation, ‘woodland historically managed as coppice is generally lacking in dead wood’  (FC 2002). Earlier literature such as Buckley (1992) and Kimmins (1997), supports the view that there is a general lack of dead wood presence within actively managed coppice woodlands. Read more...

When I went looking for woodland to buy, I looked at the ground before the trees, which probably sounds a bit odd.  If you’ve seen people looking at the floor in a car park and wondered what on earth they were doing; unless they’ve dropped their keys, they’re probably botanists.  What is growing on the ground can tell you all sorts of things like how old the woodland is and what type of soil you have. I am only an amateur and although I do have the advantage of some professional training in the field of surveying for wildlife, you don’t need it if you want to survey your own wood. Read more...

In this country, like others dependent on the internal combustion engine, many animals are killed or wounded on our roads.  One of the first people to comment on the significance of roadkill was the American naturalist Joseph Grinnell; he estimated the mortality count in California (back in 1920 !!) ran into the hundreds if not thousands of animals every day. Read more...

  I am a forestry student from the University of Wales (Bangor) and am writing a dissertation on the implementation of the England Woodfuel Strategy 2007. The strategy claims that only about 40% of the potential annual harvest from England’s woodlands is actually harvested, and that if 50% of this under-harvested woodland is brought into management then an additional 2 million tonnes of woodfuel could be produced annually, equivalent to the energy needs of 250,000 homes. Read more...

This weekend (29th & 30th January) sees the the RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch.  You can sign up here to take part. What is needed ? an hour of your time a pen or pencil some paper or a print out of the RSPB's bird ID sheet a place to observe (garden / local park) Read more...

Greenfinches, parasites, heat islands and the BTO nesting survey. Greenfinches are being killed by a protozoan parasite – Trichomonas.  The parasite causes swelling of the throat by infecting the crop and gullet, so the the birds cannot eat.  It has been suggested that as many as 500,000 greenfinches have been killed by this parasite. Read more...