We are very lucky in the Churnet valley to have a great range of woodland birds, some of which are actually quite rare. Many of these birds prefer to nest in holes in trees rather than building a typical cup shaped nest.
Last week I looked at the ways bats use veteran trees and now I’m going to be exploring the other mammals that rely on ancient trees.
Bats as we all know are nocturnal which means they need somewhere to hold up during the day to hide from predators and have a well earned rest from flitting about echolocating and feeding on moths.
One of the most important groups of animals associated with veterans is the thousands of insects and other invertebrates that live on the trees.
My walk didn't exactly go as planned yesterday. The forecast that I heard was for a dry day and while walking steeply uphill from Oakamoor towards Golden Hill Farm it did feel pretty warm. The views from near the top are spectacular and a reward for the calorie burning exertion.
Walking through woodland in late summer and autumn, one of the many interesting things we can find are the fungi that seem to appear without warning. Fungi can range from tiny near unnoticeable things to grand constructions that rival the trees surrounding them.
Since I’ve taken on the Churnet Valley Veteran tree project the one question that I have been asked by far the most, from both colleagues and the public is this:
“What is a veteran tree?”
My human was sparing with the truth when the magic words 'walkies' were called from the back door. Come on, she said, let's go between the rain showers.
Look out for the silver washed fritillary in the woods of the Churnet Valley, or in your garden if you are lucky.
Last week the volunteers and I began our search for Veteran trees in the Churnet Valley. With Kind permission of the Forestry Commission and Staffordshire wildlife trust’s reserves team, we began surveys at Dimmingsdale and Cotton Dell.
