Nature Watch

Having experienced weeks of wet, windy weather, this has finally given way to warmer dry days.

SIGHTINGS/OBSERVATIONS

Hazelwood: Adder, Grass Snake, Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Goldcrest, Willow Warbler, flocks of Siskin, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Long Tailed Tits, Speckled Wood/ Painted Lady/ Comma/ Large White/ Peacock butterflies.

Wet Wood: Song Thrush, Long Tailed Tits, Common Frog, Speckled Wood butterflies.

Boardwalk: Common Lizards, Large White butterflies.

Open Heathland: Kestrel, Buzzards, Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers, flocks of House Martins and Swallows in flight, Silver Studded Blue butterflies.

A Tawny Owl has been heard calling from Hazelwood and to the west of the site.
Readings using a bat detector have continued at dusk. Pipistrelle Bats have been recorded feeding in Hazelwood, Wet Wood bridge east and across the open heath.
With the approach of Autumn, nesting boxes are now being selected for Winter roosting. A Blue Tit is already in residence in a camera nesting box situated on the fringe of Hazelwood, arriving before dark at about 7pm each evening.

Over the past month a weekly snake survey has been carried out by a Guardian volunteer who is licensed to do so. In total, 9 Adders, 19 Grass Snakes and 15 Slow Worms have been counted. The survey is undertaken at specified sites throughout the Reserve away from the main paths and tracks.

For some years now the Guardians have been monitoring butterfly numbers, particularly the Silver Studded Blue. In Great Britain SSBs are classified as nationally scarce. They are typically found on heathland that has not become too overgrown. Bell heather is a favourite nectar source. This year has been the best yet in terms of total butterfly numbers at Slop Bog including the Silver Studded Blue. It is not easy to ascribe a specific reason for this but the grazing cattle may well be a contributory factor.

Nature Fact

Many people think Tawny Owls call with a 'tu-whit,tu-who' sound. What we hear is not a single owl but two birds. One of them gives out an eerie 'hoo, hooo, hoo-oo-oo-oo' call and the other, probably a female, answers with a sharp 'ke-wick'. Both sexes hoot and both call 'ke-wick' but these sounds are never uttered together by the same bird.

Site Management

Work on site has included repairs to the livestock fencing. Regular checks of the whole fence line reveal any weaknesses such as rotten posts which have to be dealt with straight away.
Now the bird nesting season has finished, woodland edge management work has begun on the belt of tress that stretch the length of the site. This will include the creation of 2 'bays' to break up the straight edge and the coppicing of a small area of Birch. Rather than reducing the woodland, this work will improve it by allowing regeneration of healthy saplings to replace poor quality trees. This will produce a dense screen of regrowth and allow wild flowers to benefit from the increased light levels.