We have managed an unprecedented number of coppicing sessions in the wood this winter and, most unusually, are pleased with what we have achieved.

Coppicing looks drastic but is vital for woodland health. It creates a mosaic of diverse habitats, from open sunny glades in the first few years after cutting, to dense scrub as the new growth matures. This is good for biodiversity, as well as prolonging the life of the hazel and, by keeping the tree in a high growth rate, is really effective at capturing carbon. Definitely a win-win, but there’s no doubt that it’s jolly hard work for our ageing bodies, even with the assistance of the battery chain saw.

We have been creating dead hedges with the cut hazel. These provide shelter and protected corridors within the wood:

Log piles, made with the beefier bits of wood, will soon start to decay and be ideal for beetle larvae:

One member of the coppicing team just has a supervisory role from the back of the car:

There is not long to go now before work must finish on 1st March for the beginning of the bird breeding season. In some ways this will be a relief because it’s an excuse to stop coppicing, but we hope to have achieved a bit more by then if the weather allows.

We have also done a tour around the wood to clean and maintain the dormouse boxes and raptor boxes before the start of spring.

All of the raptor boxes had nests in them and I presume that these would mostly have been squirrels, although intriguingly there was much variation in the look of the nests. We must pay more attention to what’s going on in these large bird boxes this year:

Before the beginning of March we will also need to try to locate and then clean out all of the many smaller bird boxes that are dotted around the wood – there is still a lot to do and time is fast running out.

And where is this squirrel taking those leaves? I do hope it is not to one of the newly cleaned out raptor boxes:

There is work to be done in the meadows as well as we start the annual war against the Alexanders. These thuggish plants grow far too strongly in this coastal location and, given half a chance, would take over and swamp all other vegetation. For many springs now I have spent hours digging them up and ensuring that no seed is set, but I’m still not confident that it is a battle that we are winning:

This is what can happen if you let your guard down:

Whilst I was out Alexandering, I found a vole nest that had presumably been built within a large grass tussock. A fox has now located it and dug it out:

We were in Devon last week and the frog breeding season was in full swing. Every year this starts in the milder west of the country and moves slowly eastwards, as demonstrated by the latest spawn survey that the Freshwater and Habitats Trust published on 17th February:

Although we have seen some male frogs starting to hang out in our ponds here in the meadows, the party has not yet properly got underway and there is no spawn. It won’t be long now though.

We often come across things that have been picked up from the seashore by birds, who then drop them down onto the meadows. Dave has recently found a crab shell and part of a lobster claw:

We are building up a bit of a collection from the meadows:

Mermaid’s purses, the leathery egg cases of sharks, skates and rays, are one of these marine treasures that we discover most frequently in the meadows. These pouches are usually anchored to the sea floor, protecting the egg and then subsequently the developing embryo for up to a year. However, they can get washed up onto beaches particularly after a storm, and are then taken by the birds.

The trail cameras caught a crow with a mermaid’s purse:

It pecked right into the centre of the pouch to get at the egg or embryo:

Recent rough weather must have dislodged many of these eggs sacs from the seabed because they have been turning up in the meadows, all broken open by corvids to get at the protein within:

The Shark Trust website has information on how to ID and report the mermaid’s purses that you might find on the seashore:

I rehydrated the three different types of mermaids purse in our collection of seashore items found in the meadows:

I’m pleased that I’ve finally put some effort into finding out a bit more about these mermaids purses and will now appreciate them so much more when I come across them.

One night recently was forecast to be relatively mild and calm, so I ran the moth trap to see if I could catch any winter-flying moths. The next morning the trap was disappointingly empty, but I did find a pale brindled beauty that had been drawn in by the light and roosted up on the wall behind:

The trail cameras are mostly fogged up with condensation at the moment after all the rain but I do have a few images to show this time. Here is a ringed magpie who has unfortunately found a hibernating slow worm:

Here is the ringed bird again, this time with a mouse:

And a photo taken whilst we were away shows that these birds are already starting to build this year’s nest:

I have also been seeing blackbirds with sloes on this gate. The sloes are usually left on the blackthorn until later in the winter, since freezing converts their starches to sugars making them more palatable:

The ringed kestrel, the doyenne of the meadows, has also been around along with her mate:

It is messy work digging up worms from the wet winter soil:

If there are going to be badger cubs this year, then they will have been born by now and are tucked away underground. They won’t be allowed up above ground until April, although some years we get lucky and see them being carried around between the various tunnels before then:

There is still so much darkness available in February that it is unusual to see a badger above ground in the daylight:

I never tire of watching the badgers going about their daily business. A bit of mutual grooming here:

And some scent marking to reinforce family bonds:

We have been tasked with getting some reasonable photographs of the birdlife at Walmer Castle that can be laminated and shown on the wildlife walks if needed. We visited the castle this week but only managed a photo of jays and a blackbird:

We shall keep on trying.

A show of cyclamen under a tree in the castle grounds is a particularly cheering sight:

We are now looking forward to the rain stopping, so that we can get out and fully appreciate the spring as it starts to arrive.