Jack by the Hedge and Lady's Smock

Currently, in the skate park field adjacent to Filnore Woods, there is a flush of Lady's Smock, along with the buttercups and dandelions.  

It is also known as Cuckoo Flower, because it flowers at the time the cuckoo arrives, 

and the less well-known name of Milkmaids.

We usually get some near post 5 in the woods but I haven't noticed them yet this year

Lady's Smock is one of the foodplants for the caterpillars of the orange tip butterfly.

The other favourite foodplant for these caterpillars is Garlic Mustard or Jack-by-the-Hedge.

This plant gets its name by the way the individual flower stems stand stiffly vertical alongside roadside hedges.

Nuts

On the ground in the coppice coupe there are loads of hazel nut shells.  Either this means we have been feeding the squirrels or, perhaps, we are going to get a lot of new hazel bushes.  Probably the former, unfortunately.

Beanpole sale

Laying out the produce for our beanpole sale today.

From beansticks

to medium plant stakes

 down to really small stakes

Sustainable coppice produce.

All profits to the management of Filnore Woods

New VOLUNTEERS always welcome.

Dawn Chorus Walk

This Sunday, 24th April, 5.00 am at Filnore Woods.  Meet at field gate on far side of Thornbury Leisure Centre car park.

Learn to recognise these birds without seeing them!

Stakes and chips - beanpole sale

A lot of stake sharpening happened the weekend before last, which produced a lot of woodchips.

Straightness of sticks is the most important followed by length.

We had five axes on the go on five chopping blocks.

Then the longer poles and shorter stakes were sorted for size, bundled up   .  .  .

.  .  .  .  and loaded on the truck to take down to the White House - our shed.

The bean pole sale is on Saturday 23rd April on the far side of the Leisure Centre car park, from 10.00 am till they're all sold, or noon at the latest.

Ash Bark Beetle

This piece of dead ash wood looks as if it has been used as a dart board.

But no.  These are the holes where adult Ash Bark Beetles (Leperisinus varius) have emerged, probably last summer.

When the bark is removed you can see the typical pattern of galleries tunnelled by the beetle grubs as they fed on the nutritious substances just under the bark.

The female beetle lays eggs in a horizontal line and the larvae tunnel either upwards or downwards, avoiding each other.  

Pylonpecker

While I was up at the coppice coupe enjoying the rural peace of Filnore Woods, my ears were assailed by a very industrial -sounding noise.  It was a sort of metal clanging.

As I was next to the pylon, which gives its name to the pylon field, I glanced up as the noise came again.  Then I saw somebody small, and black and white flying off into the woods.

Photo: Mali, Littlehampton

It was a greater spotted woodpecker.  At this time of year they do their 'drumming'  to establish their territories.  It's a sort of machine gun noise or a drum roll, usually on a tree.  The bigger and more hollow the tree is the better, because it makes a bigger and better sound and intimidates rivals.  This is competitive drumming.

Photo: paulmitch

Well this particular pecker at Filnore has discovered that the pylon makes the best sound ever.  I've heard him several times since, r-r-r-r-rapping out his metallic signal to all in the neighbourhood.  It really carries.

Fortunately woodpeckers have thick skulls and strong neck muscles so they don't get headaches when pecking at up to 20 blows per second.

They like feeding on insects especially in dead and dying trees, so we mustn't cut down all our dead wood.  In winter they feed on conifer seeds, so perhaps we need to plant a few more conifers.

Come to our Dawn Chorus Walk 5.00 am on Sunday 24th April at Filnore Woods.