Wildlife Diary
Wildlife Diary 2017
December 2017 By mid-month the Belted Galloways had done their job of removing much of the year’s new growth without damaging the all-important litter layer, so the grazier came and removed them on the 16th. The first record of Reed Bunting for the LLP involved a pair...
Wildlife Diary 2016
December 2016 A Green Woodpecker was heard yaffling on the 2nd. Our grazier brought in 5 Belted Galloway cows with their month-old calves on the 6th for a spot of late winter grazing. The breed is quieter, more docile and lighter than normal and we expect to have them...
Wildlife Diary 2015
This Wildlife Diary began in 2007 and is a monthly report from the Trust’s land which is managed for Barn Owls and other wildlife. It is known as the Lennon Legacy Project or LLP: ‘Transforming intensively grazed sheep pasture into Barn Owl Heaven’.
Wildlife Diary 2014
December 2014 A damp start to the month, the temperature dropping below freezing on some nights and predominately northerly winds. Despite this the grass is continuing to grow slowly, good news for the voles living in the litter layer and everything that eats them! By...
Wildlife Diary 2013
December 2013 A group of ten Plymouth University student volunteers visited on 4th, and tackled scrub along Corner Wood and North Park hedgerows. As always, good progress was made. Some white splashes and a small Barn Owl pellet were found around the wildlife tower on...
Wildlife Diary 2012
December 2012 On the 12th, 6 Plymouth University students spent the morning searching for Brown Hairstreak eggs on the new Blackthorn growth along our roadside perimeter. This is apparently by far the best way of surveying for this rather retiring species, as adults...
Wildlife Diary 2011
December 2011 On the 12th the regular Plymouth University group finally finished cutting back bramble from North Park. A couple of days later a Conservation Team Work Party spent some much-needed time in the orchard. The plastic tree guards that had become brittle in...
Wildlife Diary 2010
December 2010 A further 30+ Fieldfares were noted in the remnant hedge feeding on Holly berries on the 4th. By the middle of the month all the berries, holly, rosehips, sloes and haws had been eaten. The two ponds have both been covered in ice all month with just a...
Wildlife Diary 2009
December 2009 On the 5th, our annual Winter Work Party was attended by 12 volunteers, including a group from the Nature at Sundown project and from BTCV Plymouth. We spent the day cutting back the overhanging branches of the remnant hedge in Kiln Close and the...