Norsey Wood Society
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NORSEY WOOD SOCIETY AUTUMN 2020 NEWSLETTER 171 norseywoodsociety.uk [email protected] A wonderful picture of a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Courtesy of Society member Jan Lewis CONTENTS 1) Talks and Events 2) Bird Walk 3) The Benefits of Ride Widening EVENTS FOR YOUR DIARY 4) Norsey Woodland Crafts Due to Covid-19 all events for the foreseeable future have been CANCELLED 5) Woody Writes 6) Watching Wildlife in the Billericay Area Our newsletter is sponsored by Norsey Woodland 7) Weasel Sighting Crafts and printed by Acors Press of Billericay. 8) Ranger’s Report & Contacts Bird Walk It was late May, 9-weeks into Lockdown, when I had the low on the trunks of the trees. It was a Treecreeper, and opportunity to have a good long walk around Norsey then another. How lovely to stand and watch them going Wood to see what birds I could hear and see. I started at round the trunks of trees, working their way up, then 11.00am, so I was not expecting too many of our changing trees and starting again. These are definitely feathered friends to pop up and say hi. Would the birds that you have to stand still and just watch for a few reduction in background noise make a difference? minutes and to enjoy their behaviour - a nice spot in any case! As I approached along Outwood Common Road, I was pleasantly surprised to see, first up, a Common Buzzard, Moving back onto the proper path, I hadn’t gone too gliding and soaring over the field no more than 100 feet much further when I was aware of a Warbler just above or so from the ground. Unfortunately, it disappeared in my head and thought I’d at last seen one of the many the direction of Goatsmoor Lane before I could get the Chiffchaffs that have set up home for the Summer, but as camera on it. it flew higher up in the tree it was not making the characteristic Chiffchaff call. It was a one note sound Upon entering the Wood, I spent most of the next two repeated at regular intervals. My first thought was Willow hours or so walking around the trail markers 1, 2, and 3 Warbler as they are very similar, but I could only see him on the map, and briefly touching on 4; so the north east in semi-shade. They have not been seen round these quarter of the Wood. As I entered the pathway on the parts for a while, as Neil Sumner had told me the right from the entrance drive, I had not gone far when the previous evening when walking Mill Meadows. I then lovely sound of a Song Thrush greeted me singing from thought, well, we are in a wood so Wood Warbler it is! I on high. I picked him out, belting out his tune before he Googled Wood Warbler call on my phone, weak signal, took flight to start up much further into the Wood. It so I memorised the call and checked it out when I got wasn’t long before I heard Chiffchaff at every turn and home. Sure enough, no mistaking, it was a Wood also Blackcap, two of our chatty Summer migrants, who Warbler, so another good birdwatching tick! seem to be here in ever increasing numbers. Then a Robin and a Wren joined in together with a Blackbird. I’d heard that some small birds use the Dormouse boxes Coming to a cross roads of pathways over a dried up to nest. These boxes have holes at the back close to the stream, I could hear, but not see, a couple of Wrens trunk and must not be disturbed except by the Ranger getting very agitated as it was their one-note warning call who is licensed to handle this rare creature. I wonder if they were sounding, along with a Blue Tit. I stood a while the birds choose them to try and prevent predation from to see what was giving them cause for concern, and low Squirrels, Rats, and now our recently discovered resident down on the branch of an Oak Tree was a Jay. They had Weasel, as they will take birds eggs and fledglings. I every right to be anxious, as he would certainly ransack stealthily approached a newer box, about 25 feet in from either of these birds nests’ should he be able to get to the path and, yes, I could hear chicks. So I backed away them. to watch as in the canopy I could hear one of the parents getting a little agitated. Then he/she came down to the I was about to move on when I heard a noise behind me nest and it was a Blue Tit. like a tap tap, then it stopped. So I stood some more and there it was again. At first I thought it was my full bottle of Continuing along the pathway that runs at the back of the water in my rucksack making the occasional sound as the houses in Norsey Road I saw Wood Pigeon, heard some water moved about, then it became more frequent, and I Jay screeching, Blackbird scurrying amongst the dry wasn’t moving! I reckoned it was a Great Spotted leaves on the floor, numerous Squirrels going about their Woodpecker pecking, not drumming, on a trunk to find business, and more Chiffchaff and Blackcap singing and grubs and larvae to eat. I followed the sound as quietly as calling. I could, and sure enough on a trunk of a Silver Birch tree there he was, but again only a brief sighting before he Coming down the main path, I decided to sit in the large flew off in his typical arching flight to another tree. picnic area and work out what I had seen and heard. First though, I checked the Dutch Barn to see if anything was I walked on, quite pleased I had witnessed this, as I nesting in there, and was rewarded by the sight of a cannot recall having seen this behaviour before. I then Wren’s nest. spotted a group of Long Tailed Tits calling and diving from tree branch to tree branch. There were probably So all in all a good 2.5 hours of birding with 16 species about 6 or 7 of them, hunting for food. They hang out in accounted for and to summarise they were, Common small groups in the breeding season, all helping at a nest. Buzzard, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Wren, Robin, Blue Tit, Then I saw Great Tit, more Blue Tit, Wren, Robin, and a Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Wood solitary Carrion Crow silently flying under the canopy. He Warbler, Treecreeper, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Jay, too would be happy to part young birds from their Carrion Crow and Wood Pigeon, plus Blue Tit and Wren parents! nests. Article by Dave Sweet I then started to take one of the unofficial pathways (sorry Chris), that have been created and had only gone a few paces when something caught my eye, darting around Front cover pic (top right) features a beautiful Elephant Hawk Moth Page 2 The Benefits of Ride Widening You may have noticed that some of the verges alongside the paths have been widened over the last two years. Why has that been done? Surely the trees should not be cut down? Norsey Wood is an ancient managed woodland and without active management the biodiversity of the area would diminish. In thick woodland sunlight cannot penetrate to the ground so fewer species of plants flourish. The trees and scrub along the Short Easy Access Trail were thinned and cleared to encourage a more diverse mix of plants which will, in turn, encourage more insects and invertebrates that are food for the birds and mammals. The Thursday work-party undertook the task of widening the ride under the supervision of the Ranger, Chris over 3 or 4 weeks in January/ The Work Party Jan 2019 February 2019. Some set about taking out the smaller trees and saplings with hand Chris Huggins tools aided by Chris and his chain saw. The rest of the party cut up the smaller branches and stacked all the timber at the back of the cleared areas, providing homes for beetles. Snow, fog, rain or sunshine the volunteers were happy to spend two hours on a Thursday morning working in the Wood for a cup of coffee and a biscuit. By May 2019 the ride looked open and quite bare, with sparse Bluebells, short grass and low vegetation. As the year progressed more plants appeared and stools of the trees that had been cut down had started to regenerate. I thought it would be interesting to see how many types of plants emerged naturally following the clearance May 2019 and widening of the ride in the second year after the work was done. The first year had produced some vegetation but by the spring of 2020 it was obvious that there was a lot more variety. I decided to make a note of which plants I could identify along the ride. This was not going to be a scientific survey, just my Late April 2020 observations from walking along the path. I took my notebook and camera and noted any plants that I could recognise. I found that I could name quite a few and took photos to double check and to identify those I could not recognise. My first walk was in late April and the Bluebells were doing extremely well.