DOCSLIB.ORG

Wiltshire Mammal Group Newsletter Where We Update You on Activities in 2019 As Well As Following the AGM Last November, Ben Williams Some Plans for 2020

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Wiltshire Mammal Group Newsletter Where We Update You on Activities in 2019 As Well As Following the AGM Last November, Ben Williams Some Plans for 2020 Wiltshire Mammal Group Spring 2020 Welcome to the spring 2020 edition of the Changes to the Committee Wiltshire Mammal Group newsletter where we update you on activities in 2019 as well as Following the AGM last November, Ben Williams some plans for 2020. has stepped down as chair of the WMG committee. Ben will still be involved in the group A huge thank you to all who have supported but I hope you’ll join us in sending him our thanks the group in 2019 and shared their mammal for his contribution to the group. records. We also have two new committee members: 2020 A turbulent year Rhodri Gruffydd As we finalise the mammal group’s spring 2020 Hello! I started getting involved with the WMG newsletter (19th March) the UK and the world is in committee last autumn and have since assisted the midst of events that current generations, with checking the email inbox, helping to organise certainly in the UK, will never have experienced on Ric Morris’ mammal bone identification workshop this scale. As spring unfolds our thoughts turn to (which is now unfortunately postponed) and strategies for slowing the spread of Covid-19 and putting this newsletter together! we become increasingly accustomed to “social I have a conservation and ecology background, distancing” and “self-isolation”. Increasingly, having studied BSc Zoology and MSc Applied advice is offered on coping mechanisms for Ecology at the University of Exeter. I’m currently managing your mental health whilst in self- working for the National Trust Wiltshire Landscape isolation when contact with family and friends is in an engagement and visitor experience role restricted. At the time of writing (but will this where I look at ways to connect people to nature. change, I wonder?) government advice I have a general interest so keen to get involved encourages us to partake in isolation in the great with various projects and also hoping to start water outdoors too. vole surveys on the River Kennet. It’s important that we all heed the, admittedly I’ve met a few of you so far and looking forward rapidly changing, government advice to slow the to meeting the rest of you at some point! spread of Covid-19 in the UK, as part of measures to support our beloved National Health Service. Jessie Forster But we also need to stay healthy in mind and soul, I've been a volunteer on various conservation and we therefore encourage you to enjoy the projects in the past, now moving into a career in advancing spring, the queen bumblebees ecology. I'm keen to get involved in some searching for nest sites, the return of songbirds from recording projects with WMG, looking forward to Africa, and the burst of spring blossoms. A good setting up some water vole surveys this year and year perhaps to focus on wildlife close to home meeting some fellow mammal enthusiasts! My such as the hedgehogs in the garden. background is in education (I've taught all ages), Let us know what you see in your garden through so happy to help or advise on events or talks. I will the Wiltshire Mammal Group Facebook Group. be leading some activities for school groups with Record your sightings with the Mammal Society’s the Kingfisher project in June which encourages Mammal Mapper app. And most importantly, look children to develop their interest in wildlife and the out for yourself, your loved ones, your neighbours countryside. Do let us know if you'd like support and community. starting a new project or a one-off event. Hope to see some of you out and about soon... Website Check out the Wiltshire Mammal Portal: https://wiltshiremammals.wordpress.com and the WMG Facebook group (search for us on Facebook). Red Deer, stag, Salisbury Plain military training area, September 2019 (C) Steve Dewey A reminder that the atlas was published in March 2016 and that it remains an up-to-date record of the current known distribution of mammal and bats in Wiltshire. Entitled, Mammals in Wiltshire, 2nd Edition, it can be downloaded here, free of charge. Mammals in Wiltshire_2nd edition_ver 1.0 Furthermore, work has already begun on the next edition! So, a huge thank you to Wiltshire’s active mammal recorders who continue to monitor and survey across the county, generating the data for Weasel, garden near Calne, December 2019 (C) Phil the next update to the atlas. Since the publication Smith of the atlas in 2016, the county has seen significant progress in our knowledge of species such as Mammals in Wiltshire (2nd harvest mouse, barbastelle bat and Bechstein’s bat. New records of hazel dormouse require Edition) further updates to the distribution maps, whilst a new bat species for the county has been Gareth Harris confirmed not once, but twice! Please get involved! Join Wiltshire Mammal Group (or Wiltshire Bat Group), get involved with projects such as dormouse monitoring and hedgehog survey, or simply submit the records of the mammals you see. Help us make a difference. Notes from the County Recorder Gareth Harris Once again, survey and monitoring effort in the past year by many volunteers has yielded some exciting results. Several projects have made important findings that extend our knowledge of our county’s mammals and their populations. The bat group leads the way in this regard with the discovery of new breeding sites for species such as Barbastelle bat, new roosting sites for greater & lesser horseshoe and new sites for Bechstein’s bat as well as the county’s second record of roadsides, whilst sad, reflect the increasing otter Alcathoe bat: read the forthcoming bat group population in the county, and the increasing newsletter, published alongside the mammal dispersal of young animals. group newsletter on the Wiltshire Mammal There isn’t the space to write anything meaningful Portal, for more details. on the impact of the Badger cull in Wiltshire, nor is Building upon the success of recent years, further there yet the data available to conduct any harvest mouse surveys confirmed new sites for this analyses, but clearly there is concern amongst species in the county, confirming perhaps, that this many of the expansion of cull zones in Wiltshire, species is widespread in the county. This is all the and indeed neighbouring counties, particularly more impressive, given the sparsity of records with growing evidence that this isn’t a long-term available to the atlas project, when we published solution to the problem of bovine TB. in 2016. Some of the landscape-scale farmer I noted in last year’s newsletter that there had groups in Wiltshire have taken the harvest mouse been an apparent reduction in the numbers of to their hearts and have initiated their own surveys records of polecats reported and indeed of too, confirming new sites in doing so. With thanks stoat. (Weasel records are always very low to Simon Smart and the Chalke Valley Farmer in number). This has continued in 2019 with very Group for their efforts in this regard. few (but some!) records reported (5 records of Natural England have continued their small roadkill thus far, with a small amount of data still mammal studies on Salisbury Plain (with regards to coming in for 2019 via iRecord & Mammal Mapper the monitoring of prey items for a potential so this number may increase a little). reintroduction of Hen Harrier) and benefitted from I mentioned last year that rabbit numbers have the involvement of a number of Wiltshire Mammal been very low in Wiltshire in recent years, due to Group members in 2019. repeated infections of Myxomatosis and other Dormouse surveys have expanded again in 2019 infectious diseases such as Rabbit Haemorrhagic with new monitoring sites in the Pewsey Downs, Virus (type 1 and 2). Some recovery was noted in Hazel Hill Wood and a new site in autumn/early winter 2018, before faltering and The Donheads (near Shaftesbury). Amazingly, one some tentative recovery has been seen during of the sites in the Pewsey Downs confirmed the 2019 (a field with 30 rabbits of varying ages took presence of dormice before the end of the first me back to my childhood!). season of monitoring, whilst elsewhere in the Clearly, there is little data nationally or locally that county, dormice were confirmed on a further two accurately tracks populations trends of mustelids new sites. One of these sites is on the edge of an such as Polecat and Stoat – but it’s hard not be industrial estate in Devizes, quite some distance concerned about their status at the moment. from woodland, but confirmed with photographs of a dormouse in a bird feeder! We will initiate I circulated some information in autumn 2018 monitoring at this site in Devizes in 2020, whilst regarding disease in hares – this was widely monitoring will continue on the other two sites as circulated by many of the farming and shooting well. groups in the county, whilst nationally a number of Wildlife Trusts and other organisations helped to Meanwhile, dormouse monitoring continues in the spread the word. I recently spoke to Dr Diana Bell Savernake, at Grovely Wood, Nockatt’s Coppice at University of East Anglia, who is leading the and at several other sites in the county, research on hares, and she reiterated the need to coordinated by their own brilliant monitoring remain vigilant and to continue reporting groups. instances of dead/dying/diseased hares – indeed, Surveys searching for the presence of dormice she has continued to receive reports through was discontinued at one site in West Wilts after two 2019. seasons without yielding evidence of dormice.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • New Forest Audax Events on 23Rd May 2021 Starting from Lymington
    New Forest Audax Events on 23rd May 2021 Starting from Lymington. (Open air public space – according to restrictions in force at the time) There will be no arranged refuelling venues as controls. Proof of passage will be by gathering “information controls” as you travel. There are many opportunities for refreshment on the courses but to avoided the risk of crowding specific places it will be up to riders to decide where, and if, to stop. New Forest Excursion – 207km (125miles) This event explores every corner and all of the varied New Forest landscapes. The route visits Burley, the western escarpment of the Forest in the Avon Valley, the edge of the Wiltshire Downs, and Cranborne Chase, before returning through the heart of the Forest across Stoney Cross plain through Lyndhurst and Beaulieu to the Solent coastal nature reserve at Lepe. Then a loop back northwards to Redlynch and Hale before a grand finale down the Ornamental Drives, through Brockenhurst and more coastal fringes to the Arrivee. Entry fee: £5 (+ £3 temporary membership fee, if you are not a member of AUK or CTC) Includes: Route sheet, gpx track, brevet card, and AUK validation fee . Enter via the Audax Uk Website Here: https://audax.uk/event-details?eventId=9013 New Forest Day Out - 107km (66miles) This event explores the centre and west of the New Forest with a turning point at the Braemore near Fordingbridge. Entry fee: £4 (No SAE required for postal entries.) (+ £3 temporary membership fee, if you are not a member of AUK or Cycling UK) Includes: Route sheet, gpx track, brevet card and AUK validation fee.
    [Show full text]
  • In This Issue: Flower & Vegetable Show Saturday 27Th July from 2Pm Parish Council News Page 2
    Vol: 45 Issue No 4 www.east-knoyle.co.uk July/August 2019 East Knoyle In this issue: Flower & Vegetable Show Saturday 27th July from 2pm Parish Council News Page 2 There is still loads of time to make your scarecrow, Round and About Page 2 practice a Battenburg cake, speak nicely to your roses, Wren’s Shop Page 3 nurture your vegetables and encourage any young children you know to take part in this annual village Knoyle’s Knature Notes Page 4 affair. And how about finding a photograph or two for the photography competition. Check your Show schedule for Rights of Way Page 5 all the information, there really is something for everyone Village Fete Information Page 6 to participate in, and let’s hope this year’s Show on the 27th July is as successful as previous shows. Our Trees and Hedges Page 7 St Mary’s Church Page 8 Soup Recipe Page 9 Moviola Page 9 Mrs McGregor’s Tips Page 10 Memory Lane Page 11 Hindon Surgery Page 12 Royal British Legion Page 14 Winstone’s Books Page 15 Children’s Page Page 22 What’s On? Page 24 Editors: Tracie, Deb and Emma [email protected] Printed by Gillingham Press Co Ltd - Unit 6 School Road - SP8 4QT - Telephone 01747 823234 1 Parish Council News Tim Hyde, Chairman, East Knoyle Parish Council. Clerk to the Council, Kevin Stowe [email protected] The Parish Council takes a break from business with no meeting being scheduled in the month of August. At the July meeting Wessex Water representatives gave details of the water main replacement works taking place in the Street and Shaftesbury Road starting 7th October 2019.
    [Show full text]
  • Wiltshire Botany
    WILTSHIRE BOTANY JOURNAL OF THE WILTSHIRE BOTANICAL SOCIETY ISSUE NO. 3, February 2000 CONTENTS 1 E DITORIAL 2 The Flora of Berwick St. James Barbara Last 15 Grassland Communities on Salisbury Plain Training Area: Results of the ITE ecological survey Kevin Walker and Richard Pywell 28 The recent history of Batology in Wiltshire Rob Randall 33 Plant records 1997 35 Addition to 1996 records 36 Plant records 1998 Wiltshire Botany 3, 2000, page1 EDITORIAL Each issue of Wiltshire Botany so far has managed to break new ground. This issue contains the first village flora to be included. Barbara Last has systematically recorded the plants growing in Berwick St James, and her article gives an account of her findings. Hopefully, it will inspire others to do similar work in their own localities. Our second article is the first systematic account we have published on the vegetation of Salisbury Plain. In this case, Kevin Walker and Richard Pywell describe the grassland communities of the MoD Training Area. Kevin and Richard can be contacted at the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, Monks Wood, Abbots Ripton, Huntingdon, Cambs., PE17 2LS. Tel. 01487 773381.Fax. 01487 773467. Email; [email protected] Innovation is complemented by continuity. Rob Randall’s article continues his account of the history of recording the many different species of bramble in Wiltshire. His account brings us more or less up to the present day. It is hoped that the next issue will contain what is effectively an up-to-date bramble flora of Wiltshire. As in previous issues, a selection of the Society’s plant records is included.
    [Show full text]
  • Accounting for National Nature Reserves
    Natural England Research Report NERR078 Accounting for National Nature Reserves: A Natural Capital Account of the National Nature Reserves managed by Natural England www.gov.uk/naturalACCOUNTING FOR-england NATIONAL NATURE RESERVES Natural England Research Report NERR078 Accounting for National Nature Reserves: A Natural Capital Account of the National Nature Reserves managed by Natural England Tim Sunderland1, Ruth Waters1, Dan Marsh2, Cat Hudson1 and Jane Lusardi1 Published 21st February 2019 1 Natural England 2 University of Waikato, New Zealand This report is published by Natural England under the Open Government Licence - OGLv3.0 for public sector information. You are encouraged to use, and reuse, information subject to certain conditions. For details of the licence visit Copyright. Natural England photographs are only available for non commercial purposes. If any other information such as maps or data cannot be used commercially this will be made clear within the report. ISBN 978-1-78354-518-6 © Natural England 2018 ACCOUNTING FOR NATIONAL NATURE RESERVES Project details This report should be cited as: SUNDERLAND, T., WATERS, R.D., MARSH, D. V. K., HUDSON, C., AND LUSARDI, J. (2018). Accounting for National Nature Reserves: A natural capital account of the National Nature Reserves managed by Natural England. Natural England Research Report, Number 078 Project manager Tim Sunderland Principal Specialist in Economics Horizon House Bristol BS1 5TL [email protected] Acknowledgements We would like to thank everyone who contributed to this report both within Natural England and externally. ii Natural England Research Report 078 Foreword England’s National Nature Reserves (NNRs) are the crown jewels of our natural heritage.
    [Show full text]
  • River Kennet – Craven Fishery
    River Kennet – Craven Fishery An Advisory Visit by the Wild Trout Trust November 2014 1 1. Introduction This report is the output of a site meeting and walk-over survey of the Craven Fishery on the River Kennet at Hampstead Marshall in Berkshire. The request for the visit came from the owner of the fishery, Mr. Richard White. Mr. White is keen to explore opportunities to enhance and improve the fishery. The quality of the fishery, and in particular water quantity and quality have been in steady decline over the last 25 years and is thought to be linked to a combination of factors, including the restoration and re-opening of the Kennet and Avon Canal, increased abstraction pressures at Axford and the arrival of non-native signal crayfish Pacifastacus leniusculus Comments in this report are based on observations on the day of the site visit and discussions with Mr. White and the river keeper Mr. Geoff Trotman Throughout the report, normal convention is followed with respect to bank identification, i.e. banks are designated Left Bank (LB) or Right Bank (RB) whilst looking downstream. Map 1 Craven Fishery 2 The Craven fishery lies just downstream from a short section of combined river and navigation channel. The river and canal converge below Copse Lock and separate at the head of the Craven Fishery at NGR SU 421679. Through the Craven Fishery, the river channel runs parallel with the Kennet and Avon Canal before the two channels re-join near the bottom boundary of the fishery at SU 431667. The fishery itself consists of a section of main-river and a shorter section of milling channel.
    [Show full text]
  • WILTSHIRE Extracted from the Database of the Milestone Society
    Entries in red - require a photograph WILTSHIRE Extracted from the database of the Milestone Society National ID Grid Reference Road No. Parish Location Position WI_AMAV00 SU 15217 41389 UC road AMESBURY Church Street; opp. No. 41 built into & flush with churchyard wall Stonehenge Road; 15m W offield entrance 70m E jcn WI_AMAV01 SU 13865 41907 UC road AMESBURY A303 by the road WI_AMHE02 SU 12300 42270 A344 AMESBURY Stonehenge Down, due N of monument on the Verge Winterbourne Stoke Down; 60m W of edge Fargo WI_AMHE03 SU 10749 42754 A344 WINTERBOURNE STOKE Plantation on the Verge WI_AMHE05 SU 07967 43180 A344 SHREWTON Rollestone top of hill on narrow Verge WI_AMHE06 SU 06807 43883 A360 SHREWTON Maddington Street, Shrewton by Blind House against wall on Verge WI_AMHE09 SU 02119 43409 B390 CHITTERNE Chitterne Down opp. tank crossing next to tree on Verge WI_AMHE12 ST 97754 43369 B390 CODFORD Codford Down; 100m W of farm track on the Verge WI_AMHE13 ST 96143 43128 B390 UPTON LOVELL Ansty Hill top of hill,100m E of line of trees on Verge WI_AMHE14 ST 94519 42782 B390 KNOOK Knook Camp; 350m E of entrance W Farm Barns on bend on embankment WI_AMWH02 SU 12272 41969 A303 AMESBURY Stonehenge Down, due S of monument on the Verge WI_AMWH03 SU 10685 41600 A303 WILSFORD CUM LAKE Wilsford Down; 750m E of roundabout 40m W of lay-by on the Verge in front of ditch WI_AMWH05 SU 07482 41028 A303 WINTERBOURNE STOKE Winterbourne Stoke; 70m W jcn B3083 on deep verge WI_AMWH11 ST 990 364 A303 STOCKTON roadside by the road WI_AMWH12 ST 975 356 A303 STOCKTON 400m E of parish boundary with Chilmark by the road WI_AMWH18 ST 8759 3382 A303 EAST KNOYLE 500m E of Willoughby Hedge by the road WI_BADZ08 ST 84885 64890 UC road ATWORTH Cock Road Plantation, Atworth; 225m W farm buildings on the Verge WI_BADZ09 ST 86354 64587 UC road ATWORTH New House Farm; 25m W farmhouse on the Verge Registered Charity No 1105688 1 Entries in red - require a photograph WILTSHIRE Extracted from the database of the Milestone Society National ID Grid Reference Road No.
    [Show full text]
  • White Horse Trail Directions – Westbury to Redhorn Hill
    White Horse Trail Route directions (anti-clockwise) split into 10 sections with an alternative for the Cherhill to Alton Barnes section, and including the “short cut” between the Pewsey and Alton Barnes White Horses S1 White Horse Trail directions – Westbury to Redhorn Hill [Amended on 22/5, 26/5 and 27/5/20] Maps: OS Explorer 143, 130, OS Landranger 184, 173 Distance: 13.7 miles (21.9 km) The car park above the Westbury White Horse can be reached either via a street named Newtown in Westbury, which also carries a brown sign pointing the way to Bratton Camp and the White Horse (turn left at the crossroads at the top of the hill), or via Castle Road in Bratton, both off the B3098. Go through the gate by the two information boards, with the car park behind you. Go straight ahead to the top of the escarpment in the area which contains two benches, with the White Horse clearly visible to your right. There are fine views here over the vale below. Go down steps and through the gate to the right and after approx. 10m, before you have reached the White Horse, turn right over a low bank between two tall ramparts. Climb up onto either of them and walk along it, parallel to the car park. This is the Iron Age hill fort of Bratton Camp/Castle. Turn left off it at the end and go over the stile or through the gate to your right, both of which give access to the tarmac road. Turn right onto this.
    [Show full text]
  • Donhead St. Andrew - Census 1851
    Donhead St. Andrew - Census 1851 9 4 8 /1 Year 7 Address Surname Given Names Position Status Age Sex Occupation Place of Birth Notes 0 1 Born O H 1 Lower Street Kember William Head M 38 M 1813 Gardener, Servant Tollard Royal Page 1. Folio 50 ed4a Kember Patience Wife M 33 F 1818 Semley Kember Jane Daur U 15 F 1836 Scholar Shaftesbury; Dorset Kember Charles Son 11 M 1840 Scholar Donhead St Andrew Kember William Son 10 M 1841 Scholar Donhead St Andrew Kember Keziah Daur 8 F 1843 Scholar Donhead St Andrew Kember Mary A. Daur 6 F 1845 Scholar Donhead St Andrew Kember George Son 5 M 1846 Scholar Donhead St Andrew Kember Albert Son 2 M 1849 Donhead St Andrew 2 Lower Street Shipman John Head M 23 M 1828 Journeyman Smith Baverstock Shipman Mary Wife M 24 F 1827 Donhead St Mary Shipman Eleanor Daur 2 F 1849 Donhead St Andrew Shipman Harriett A. Daur 0 F 1851 Donhead St Andrew Age 4mths 0 House Uninhabited 3 Lower Street Dewey William Head M 48 M 1803 Farrier Donhead St Andrew Dewey Ann Wife M 50 F 1801 Donhead St Mary Dewey Ellen Daur U 20 F 1831 Dress Maker Winchester Dewey James Son U 18 M 1833 Farrier's son Winchester Dewey George Son 16 M 1835 Farrier's son Donhead St Andrew Dewey Saml. Son 14 M 1837 Farrier's son Donhead St Andrew Dewey Hugh Son U 12 M 1839 Farrier's son Donhead St Andrew Page 2 Dewey Sidney Son 10 M 1841 Scholar Donhead St Andrew Dewey Martha E.
    [Show full text]
  • The National Way Point Rally Handbook
    75th Anniversary National Way Point Rally The Way Point Handbook 2021 Issue 1.4 Contents Introduction, rules and the photographic competition 3 Anglian Area Way Points 7 North East Area Way Points 18 North Midlands Way Points 28 North West Area Way Points 36 Scotland Area Way Points 51 South East Way Points 58 South Midlands Way Points 67 South West Way Points 80 Wales Area Way Points 92 Close 99 75th Anniversary - National Way Point Rally (Issue 1.4) Introduction, rules including how to claim way points Introduction • This booklet represents the combined • We should remain mindful of guidance efforts of over 80 sections in suggesting at all times, checking we comply with on places for us all to visit on bikes. Many going and changing national and local thanks to them for their work in doing rules, for the start, the journey and the this destination when visiting Way Points • Unlike in normal years we have • This booklet is sized at A4 to aid compiled it in hope that all the location printing, page numbers aligned to the will be open as they have previously pdf pages been – we are sorry if they are not but • It is suggested you read the booklet on please do not blame us, blame Covid screen and only print out a few if any • This VMCC 75th Anniversary event is pages out designed to be run under national covid rules that may still in place We hope you enjoy some fine rides during this summer. Best wishes from the Area Reps 75th Anniversary - National Way Point Rally (Issue 1.4) Introduction, rules including how to claim way points General
    [Show full text]
  • River Avon at Bulford
    River Avon at Bulford An Advisory Visit by the Wild Trout Trust June 2013 Contents Introduction Catchment and Fishery Overview Habitat Assessment Recommendations Making It Happen 2 Introduction This report is the output of a Wild Trout Trust visit undertaken on the Hampshire Avon on the Snake Bend Syndicate’s (SBS) water near Bulford, national grid reference (NGR) SU155428 to SU155428. The visit was requested by Mr Geoff Wilcox, who is the syndicate secretary and river keeper. The visit was focussed on assessing the habitat and management of the water for wild trout Salmo trutta. Comments in this report are based on observations on the day of the site visit and discussions with Mr Wilcox. Throughout the report, normal convention is followed with respect to bank identification i.e. banks are designated Left Bank (LB) or Right Bank (RB) whilst looking downstream. Catchment and Fishery Overview The Hampshire Avon is recognised as one of the most important river habitats in the UK. It supports a diverse range of fish and invertebrates and over 180 different aquatic plant species. The Avon (and its surrounding water meadows) has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Special Area of Conservation (SAC); however, much of the Avon and its tributaries have been significantly modified for land drainage, agriculture, milling and even navigation. 3 The Avon begins its life as two separate streams known as the Avon West and the Avon East, rising near Devizes and the Vale of Pewsey respectively. The Avon West is designated as a SSSI whilst for reasons unknown, the Avon East is not.
    [Show full text]
  • Open Downland
    8. LANDSCAPE TYPE 1: OPEN DOWNLAND Location and Boundaries 8.1. The landscape type encompasses a number of distinct downland blocks from the Marlborough Downs (1A) and Horton Down (1C) in the west running through to the Lambourn Downs (1B) and Blewbury Downs (1D) in the east. Boundaries are mainly defined by topography and the Upper Chalk geology, and in the north relate to the top of the Scarp (landscape type 5). To the south, the edge of the chalk similarly forms a distinct boundary. Overview The Open Downlands are the remote heart and core of the North Wessex Downs, with the dramatic landscapes created by the underlying chalk rocks being one of the defining features of the AONB. The subtle curves and undulations of the landform are revealed by the uniform clothing of cropped grass or cereals creating a landscape with a simple and elemental quality, accentuated by vast skies. The open, expansive views are punctuated by distinctive beech clumps crowning the downland summits, forming prominent and highly visible landmarks. Sparsely populated, the downlands possess a strong sense remoteness and isolation. Predominantly in arable cultivation these are landscapes of great seasonal variation, with muted browns and greys of the chalk and flinty soils in the ploughed autumn fields, giving way to fresh greens of the emerging crops in winter and spring and sweeping yellows and golds of summer. The characteristic close-cropped springy downland turf of the surviving herb-rich chalk grassland provides an important habitat and this landscape type contains the largest areas of designated chalk grassland in the AONB, with 15 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
    [Show full text]
  • RIVER KENNET Status: Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)
    COUNTY: BERKSHIRE/WILTSHIRE SITE NAME: RIVER KENNET Status: Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) notified under Section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 Local Planning Authorities: Berkshire County Council, Wiltshire County Council, Newbury District Council, Kennet District COuncil National Grid Reference: SU203692 to SU572667 Ordnance Survey Sheet 1:50,000: 174 1:10,000: SU26 NW, SU27 SW, SU27 SE, SU37 SW, SU36 NW, SU36 NE, SU47 NW, SU46 NE, SU56 NW, SU56 NE Date Notified (Under 1981 Act): 1 November 1995 Date of Last Revision: Area: 112.72 ha Other information: The River Lambourn, which is a tributary of the River Kennet, is also an SSSI. There are two existing SSSIs along the River Kennet: Freemans Marsh and Chilton Foliat Meadows. The site boundary is the bank top or, where this is indistinct, the first break of slope. Description and Reasons for Notification The River Kennet has a catchment dominated by chalk with the majority of the river bed being lined by gravels. The Kennet below Newbury traverses Tertiary sands and gravels, London Clay and silt, thus showing a downstream transition from the chalk to a lowland clay river. As well as having a long history of being managed as a chalk stream predominantly for trout, the Kennet has been further modified by the construction of the Kennet and Avon Canal. In some places the canal joins with the river to form a single channel. There are also many carriers and channels formerly associated with water meadow systems. The river flows through substantial undisturbed areas of marshy grassland, wet woodland and reed beds.
    [Show full text]