TR23 J (Creteway Down, Holy Well and the Hope Farm Area)
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Folkestone and Hythe Birds Tetrad Guide: TR23 J (Creteway Down, Holy Well and the Hope Farm area) Most of the interest in this tetrad is provided by the section of the Folkestone Downs escarpment that runs along the southern edge. Creteway Down attracts good numbers of common migrants in season and scarcer species have included Long-eared Owl, Firecrest, Garden and Grasshopper Warblers, Spotted and Pied Flycatchers, Nightingale and Redstart, whilst it is a regular haunt for Ring Ouzel in autumn. The Downs provide a good vantage point for recording visual migration and more notable species have included Honey Buzzard, Red Kite, Marsh Harrier, Merlin, Golden Plover, Ruff, Short-eared Owl and Hawfinch. The spring at Holy Well holds breeding Moorhen and wintering Water Rail, and occasionally Woodcock, whilst Firecrest, Nightingale and Black Redstart have also occurred. Looking west over Creteway Down The fields to the north of Crete Road East can produce Wheatear and Whinchat, particularly if left as stubble in autumn, and a Tawny Pipit was seen in September 1993. Large numbers of Mediterranean Gulls can often be found in late summer/early autumn. The Hope Farm area was one of the last remaining haunts of Turtle Dove and Corn Buntings also formerly bred here. Looking north across the fields to Hope Farm Spotted Flycatcher at Creteway Down Pied Flycatcher at Creteway Down Waxwings have twice been noted in the tetrad – a flock of 12 by Encliffe Farm in January 2011 and a flock of about.20 by Coombe Farm in January 2013. Redstart at Creteway Down Ring Ouzel at Creteway Down Access and Parking There are several lay-bys along Crete Road East which enable access to Creteway Down and also along Crete Road West which enable access to Holy Well. The Folkestone to Canterbury bus passes along Canterbury Road. Other Natural History The tetrad contains part of the Folkestone Escarpment SSSI – an extensive area of chalk grassland and scrub located on the steep escarpment between Etchinghill and Capel-le-Ferne. This site is one of the largest remaining areas of unimproved chalk downland in Kent. The escarpment holds a good selection of butterflies including Dingy Skipper, Silver-spotted Skipper, Brimstone, Wall, Green Hairstreak, Marbled White, Brown Argus, Adonis Blue and Chalk Hill Blue, whilst the migrant species Clouded Yellow and Painted Lady are seen regularly, with a peak count of 280 of the latter at Hope Farm during a large influx in May 2009. Moths include a number of species that can be found by day which are characteristic of downland, including Agonopterix pallorella (Pale Flat-body), Udea lutealis (Pale Straw Pearl), Six-spot and Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnets, Chalk Carpet, Common Heath, Rest Harrow, Small Purple-barred, Clouded Buff, Burnet Companion, Mother Shipton and Small Yellow Underwing. Trapping undertaken in 2000 produced the only recent record of Double Kidney together with a good array of other species including Hypochalcia ahenella (Dingy Knot-horn), Wood Carpet, Sloe Pug, Large Thorn, Scalloped Hazel, the Annulet, Brown-veined Wainscot, Broom Moth and Brown-line Bright-eye, but recording since appears to have been limited to casual observations. There are a number of historical records of some significance. The only certain occurrence of the Wood Tiger locally was at Lady Wood, where Henry Ullyett caught several specimens in June 1869 (though it was described by Morley (1931) as being not uncommon in the Folkestone district, but without specific details), and the only confirmed area record of Plumed Prominent occurred in the tetrad in 1904. The only area record of Euspilapteryx auroguttella (Gold- dot Slender) was found here in 1981, whilst in 1991 the only area record of Dark Brocade, the first record of Mathew's Wainscot and the most recent sighting of Common Fan-foot occurred. The south-facing slopes are perfect for Adders and other reptiles and some arthropod groups have been well- documented here, including the spiders (with nearly 80 species), beetles (with over 160 species), true flies (with 490 species) and wasps, bees and ants (with 86 species). The escarpment is home to the rare Late Spider Orchid and various other orchid species including Early Spider, Bee, Lizard, Fragrant and Pyramidal. Among the dense scrub at Holywell is a marshy area dominated by Great Willowherb and Hemp-agrimony. A number of springs emerge from the foot of the escarpment. Holywell Coombe is a key geological reference site due to its highly fossiliferous sequence of deposits from the late Pleistocene and Holocene periods that line the valley floor. These have yielded a molluscan succession of particular importance, providing a record of environmental change throughout the past 13,000 years. Waterlogging of the basal deposits has prevented oxidation, leading to the preservation of a range of organic fossils, such as plant and insect remains, that normally do not survive in calcareous environments. Silver-spotted Skipper at Creteway Down Female Adonis Blue at Creteway Down Male Adonis Blue at Creteway Down Male Chalk Hill Blue at Creteway Down Pair of Chalk Hill Blues at Creteway Down Small Yellow Underwing at Creteway Down General History An early Bronze Age site has been discovered at Holywell Coombe, with evidence of prehistoric farming, including plough marks found in the buried land surface. Pig and cow bone was also found and postholes indicated that enclosures or structures were present. A few shards of Neolithic pottery were also uncovered. The freshwater spring between the Canterbury Road and Sugarloaf Hill is known as the Holy Well. It has been suggested that pilgrims to the shrine of St Thomas à Becket used to drink here as the old highway to Canterbury runs close by, and it is sometimes referred to as St. Thomas’s Well. Legend has it that Henry II drank here when he went to do penance at the Cathedral whose Archbishop he had murdered and martyred but this would be impossible to validate. Acknowledgements The map image was produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service and is reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey. The photographs of Spotted Flycatcher, Pied Flycatcher, Redstart, Ring Ouzel, Adonis Blues, male Chalk Hill Blue and Small Yellow Underwing were taken by Brian Harper, Silver-spotted Skipper by Mark Varley and the others by Ian Roberts. Lists of the other fauna and flora which have been recorded in the tetrad were kindly provided by the Kent and Medway Biological Records Centre (www.kmbrc.org.uk). Holy Well Species Lists – Birds: 101 species Recorded in winter survey 2007-2012 Recorded in breeding survey 2008-2012 – Confirmed breeding Recorded in breeding survey 2008-2012 – Probable breeding Recorded in breeding survey 2008-2012 – Possible breeding Recorded in breeding survey as a non-breeder or recorded outside of survey period Rare migrant or vagrant (less than 50 area records) Breeding Wintering Other Breeding W Other TR23 J - Bird List TR23 J - Bird List intering Brent Goose Willow Warbler Grey Partridge Blackcap Pheasant Garden Warbler Cormorant Lesser Whitethroat Grey Heron Whitethroat Honey Buzzard Grasshopper Warbler Red Kite Reed Warbler Marsh Harrier Waxwing Sparrowhawk Treecreeper Buzzard Wren Kestrel Starling Merlin Ring Ouzel Hobby Blackbird Peregrine Fieldfare Water Rail Song Thrush Moorhen Redwing Golden Plover Mistle Thrush Lapwing Spotted Flycatcher Ruff Robin Woodcock Nightingale Black-headed Gull Pied Flycatcher Mediterranean Gull Black Redstart Common Gull Redstart Herring Gull Whinchat Feral Pigeon Stonechat Stock Dove Wheatear Wood Pigeon Dunnock Collared Dove House Sparrow Turtle Dove Tree Sparrow Cuckoo Yellow Wagtail Long-eared Owl Grey Wagtail Short-eared Owl Pied Wagtail Swift Tawny Pipit Green Woodpecker Tree Pipit Great Spotted Woodpecker Meadow Pipit Red-backed Shrike Chaffinch Magpie Brambling Jay Greenfinch Jackdaw Goldfinch Carrion Crow Siskin Breeding Wintering Other Breeding Wint Other TR23 J - Bird List TR23 J - Bird List ering Raven Linnet Goldcrest Lesser Redpoll Firecrest Common Crossbill Blue Tit Bullfinch Great Tit Hawfinch Coal Tit Yellowhammer Marsh Tit Reed Bunting Sky Lark Corn Bunting Sand Martin Total 47 55 Swallow Confirmed breeding 14 House Martin Probable breeding 18 Long-tailed Tit Possible breeding 15 Chiffchaff Total species recorded in tetrad 101 Species Lists – Other Natural History Information on other natural history has been kindly provided by the Kent and Medway Biological Records Centre (www.kmbrc.org.uk), with particular thanks to Tony Witts. A few additional records from other sources are also included. Actinopterygii (Bony fish): 1 species Common name Scientific name Last recorded Three-Spined Stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus 1982 Amphibia (Amphibians): 3 species Common name Scientific name Last recorded Smooth Newt Lissotriton vulgaris 2012 Common Toad Bufo bufo 1987 Common Frog Rana temporaria 2012 Reptilia (Reptiles): 3 species Common name Scientific name Last recorded Adder Vipera berus 2013 Slow-worm Anguis fragilis 1974 Common Lizard Lacerta vivipara 2018 Mammalia (Mammals): 6 species Common name Scientific name Last recorded Grey Squirrel Sciurus carolinensis 2013 Hedgehog Erinaceus europaeus 2006 European Rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus 2012 Fox Vulpes vulpes 2015 Badger Meles meles 2017 Pipistrelle Pipistrellus pipistrellus 2005 Arachnida (Spiders, Harvestmen etc.): 79 species Common name Scientific name Last recorded - Agroeca inopina 1988 - Agyneta conigera 1988 - Anelasmocephalus cambridgei 1988 - Anelosimus vittatus