DOWN TO EARTH in The City

The plantation was created around 1990, twenty years later Rangers organised work parties to begin coppice management - Part of the management is to assess the condition of the developing woodland by monitoring self set trees. These were recorded in October 2015 Field Maple Cherry sp Holly Oak Ash Willow sp Willow sp Broom Norway Maple Sycamore Hawthorn Hazel

Holders Woods and Fields east of centre with Brockley Grove to the south, road and turning circle Article from Birmingham Forum website -  My old mum and I moved into a prefab on Brockley grove just off dog pool lane (dads lane) in moseley in about 1959 and my old mum thought it was heaven, it had a "fitted kitchen" i.e a built in washing machine, she'd always had to do her washing by hand before and in both bedrooms were "metal" fitted wardrobes. As it was detached, standing surounded with a nice little garden we both loved it. unfortunatly it' now been demolished and  Brockley grove is now unsign posted and is a dog walking area but I will always have very fond memories of mom's little "bungalow". This map shows the layout of the Brockley Grove prefabs

Please send your wildlife sightings to EcoRecord http://www.ecorecord.org.uk Eco Record is the biological record centre for Birmingham and the Black Country (Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall & Wolverhampton). Eco Record collects, collates and makes available information about the wildlife, wildlife sites and habitats of Birmingham and the Black Country and currently has over 500,000 species records on its database. These records come from many sources, ranging from professional ecologists to amateur expert naturalists to other wildlife enthusiasts The Wren Coppiced woodland provides good nesting opportunities for Wrens, although the bird has a wide range of habitats.

Black Elfin Saddle at Holders Woods - photo by Terry Quinn Trooping Funnel Fungus at Holders Woods- photo by Terry Quinn Holders Woodland November 2015

When does a plantation become a woodland? It's not an overnight occurrence but a gradual process and mostly overlooked. Brockley Grove Plantation at Moor Green, like many other plantations created in the 1980's and 90's, is showing signs of woodland; beyond the presence of trees are subtle hidden changes, taking place year on year as decay and decomposition set in, aided by dead wood, fungi, invertebrates and other micro organisms, vital elements for the increasing biodiversity. Orange Ladybird at Brockley Grove Plantation (Photo by Connor) The accelerated process begins with the planting of trees, but in a natural state pioneer species would colonise with the aid of seeds dispersed from local specimens - Windblown Birch and Ash, bird dropped seeds from Hawthorn, Jay planted acorns from Oak and fallen nuts from Hazel. This week we witnessed the presence of an Orange Ladybird, Halyzia 16-guttata the Uk Ladybird survey informs us - Size:  4.5 - 6mm  Ba...