DOWN TO EARTH in The City

'Beating the bounds' is a traditional Ascension Day ritual in which the whole parish territorially walked its perimeter and beat children so they wouldn't forget the precise features. There's probably a better explanation than this elsewhere but those are the points I remember. 'Between the Oaks, along the hedge and down by the brook' conjures an impression of bygone rural pedestrian days when meeting someone was arranged with reference to well known landscape features. In Colley Gate for example we had the 'Water Stile', 'The Gulley', 'Lutley Gutter' - a green lane, the Razzle Dazzle - a perilous, sloping brick paved cut through which was treacherous in icy conditions, the 70 Steps - to this day dividing opinion as to the exact number; all wonderfully nostalgic, echoing a time shift identity and a society of character born out of toil and hardship. A Black Country Rural Idyl from the early-mid 20th Century Nostalgia is a 'r...

Lifford Woods An area of land bordering the River Rea at Allens Croft, with a pathway to Lifford Reservoir and Lifford Hall. The linear woodland runs either side of the river with willows and alders thriving. The site is little used today, with most people passing along the walkway, whilst much of the area is out of the public domain, cut off by railway embankment and the river.  In terms of wildlife, I guess this is under recorded, as are most sites, all records should be submitted to EcoRecord and twitter is a good way of doing this.  Lifford Woods and surrounds The account below is taken from "Lifford - William Dargue - A History of BIRMINGHAM Places & Placenames" B30 - Grid reference SP055796 la Ford: first record 1250 Lifford stands close to the ford across the River Rea. As the red clay on the east side of Birmingham became slimy and slippery in wet weather, a place where the river ran over a firmer bed would have been a draw ...

  Our attention now turns to trees and woodland -  The woodland season begins with an introduction to managing small wooded areas, with topics involving - coppicing (practice and theory) tools - bowsaw, billhook, axe health and safety biodiversity species identification 'crafting the woodland' managing access public relations interpretation This year's chosen coppicing plot at Highbury-  The area was chosen because of the presence of hazel, previously cut around 10-15 years ago, poor ground flora, poor structure, some regeneration, including holly, rowan and cherry. The aim is to improve species diversity by increasing light levels and introducing ground flora, such as bluebell, primrose, wild daffodil, red campion and wood melick. Coppice - To cut Coppicing  is a traditional method of  woodland management  which takes advantage of the fact that many trees make new growth from the  stump  or roots if cut down.  ...

A new active season begins in October following a Summer of walking, talking and planning around the Rea Valley. The weekly 'Woodland Wednesdays' at Highbury Park have been well attended and feedback to these regular gatherings is positive. To add variety to our Wednesday gatherings we have been supported by the B&BC Wildlife Trust 'Nature Improvement Programme', which enabled us to work on a scheme to improve the grassland at Highbury Park. During August we took delivery of four bales of wildflower rich hay from Eades Meadow; The lower part of the meadow, adjacent to Shutlock Lane, was treated prior to delivery, this was  followed by hay strewing and yellow rattle seed broadcasting a couple of weeks later, we wait for next year to see the results. Hay Strewing at Highbury Four of these bales were deposited at Highbury Meadows The bales were then rolled, broken and scattered so that the hay could be hand strewn over the prepared site The proposal...

21st June 2016 Graffiti mural Stirchley Park 1 hour bioblitz and a very pleasant evening  Check out the following link for a recent story of the above graffiti mural http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/vandals-destroy-beloved-stirchley-park-10958999 Blackbird Wood pigeon Pied Wagtail Woody nightshade White clover Red Clover Broadleaf plantain Ribwort plantain Daisy Creeping buttercup Rye Grass Yorkshire Fog Grass sp x1 Grass sp x1 Sheperd’s purse Common Lime x 2 Plane x 6 Hawthorn Oak x1 Sycamore Elder Sea Buckthorn x 3 Dandelion Nettle Vine Rose sp Rose sp Russian vine Ramson  Bumblebee sp Fly sp Ichneumon sp Ladybird larvae sp Ladybird larvae sp 11 spot Ladybird 22 spot ladybird Green orb weaver spider Liverwort Moss

"In 2001, a research paper in the Journal of Applied Ecology found that 80 per cent of the hawthorn plants supplied by the UK horticultural trade in 1997 came from Germany or Hungary where plants are adapted to substantially different growing conditions." (A NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HEDGEROW 2016, John Wright) Hawthorn Beetle 

The Hedgelayer or Hedge Plasher Hedgelaying is a grand old autumn/winter practice for managing a hedge and is applicable for most broadleaf hedge types.  The stem of each tree/shrub is partially cut, or 'pleached' near the base, this allows it to remain attached to the root  and laid to one side, prevented from grounding by the previous stem or a stake. The pleacher remains alive and new growth begins from the base the following spring Hedge laying demonstration at Cannon Hill in 2010 The hedge today is broad, dense and tall, supporting and harbouring many animals and plants.  Up to 2010 the hedge had been routinely shorn each year forming a gappy condition at the base of the stems with a layer of entangled growth at 3 feet. Fair to say not great, if not useless, as a habitat. 6 years of growth and it has developed into a decent hedgerow with around 40 species of plant  recorded in this time, many herbaceous plants have been found at the ba...

`Lesser Stag Beetle found at the base of a Beech Tree at Holders Woods Information from http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/species/lesser-stag-beetle About The Lesser Stag Beetle may be smaller than its famous cousin, but it is still a relatively large beetle with large jaws. Adults can be found in woodland, parks and along hedgerows during the summer, often resting in the sun on tree trunks. The larvae depend on old trees and rotting wood to live in and feed on, and both adults and larvae can be found in the decaying wood of Ash, Beech and apple. The adults can be seen flying about at night, sometimes coming to outside lights. They mate and lay their eggs in a suitable piece of decaying wood. How to identify The Lesser Stag Beetle is a large beetle with a broad head and large jaws. It can be distinguished from the male Stag Beetle by its smaller mandibles and distinctively knobbed antennae, and from the small-jawed female Stag Beetle by its all-black wing cases. Where to...

'Canalised and sunken, hard edged and sterile'  Rea at Cannon Hill outside the MAC At Balsall Heath At Digbeth An interesting blog featuring rivers of the UK https://therivermanagementblog.wordpress.com/2014/07/11/the-rivers-of-birmingham/

Great day in the woods Hot sunny day, nicley  shaded under the canopy of Beech and Oak Bugs and beasts in the undergrowth A better day couldn't have been wished for -  Plenty of activity in the woods to keep us enthralled, especially Tree Creepers and Woodpeckers. Perhaps the star of the day was the Rhinoceros Beetle. "Looking forward to further wildlife days in the woods" - The lofty canopy  - "the woodland cathedral" Rhinoceros Beetle in old well rotted trunk at Holders Woods High rise dead oak, riddled with nooks and crannies, hollows and cavities; ideal for bats, birds and many other beasts of the woodland  

Exciting prospects for Highbury -  The recently formed Chamberlain Highbury Trust is planning an event for Heritage Week, September 11th 2016. Check out their Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ChamberlainHighbury/ Also National Heritage Week details can be found here  - http://www.heritageopendays.org.uk More details to follow but I've been planning my contribution along the lines of the following (work in progress) A Heritage Walk The Oaks of Highbury Park (evoking the past) A mapping walk ‘Between the Oaks’ of Highbury, linking the park today to the estate of Joseph Chamberlain and beyond to England in the reign of William III and Mary II. The Oaks in Highbury are the most common of the mature trees on site The oldest tree in the park is Oak (Circa 1693) There is a plantation of Millennium Oaks at Highbury Park planted in 1999-2000 The Oak is often reported to support more species than any other UK tree The walk features trees over a century o...

Another Woodland Wednesday and another day of discovery at Highbury Park. Jay's displaying but silently, Great Spotted Woodpeckers' feeding their young, a Jackdaw drinking from the stream, Blackbirds and Song Thrushes singing all around and not a peep from the Ringed Neck Parakeets. Parakeet at Highbury 2014 (photo by Ron) Woodland Wednesdays are the perfect way to hold consultation with parks users and there sure is plenty to talk about. On the whole our interests are biological but other factors are in play not least the exciting possibilities posed by the recently formed Chamberlain Highbury Trust. cheeky Jackdaw came down to drink from the steam just a few yards in front of the group (photo by Ron) A cool day, yet dry, so nothing to complain of, on the contarary, it was a day for standing around and watching nature at play in the park. A pair of Jays danced through the Veteran Oak without a word or a squawk or a screech, but silently hopping and gracefully fly...

The hedge at Cannon Hill is in fine form for the 7th growing year since laying in Winter 2010 Alder buckthorn is thriving, providing food plant for the Brimstone butterfly The width of the hedge is now around 2.5 metres, developing the habitat, which consists of more than the shrubs. The density of the hedge, together with its shading and sheltering potential, currently makes it particularly suitable for nesting birds such as Blackbird, Song Thrush and Dunnock. Nests from previous years can be seen during winter. As the hedge grows, and thus thins out at the base, laying will be considered once again, this should occur around 2020.  For a jolly good account on hedgerows this latest publication is well worth a read Hedgerow fingerpost Many wildflowers grow alongside and underneath the overhang - the last count recorded around 40 different plant species.  Hawthorn in bloom, May 2016