Blog - October 2008

Foraging for Sweet Chestnuts

Foraging for Sweet Chestnuts

by catherine, 24 October, 2008, 140 comments

Now is the time to be collecting your sweet chestnuts.As the October winds get going, there will plenty more of them to collect from under the trees. Don’t confuse them with horse chestnuts (conkers), which are inedible. You can see pictures of the sweet chestnut tree in the Woodlands.co.uk Tree Identification Guide.The hedgehog-like cases are covered in long, pliable, green spikes. Split open, they contain 2-3 shiny, roughly triangular nuts with a distinctive tuft on the end. Read more...

Badger Watching for Beginners

Badger Watching for Beginners

by David Plummer, 17 October, 2008, 10 comments

It is evening, about 7pm and still light. A lone robin sings from the understorey and the repeated notes of a song thrush call from the distance. I am sitting in a woodland looking at a huge mound of earth and I feel a bit of lemon really. It is normally at this time that I sometimes have my doubts as it seems improbable that Britain’s most easily recognised and iconic mammal, renowned for being shy and nocturnal, will emerge from the safety of its home in daylight and within just a few metres of where I am sitting. Read more...

Wet Woodland - Carr

Wet Woodland – Carr

by catherine, 17 October, 2008, 2 comments

No-one likes getting their feet damp, but wet woodland has its place and is certainly valuable from the perspective of diversifying habitat. Read more...

great tit

Feed The Birds?

by Chris, 10 October, 2008, 1 comments

Whilst it always good to see wildlife in a natural setting, such as a woodland, it is also good to encourage wildlife in our gardens. The woodland blog last year listed some of the strategies that might encourage insects and invertebrates in our gardens. It is also possible to encourage birds into our gardens, just as Catherine wrote about managing woodlands for birds. Many ‘everyday’ urban species of bird populations have declined in recent times: house sparrows by approximately 60% and starlings perhaps by 75%. Read more...

Deadwood

by catherine, 10 October, 2008, 2 comments

Traditionally woodland was kept “clean” by clearing away fallen timber. However, nowadays it is recognised that deadwood has an important part to play in forest management. Deadwood was removed to prevent the transfer of disease and pests – a mistaken belief as it happens, for almost all species which inhabit deadwood are specific to that habitat (“saproxylic”) and will not inhabit living wood. Now deadwood is recognised as an essential part of the forest ecosystem. Read more...

Woodlands and Taxation

Woodlands and Taxation

by Angus, 3 October, 2008, 18 comments

Woodland ownership can have some useful tax advantages.The taxation of forestry /woodland has always been fairly generous to encourage people to purchase woodland and to spend money on management. Read more...

“Wildwood: A Journey Through Trees” by Roger Deakin - a review

“Wildwood: A Journey Through Trees” by Roger Deakin – a review

by Angus, 3 October, 2008, 4 comments

Roger Deakin’s book is an inspiring read for any small woodland owner – really a series of chatty stories about individual topics peppered with interesting snippets on tress, wood, botany, natural history and rural life. Read more...

Wild Flower Guide

Badger

Read our guide to wild flowers of woodland and hedgerow

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