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Ecology
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Welcome to Glyn-Coch Craft Centre. Find out about the ecology on our woodland walk.
The wildlife at Glyn-Coch has been lovingly preserved since the 1960s. The woodland itself was planted in 1998 with the assistance of children in the local community. On such a small area (27 acres including approximately including 17 acres of woodland and 10 acres of grass), our management is restricted by practical considerations such as complying with the Farm Woodland Scheme, with the conditions of our camp site licence and providing grazing for our farm animals. However our general intention is to maintain our healthy and diverse ecosystem, and would welcome comments and advice from anyone with expert knowledge on particular species.
About 8000 trees were planted in 1998, and the original plans for the planting included 17 species. These included Alder, Oak, Rowan, Wild Cherry, Whitebean, Small Leaved Lime and Field Maple. The remainder of the walk was planted with Birch, Beech and Norway Maple. Shrubs include Willow, Hazel, Guelder Rose, Elder and Dogwood. On the wetter areas there are plantings of the poplar varieties Beaupre, Boelare and Ghoy. There is also a nurse crop of Japanese Larch, which will be removed when the woodland is 18 years old in about 2016. (The nurse crop is there so as to act as protection for the rest of the trees from weathering and animals etc) Hedgerow trees include Ash, Alder, Blackthorn, Field Maple, Hawthorn, Holly, Oak, and Sycamore. We also have a small population of hedgerow Wytch Elm, which is partially resistant to Dutch Elm Disease, and supports one of our rarer butterflies. However managing it is difficult, as it has to be allowed to grow for the butterfly, but as a tall sapling is vulnerable to elm disease and dies, by which time we are prevented from cutting down by the rules of the environmental scheme we are in.
We have encountered over 60 species of birds from tiny Gold Crests to large Buzzards. Recently, we have been told that migrating Wood Sandpiper have been seen on our land. Over-wintering Snipe used to be common before we signed up for the Government's Tir Cynnal (known as the Entry Level Environmental scheme in England). These schemes assume that all land is the same and treat dry 100 acre fields in Suffolk the same as our wet 1 acre fields. Farmers are not allowed to develop their own management regimes, so existing wildlife suffers. The idea of the scheme is to encourage skylarks, but the tiny fields that are in the scheme are surrounded by trees and is too wet for skylarks which nest on the ground. In compensation we had a visit by a woodcock in the very cold spell in Jan/Feb 09.
Glyn-Coch Bird List
Species are only added to the list if they have been seen several times by me when I have had time to check identification in my books, and preferably after I have got someone else to confirm the I/D.
Heron Herring Gull 1 Wren 1 Garden Warbler Jackdaw Greylag goose Greater Black Backed Gull Dunnock 1 Black Cap Rook Canada Goose 1 Wood Pigeon Robin 1 Lesser whitethroat Carrion Crow Mallard Collared Dove Stonechat Chiffchaff 1 Raven Sparrow hawk Barn Owl Black Bird 1 Gold crest Starling Buzzard Tawny Owl Song thrush Long Tailed Tit House Sparrow Red Kite Nightjar Redwing Coal, Marsh, or Willow Tit! Tree Sparrow Pheasant Great Spotted Woodpecker Field Fare Blue Tit 1 Siskin Moorhen Green Woodpecker Mistle Thrush Great Tit 1 Greenfinch Jack Snipe Skylark Sedge Warbler Nuthatch Chaffinch 1 Snipe Swallow Willow Warbler 1 Tree Creeper Gold Finch 1 Woodcock Grey Wagtail Wood Warbler 1 Jay Bull Finch 1 Common Gull Pied Wagtail Grasshopper Warbler Magpie 1 Reed bunting
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Species counted by RSPB Volunteer and Farmer Alliance Survey April - June 2004We have also recently seen a Meadow Pipit.
Before Christmas we were visited by a large white parrot, but I don't think that we will add that to the list.
If you would like to hear what our birds sound like click here for a 2mb Windows Movie maker file recorded on 18th February 2009 between 10.30 and 11.00am. The pictures were taken in December, but show what the habitat is like. After listening to the birds you will need to close Moviemaker to return to your browser, hopefully at this page! This is a bit of experiment. Please e-mail us and tell us how you got on with it.
Or see March 09 birdsong video.
Or see April 2009 birdsong video. (No pictures to reduce memory use and download time. Please let me know what you think of this experiment!)
Our moth trap (part of a national monitoring scheme) caught 199 species in just 9 months. (Over 230 spp now.) The calculated diversity score makes this one of the top 20 moth monitoring sites in the UK. We have been helping in an investigation to find out why the beautiful Garden Tiger Moth has changed its home range from the South-East to the North-West of Great Britain. Many butterflies can be seen in summer. Currently, we have a species list of moths caught in our moth trap on display in our wooden hut. (Note: The hut is currently full of pottery molds, but if you want to see the species list just ask or download the year list for 2007)
Other InsectsOther insects include Glow Worms, which can occasionally be seen near the ménage in early summer (though, we haven't had any grace us with their presence within the last couple of years). We have several species of Dragon fly, with regular sightings of Emperors and Broad Bodied Chasers. Common Blue and Common Red Damsel flies are also abundant.
The Ponds
The ponds support Dragon and Damsel Flies, and Palmate Newts. There might be fish, considering the number of ducks we have had visit our ponds. (Some species of fresh water fish invade new territories when their eggs stick to the legs, feet and plumage of ducks.) Otters regularly visit and sometimes breed here, though not often seen in daylight, they can be heard at dawn, and sometimes encountered on a dark night. Their presence is made obvious to daytime visitors by their paths in and out of the water, and by the almond smelling spraints they leave. Water voles benefit from the presence of otters who help defend them from American Mink that were released by so called "animal rights activists". The voracious mink have played havoc with our poultry and wildlife. (Like many things a disaster resulted from a silly response to a silly fashion.)
WildflowersThe wildflowers at Glyn-Coch include Marsh Marigold, Devils Bit Scabious (an indicator of 'ancient wetland'), Ragged Robin, Welsh Poppy and the rare Whorled Caraway. Plants are the basis of most food chains, and though rare plants may support rare insects, one of the most important insect food plants at Glyn-Coch is the Humble Red Campion which occurs in most habitats and flowers for much of the year. We cut the woodland glades, and some of the wetland areas annually to encourage the valuable herbs.
Our 'Hayfield' supports a number of wild species including the pretty hay rattle, which is a parasite on grass. Hay Rattle is often used to establish wild flower meadows in established commercial grassland, as it weakens the grass, and is then maintained by traditional management for hay, as practiced in the south east of England. In the west hay must be made when the weather is right - we do not get two chances - and on our small acreage each field must pay for itself. Nevertheless we manage this field to ensure that it supports a viable population of these interesting plants. (For example after a year when it is very abundant we graze intensively the next spring, which effectively reduces the population and gives the grass a relative advantage, and graze later in the next year, so that the flowers come back.)
MammalsWe have seen Badgers, Foxes, Moles, Otters, Rabbits, Rats, Squirrels, Water Shrews and Water Voles. Vole runs are a common site on the woodland walk, and the cats catch an assortment of Shrews, Voles and mice. Feral Mink have taken some of our poultry. Roe deer visit quite often. Bats are a common sight on warm evenings. We have identified Noctules in the farm yard, and monitor a breeding colony of about 140 Soprano Pipistrelles. Daubentons bats can be seen skimming one of our ponds.
ReptilesReptiles are represented by Grass Snakes, which brood their young and hibernate in our dung heap. Our Grass Snakes are grayer then the typical form, but the white collar distinguishes them from other species.
Species ListWe try to keep our species list up to date. Normally it is on show in our wooden hut. Unfortunately this is inaccessible at the moment, but if you would like a copy, please ask. We would welcome assistance in maintaining our Species lists! We are especially keen to find someone to identify our abundant and diverse fungi, and would welcome anyone who wanted to do a systematic botanical survey, particularly of wetland herbs and water plants. Actually, the more I think of it the more survey work needs to be done - ground insects come to mind for example. So if you are interested - either as a full scientific project or as a school exercise - we would be interested to here from you.
We will assist where we can, and appreciate that you may need to use the data for your own purposes. Unfortunately we are not in a positions to pay for your time.
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