September on Hothfield Heathlands

Sadly, there are patches of ling (Calluna vulgaris) where the entire plant above ground had been burned crisp and brown by the fierce sun among the usual August purple spread. Very young ling plants seem to be more resilient, perhaps because they are rooted in slightly damper soil and protected by surrounding plants. 

Heather slows down

By mid-August, the yellow tormentil which usually flowers non-stop from late spring to autumn, seemed to be saving energy with fewer flowers visible but the colony of dwarf furze (Ulex minor), near the fenced-off bird sanctuary, was in full flower, clearly thriving in the heat, the East of England being its northernmost territory in Europe. The colony is slowly spreading, young plants almost swamped by ling, and the mature bushes, mostly under a metre tall, all intertwined with ling over a fringe of tormentil. The whole plant is on a smaller scale than European gorse, even the spines are slightly softer, making it more palatable to the grazers. It’s still pretty prickly though, so like European gorse and brambles, offers excellent cover for small creatures and perches for birds. The seed has evolved to germinate most readily after fire.

Dragonflies arrive

Rob Insall, who monitors the extensions for butterflies and dragonflies, reported in mid-August that migrant hawker dragonflies have arrived and a few common darters but it’s been a poor year for them and all of the Odonata (dragonflies and demoiselles) so far, except the banded demoiselles. Butterflies picked up after a slow start with plenty of whites, meadow browns, gatekeepers, and even some wall browns and white admirals - both firsts in his five years of surveys. Brimstones have had a good long season and the first clouded yellow appeared.

Terry Dunk and David Rayner run regular moth trapping sessions overnight on the main reserve. The moths are released after being identified and counted. Two sessions in July recorded a total 639 moth of 126 species, indicating the variety of moths in and around the main reserve. After the 10th August session, Terry reported: ‘Unfortunately after a bumper July it just had to be followed by a deflated August. We had more than we bargained for after switching on the lights as we were inundated with a plague of flying ants and other winged little beasties. Our traps were alive with everything but moths in just a few minutes! Along with increased bat activity not helping our cause, we ended up with a total of 74 moths of 39 species. A night to forget and thankful I only had a few insect bites for my troubles.’ 

A variety of colours & names

Deciphering the scientific names would take an entire article but the common names are a delight in themselves: among those trapped were nutmeg, straw dot, tawny-barred angle, tree-lichen beauty, birch marble (looks like bird poo), common plume, mother-of-pearl, dusky and canary-shouldered thorn, and the spectacular Jersey Tiger, a day-flying moth with black and creamy-white striped forewings and bold orange underwings.

The heathland will continue to be monitored to understand how species and the various eco-systems have benefitted or suffered from the drought, and the impact of the free-ranging grazers. Gardening on sand, I try to get all new plants planted before Christmas to allow roots to get established to sustain the plants through their first year, as we are usually dry by April.

By Margery Thomas

Fire Alert

Please be aware of any fire risks on the reserve. BBQs are entirely banned at all times. The site is tinder dry, but the cattle and ponies do a great job preventing the build-up of dead and dry material, which can often be the tinder needed to create dangerous wildfires.

It is becoming apparent that in the next few years, the levels of water in the natural ponds will not be sufficient to keep our livestock fully watered. To prepare for this, we are going to be installing a piped water system so the animals will have troughs during these dry periods. This is the first time we have had to consider this in 30 years of management. Many of the open ponds have already dried up this year, this has massively decreased the opportunities for species like dragonflies to lay eggs.

Bear in mind that you can now encounter our animals at any point on your visit; please make sure your dogs are under control at all times and remove litter and dog mess and place all dog bags in the bins. Hothfield Heathlands is one of the best spots for wildlife in the county; with your help we can keep it that way.

We are still developing our plans for Precious Peatlands at Hothfield Heathlands, as covered in the May edition and our website, and would appreciate your input. Please contact me at [email protected]

from Ian Rickards, Area Manager