The plaque on the wall (above right) states:
This house dates from the reign of
Queen Elizabeth I
It stands on the site of a 13th century farmhouse
which was called Dene Farm until 1993
Records of the house and its occupants
exist from 1301 until the present day
Remains a walnut shell (below left) found while clearing scrub. It was for its harvest of nuts that it was originally introduced by the Romans.
Plenty of nibbled hazel shells were also discovered in the shelter of a hollow fallen branch. Woodmice have been seen scurrying amongst the habitat log piles so these are probably responsible for the stashes we have found
The lovely deeply rich colouring of a Walnut Orb Weaver spider (below right) found beneath the bark of a fallen walnut branch.
Below: The Knoll as it looked 5 years ago in 2013, almost entirely covered in dense hawthorn scrub. Very few of the fruit and nut trees survived and there was very little opportunity for wildflowers and wildlife to thrive. Overall it was in a very sorry state.
Removing the blackthorn also helped to reveal a row of overstood hazel atop the bank that formed the edge of the old nuttery/orchard. These were soon to be the next objects of our attention.
Brown Hairstreaks lay their eggs singly on young blackthorn (approx. a couple of years old) and, as we discovered eggs on adjacent young growth (below), we know that they are present at The Knoll. Therefore anything we can do to encourage one of our less common butterflies has to be welcomed.
The eggs, located in the crook of twigs and thorn, will remain dormant throughout the winter, with caterpillars hatching in the spring. The butterfly itself will emerge from late July and will live for just a few weeks.
Rather than being a single organism lichen is formed of symbiotic relationship between a fungus (often forming over 90% of the lichen) and a alga. Every lichen consists of a different fungus, but incorporates one of a limited number of alga species. The alga provides photosynthesis (which fungi are incapable of), while the fungus provides protection from the extremes of climate in which the alga could otherwise not survive. Many lichens have specific habitats, with approx. half of the 2,000 UK species found on trees. They are very susceptible to pollution, so their impressive presence at The Knoll probably says something for the air quality.
Between them they furnish the winter with a rich colour and texture and interest, and well worth taking the time to explore. Lovers of moist shady places they often brighten secluded areas that would normally be ignored. Besides, something that is believed to have been around for 250 million years probably deserves a little bit of our attention.
It is not in the greatest shape, but to remove the worst of the limbs would leave it a poor shadow of its current self. We have therefore decided to leave it be and to allow nature to take its own course.
The ground beneath is littered with empty snail shells, proving that it is also popular with some of the birds. I guess for the snail however this tree does indeed represent a very dark, foreboding setting.
It was also while having a coffee break here that I saw my first ever goldcrest, our smallest bird, as it hopped from branch to branch, probably alerting us to its displeasure at our interruption.
And, as the floor is opened to sunlight, dormant wildflowers are encouraged to flourish, attracting insects, invertebrates, small mammals and birds. Wildlife, therefore, greatly benefits from this coppicing cycle, which is often regarded as one of the patterns of symbiosis in nature where humans have an important part in the relationship.
For more information on coppicing please see:
https://theurbancountryman.weebly.com/blog/coppicing-for-conservation
Most of the thicker timber went into creating wildlife habitats (as shown in the background above), while the thinner timber, especially long weavers were used to construct rabbit-proof cages around the newly coppiced stools (below). These will hopefully protect the new shoots from the attentions of the furry residents that inhabit the site.
To complete the job along the bank we also removed a lot of the scraggly elder that would have over-shadowed the hazel regrowth.
There is a popular school of thought that insists that the countryside should not be managed, that it should be left alone and allowed to return to how it once was - although no one has yet been able to identify the exact point in time that they would like our countryside to be allowed to return to.
Even though some scrub is undoubtedly important and beneficial to the environment, it does need to be managed. Man has managed the countryside for thousands of years and this management has had a major impact upon the countryside, with nature responding by evolving and adapting to its changing environment and building series of inter-dependencies as part of that evolution.
To suddenly stop managing the countryside would therefore have a number of impacts, one of which would be for scrub species to quickly colonise our fields and meadows (and in this case nuttery/orchard), to be followed by colonising trees and then woodland. As light and warmth are lost as the canopy extends its shade, many species of wildflower will disappear. This has been clearly demonstrated at The Knoll by the wide variety if wildflowers that have re-emerged since the programme of scrub clearance began. The loss of wildflowers will in turn will have a detrimental impact upon the insects, bees, butterflies and small mammals that depend upon them for survival. And with a declining population of insects and caterpillars our birds that depend upon them for their own survival will also decline.
Below: A series of before (left) and after (right) shots showing the progress of the additional scrub clearance during March and early April.
Throughout all this buzzards, kestrels and red kites circled overhead, while a tawny owl hooted from the woods at the top of the slope above The Knoll. High in the walnut trees bright green parakeets (pair below) squawk raucously to alert us to their presence. Meanwhile, the resident robins perched close by and followed our every move to see what our scuffing boots uncovered on the ground. Newly emerged from hibernation young queen bumblebees comb the ground searching out new nesting sites (old mouse holes are a favourite) in which to start a new colony. And you don't get to experience all that while working in an office.
Below:
Jelly Ear fungus (left) appears in great profusion on the site and is mostly found on dead or decaying elder.
Turkey tail fans (right) are commonly found on dead logs or tree stumps. Some of this has appeared on a couple of the newly coppiced hazel stems, which does not bode well for their future. Fingers crossed that it does not mean that the entire hazel is dead.
While clearing a stand of hawthorn we came across a cluster of decaying Giant puffballs (left), looking like the ragged remains of a rotting football (and about the same size).
Giant puffballs are quite common on the site and the picture on the right is of one found in far better condition September 2013.
Below:
Yellow brain fungus (left), also found on dead elder.
The edge of The Knoll, where it borders the open Hither Field, is also a good site for Shaggy parasols (right), also from September 2013.
Bottom:
Crump balls (also King Alfred's Cakes) on dead walnut.