Now I have found somewhere to get good advice I intend to make use of it.
As a volunteer Ranger in the local Nature Reserve I have over 83 nesting boxes to look after, four of these were successfully used by Nuthatches 2010.
The help I seek is this:
I would like to increase the natural supply of food by improving the habitat for birds and any other creatures.
My first port of call I thought would be planting more trees.
Can anyone give me a list of what would grow well in a deciduous woodland. We have some Hawthorne on the fringes but not as much as I would like. Elder we have but it struggles without light, also some of the woodland has been cleared of Rhododendron and as such may be full of acid from the plant.
Any suggestions will be welcome.
Lewis
www.batesplace.co.uk
Hello again Lewis
I am certainly not an expert but this link to the BBC may be of some help.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/design/plant_recipes/wildlife_index.shtml
One of my favourite shrubs is berberis darwinii and we have a small tree in our garden. It has gorgeous orange flowers all through May and dark berries which the tits and blackbirds in my garden love. I have seen the treecreeper travelling up and down the trunk and many birds seem to use it to hunt for insects, including one year a goldcrest. It is a really hardy plant and easy to grow.
Mountain ash or Rowan tree are another good plant to grow. Hardy native deciduous tree tolerant of most situations. White flower heads in June, large bunches of orange-red berries in autumn, which are irresistible to birds. The berries can be made into a delicious rowan jelly. Leaves typically have 15 leaflets, green in summer turning orange in autumn.TREE 20ft x 10ft (6m x 3m) in 20 years, ultimate height 40ft (12m).
Both these grow locally with rhododendron, although we have now removed the rhododendron from our garden.
You say you already grow hawthorne which is another excellent shrub or tree. I hope these suggestions help for now and i am sure other people will come along with others.
Kind regards
Jane.
Kind regards Jane.
Hi Lewis
If you have good drainage you might want to try birch trees - I've got a huge old silver birch and a weeping birch and both are always covered in tits of all sizes, they love the catkins.
Dough Mummy
Always happy to stop and stare...
my take on this they'll use whats there.
As here willow is very popular with tits, finch, nuthatch and treecreeper
Yes its useful if its fruit/seed/nut productive, but more than anything I think sticking with native is prudent.
phytophthora ramorum jumped to japanese larch last year and is more virulent than ever , who knows what else it will adapt to use.
It's both what you do and the way that you do it!
You cannot fly like an eagle with the wings of a wren. William Henry Hudson (1841 - 1922)
Hi lewis bates
A warm welcome to the Community from me too. I hope you enjoy being a part of the Community. :-)
Silver birch trees are 'trailblazers' in that they would normally be the first trees to populate an area of woodland, but might not last forever. They have catkins and attract insects, and in turn they attract members of the tit family.
Obviously Oak trees and Horse Chestnut trees are standard English deciduous woodland fare, and attract birds that like to nest in trees, but you might also consider Rowan as they have brightly coloured berries that attract waxwings.
Most woodland areas that have a build up of natural leaf mould over several years will be slightly acidic, but the Rhodos won't have made too much of a difference.
I wish you much luck in your endeavours. :-)
P.S. I love the nuthatch, I get them in my garden and am always pleased to see them. :-)
Best wishes Chris
Click Here to see my photos
Brilliant, thanks for that.
We have Willow but have been removing it to encourage the reed beds which have been neglected over the years.
Pollarding or copicing also might be a good idea.
Stoat
I'm not bald. I've just got ingrowing hair!
This link might be of interest as it shows the different vegetation levels of a woodland and what species you would expect to find there.
You might also be interested in the RSPB's handbook called Woodland Management for birds, available via this link.
Warden Intern at Otmoor.
I am no where near an expert but my advice on our LNR was to see what is there already and add to that. Be wary of bringing in other species that may not like the conditions. I wouldn't worry about adding in Elder that will find its own way in like a weed.
The Cotswold Water park sightings website
My Flicker page