Hello everyone!
I hope y’all have been enjoying our lovely sunny and warm weather recently with hardly any rain! It’s been a great few weeks here at Chez Burton Mere with lots and lots of spring/summer migrants and the odd surprise or two. As these sightings have been covered in other people’s posts I won’t delve too much into that, so instead I’m going to have a natter about my own wanderings on the reserve which I did just the other day, funnily enough. On the hunt for a bit of inspiration, I decided to take the path less trodden and made a beeline towards our more ‘hidden gem’ trail known as the Gorse Covert Woodland Trail - a wonderful trail that is located at the back right area of the car park.
An enclosed area of dense trees, woodland and unpaved paths, the Gorse Covert Woodland Trail is steeped in mystery and folklore. Rumour has it that Indiana Jones himself fell into a badger hole, foiled various human traps and found the holy grail. Ok, so that part isn’t true, but whenever I walk this trail it always activates my already over-active imagination. And let’s face it, my already over-active imagination doesn’t need any more of this outside stimulation, but I digress…
It is this trail that pays host to the biggest amount of bluebells at Burton Mere Wetlands. Every spring, our visitors’ faces light up with glee and joy at the beautiful flowers that pop up to carpet the woodland area with a glorious shade of blue. Many a photograph is taken; the majority being much better than mine. At times other than this, the trail is fairly quiet and I assume that this is due to it being more of a wild and overgrown trail, rather than a cleared and paved path. I have to say though, it’s a great trail for children, as a short way into the trail you will uncover a den building section and let’s face it - what child doesn’t want to build a den? And if you are not a child and want to build a den, then go ahead, I won’t judge!
Should you want to see the bluebells, then you might want to hurry on down. Bluebells are a limited feature in our fair lands and tend to peak around the start of May, only to dwindle just a few weeks later. If you want to see them, you will still be able to, however, just be aware that they are past their sell by date and may not look AS beautiful as they did a few weeks back.
I have provided a picture below of how the bluebells looked on my last visit, as well as a picture of one of the signposts that adorn the pathway with factoids both real and mythical about the bluebells:
I would assume that once these bluebells are no more that we will be getting some more interesting signposts about the area. I think that I will actually make a suggestion that the next factoids be about the trees themselves as there is a LOT of them and loads of different types. I know that I for one am extremely interested in learning more about these trees and how they help the wildlife that makes its home here.
I do highly suggest that all visitors new and old have a wander along the Gorse Covert Woodland Trail. It’s generally a peaceful spot, aside from the occasional car and of course, the glorious birdsong. This is a fantastic time of year to hear the birds singing and you can take a moment to stop and have a sit down (not on the floor, there are benches!) to escape the daily grind and have a listen. Undisturbed birds give up the secretive locations of nests and rustling sounds indicate the presence of small mammals, such as a cheeky mouse or vole. And if like me, you are ever confused as to the ID of a bird or mammal, you can always check on the RSPB website. The bird identifier specifically can be found here.
My intentions were to also include the recent influx of swifts, swallows and martins, but seeing as I have jabbered on for long enough now, I think I will keep that to a separate post. So, I will sign off now and hope that you swiftly (get it?) meander on down to see us at Burton Mere Wetlands to see the last of the bluebells!