In December 2011, a group of volunteers came out to the reserve to help coppice an area of scrub along the disused railway embankment. Certain areas of the scrub are becoming over mature and leggy, or are dying off. Coppicing is a good way of re-invigorating the trees, while also helping to increase biodiversity by creating diversity in structure and age.
Coppicing an area of scrub looks dramatic, but the little stools which are left are still living and will sprout new, thick bushy growth in the years to follow.
We had a visit from a lady from the Bumblebee Conservation Trust in Winter last year, to look at our habitats and the potential of future work together. Although she was very impressed with the amount of flower rich chalk grassland we have created, she was really pleased when she came across the area of coppice along the railway. Although the coppice had one seasons worth of growth, there was still lots of bare, loose ground, which she said was ideal for hibernating queen bumble bees!
After another season of growth, there is now no bare ground, and the coppice has really grown thick and bushy. Much of the scrub is composed of blackthorn, the food plant for the brown hairstreak butterfly. This species is a priority for conservation as it is in decline in the UK - mainly because of hedgerow removal and annual hedge flailing, which removes the eggs. We are fortunate to have a colony on the reserve.
After two years of growth, the coppiced area is really starting to thicken up - Keeley Spate RSPB
The butterflies require young growth to lay their eggs on, and older growth becomes unsuitable and unused. I was out checking a few things the other week, and after just a very quick look, I noticed several brown hairstreak eggs in the new growth of blackthorn. This is really good news for our brown hairstreak colony! We will continue coppicing along the disused railway each winter, so we will continue to provide spaces for hibernating bumblebees and breeding brown hairstreak every year. Our next coppicing day along the disused railway is in Januaury - why not come along and help?
Two Brown hairstreak eggs in the new growth of coppiced blackthorn - Keeley Spate RSPB
Keeley