I was lucky enough to win a 2-day scything retreat at The Forge near Corwen (North Wales) in August and having enjoyed that workshop asked the scything tutor, Phil Lewis, if he might come down to South Shropshire to scythe our tumps. I was delighted that he agreed to do this. So on a hot day in early September, Phil and Ludlow friends Jan and Ru (with their very sweet little puppy) came here and we spent a hot day scything and raking hay.
The reason we are experimenting with scything on here is because the tumps cannot be mown by tractor for hay due to the anthills on them and the steep slopes - and the sheep tend not to like the longer dried grasses and trample rather than eat them. So grass needs to be removed manually from this area in late summer to help manage the grassland optimally for wild flowers. This is the theory! It's not like scything a standard meadow since you have to be aware of and cut around the anthills (and give them a careful haircut) and parts of the tumps are steeply sloping, so it's slower work.
Removing the grass (in this case hand-raking and removing the sweet-liquorice scented hay to the sides of the field) helps prevent a build up of thatch and hopefully will give the finer meadow grasses, herbs and flowers space and air to come up again next Spring. We are still leaving swathes uncut as a refuge for insects overwintering shelter. Sheep went back on to the main field this week to help us manage the grass until the winter cold slows it up altogether and once we have finished scything and raking on the tumps they will go on there next and start to eat! Here's hoping it works!
Let's hear it for thistles!
We have been warned by several people about the dangers of Creeping Thistle and Spear Thistle. The main hayfield with its annual mowing and winter grazing by sheep seems to be relatively thistle free, and hopefully will remain so, but we are finding that the bare ground created by the hibernaculum near the pond and in the wilder areas around the new woodland that thistles have had a bit of a field day this year.
We were a bit loathe to top them early since they provide such a fantastic late nectar source for invertebrates. However, they tend to go to seed continuously once they have started to flower, so there has been a constant need for us to deadhead and remove the downy thistle heads for the last several weeks before they float off and find a niche in the main hay meadow or threaten neighbouring fields.
Last week in the midst of yet another major thistle patrol I was beginning to wonder about the wisdom of letting them grow at all, when I came upon the thistle patch by the pond. In the heat of the midday sun, it seemed that all the insects of the valley had turned out for a late summer party and the air was thick with the buzzing of hoverflies, bumble bees, honey bees, solitary bees, wasps, butterflies, moths and beetles. Almost every flower had an insect visitor (see photos) and many had more than one sharing the bounty. Shieldbugs seem to like hanging around in the thistledown seedheads (I wonder why?). Even a grasshopper, a Common Darter dragonfly and a cranefly bumbled by. I was reminded at once, of course, that this is the reason we let some thistles grow and flower!
And one evening last week, when right up at the top of the field amongst the new trees where the thistles have been allowed to do their own thing, they were hosting a happy little gaggle of chirruping Goldfinches. One of the earliest recorded names for the Goldfinch is the rather charming Thisteltuige, an Anglo-Saxon name meaning thistle-tweaker - and even the bird's scientific name Carduelis carduelis is derived from the Latin, Carduus, meaning thistle. Yet another reason to (metaphorically) embrace our thistles!
Woodland update
Despite two dry Springs (this year's not as bad as last year's), the 900-odd trees in the new wood have done pretty well. We have had some losses in one part of the field of around 10 trees and one or two elsewhere (not sure why, perhaps a particularly dry patches?) but for the most part they are thriving and growing well since being planted in January 2020. The vegetation has not been grazed here now for more or less 2 years and it has already changed markedly forming thick, tussocky mounds embroidered with Lesser Stitchwort which seems to thrive in rougher grassland. This is the part of the field where a lot of the insect activity is and where I found Skippers hunkering down on the long grasses the evening we cut the main hay field. This year I found a lovely mauve Musk Mallow growing at the base of one of the new trees. Now the seedpods are ripening, I will collect a few and sow them elsewhere in the field.
Hedgerows
We are managing the hedgerows in as gentle a way as we can and plan to get them cut every three years in January or February time if we can find a contractor or local farmer willing and able to help us! We laid one hedge last year, and although a fantastic thing to do, this is quite a costly exercise, although we may try and do short lengths every year once the hedges are at the right stage for laying.
Leaving the hedges longer for trimming means their stems are thicker and not as easy to cut. Not cutting them every year, however, means they will be able to grow bushier and provide better shelter for birds and other animals. Not cutting before the New Year means that a full array of berries and nuts is made available for birds and mammals over the winter. The Hawthorn in particular this year is really loaded with berries!
The hedge laid last year is in good heart and we have been enjoying the views that have opened up beyond it this summer. The shade loving wildflower seeds I sowed near the hedge (garden side) came up in raggedy patches through the summer - Ox-eye daisies, Red Campion, Common Fumitory, Hemp Nettle and Self Heal amongst several others. I will scythe these off soon and hopefully they will come up again next year.
A quick plug: If you are interested in hedgerows and live in Shropshire, CPRE Shropshire is running a hedgerow project this autumn/winter which will involve hedgerow creation and hedgelaying training. We are also offering free hedge talks (on Zoom) which are open to anyone wherever they live. For more information on the project, see here, or email me on admin@cpreshropshire.org.uk
Wetland Wander event on 7th October
Alison Jones, Shropshire Hills AONB Partnership, who was project officer for the wetland project in summer 2020, will be guiding a short walk around the wetland here on the morning of Thursday 7th October showing before and after photographs and explaining the reasoning behind the work in the first place. Further information about this event is here - including how to book (there is a small fee of £3/ per person). Limited numbers!
Updated Plan
It almost exactly three years since we acquired the field (30th September 2018) and I have updated my Stony Field Map this month to show the main areas of activity so far. On the Plans page you can see the development of the field over three years and read more of the detail.
The wonderful world of cobwebs
A walk down to the bottom of the field on a clear, dewy morning is rewarded in September with fantastic displays of hundreds of spiders' webs on and between the rushes, thistles and spent Common Sorrel. At this time of the day, the webs are picked out by thousands of backlit dewdrops. Once the sun rises higher and the dew evaporates they are virtually invisible once more.
Finally, an apology
Finally, I'm sorry that in my last blog post I mis-named the group who came to survey insects in our field back in July. They are called Love of Wildlife not Love of Nature - my apologies! A link to their website is here and well worth a look: https://wrekinforestvolunteers.blogspot.com/ - we hope they will return next year and look forward to welcoming them back here for another fascinating day looking for insects in the field - it was one of the highlights of the summer!
A wonderful, educational and entertaining update ! love your work on The Field and appear to be a talented photographer also !
Thanks for this wonderful - and evocative - Newsletter! Love all the photos - so beautiful and illustrate you efforts so well, and those of the cobwebs are just utterly breath-taking!