Today we went out on an exploratory walk along the railway track bordering the camping meadow with a few local wildlife enthusiasts. Michael Blencowe from Sussex Wildlife Trust and Richard Black from the RSPB accompanied Nick, Simon and I as we walked down the old railways track that runs through the campsite.
This track is an SNCI and is a haven for wildlife as well as being the fastest route to the pub if you don’t get distracted by the adders or the glow worms. It is also the breeding ground for a small colony of nightingales and as these birds are getting rarer in Britain we are trying to hatch a plan to improve their lot in these parts.
We have a couple of males who have been singing for the last 2 years in the scrub area between the camping meadow and the orchard camping area so anything we can do will be great for them and their offspring.
The aim of the walk was to develop a plan that we can put to the land owners that will enable us to manage a better habitat and avoid the boom and bust of wholesale land clearance.
The upside to this is that the 7-10 year rolling management cycle would also improve the lot for a wide range of plants and insects that all sorts of creatures rely on.
Next week Michael will be finalising the schedule for this years Secret Wildlife festival, see what we did last year.
I forgot to take my camera along for the walk so have posted a picture of something entirely unrelated, sorry about that.
No comment yet, add your voice below!