PRESS RELEASE
The Len Pick Trust (Registered Charity No. 1106598)

Early Valentine’s Day present for Bourne Wood

Visitors to Bourne Wood will notice before the 14th February, the erection of a scattered new housing development. The project, which will see the installation of 57 of new nest boxes, is the idea of local naturalist, Bob Sheppard working in conjunction with The Friends of Bourne Wood.
Bob has been putting up nest boxes in Bourne Woods for over thirty years. However, the increasing problem of woodpecker damage to wooden boxes and the lack of durability of wood led to a search for a more permanent material. The new boxes, purchased with a grant from the Len Pick Trust, are made of woodcrete, a mixture of cement, clay and sawdust. They come with a 25 year guarantee and are virtually indestructible. They are warm in winter for roosting birds and cool in summer allowing chicks to prosper. A 32mm hole enables access for a wide range of birds including Great Tits, Blue Tits, Coal Tits, Marsh Tits and Nuthatches. The boxes will be installed on trees adjacent to the main paths at the south end of the wood so that members of the public can enjoy seeing an increase in the population of nesting birds.
Each year the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) runs National Nest Box Week from 14th to 21st February. St Valentine’s Day marks the start since this is the traditional date when birds pair up for the new breeding season. John Freear, Chairman of The Len Pick Trust said, “The Trustees are delighted to support The Friends in this conservation programme. Bourne Wood is a fantastic asset right on our doorstep and gives tremendous enjoyment to many thousands of people each year. We hope that this project, by providing increased levels of protection from natural predators, will assist the indigenous bird population of the Wood to thrive and increase”.

Photograph shows the erection of the first of 57 nest boxes provided by The Len Pick Trust.

Featured Left to Right Mick Curtis, Committee member, Friends of Bourne Wood Sarah Roberts, Secretary, Friends of Bourne Wood John Freear, Chairman of The Len Pick Trust

June 2010

Stand, if you can, for a few moments in a sunny glade in the wood. You can feel the warmth on your skin, the colours abound, natural scents fill the air, the birds serenade, the senses are full. Great to be lucky enough to have this on our doorstep! Of course our busy lives can get in the way of such simple enjoyment but try to get out there if you can. I was on such an outing this week and noticed “green”. As a child I had a paint set with green in it but it was not like the natural colour I saw. The trees had not one, not ten, but a hundred greens on display. The new oak shoots had tinges of red/brown/yellow and the willows had silver and grey. Superb!
As I walked the bird song was continuous. I passed a strange “singing bush”- no bird to be seen but cascades of tunes filling the air. Indeed I passed several before eventually glimpsing the source of the sound - a gushing Blackcap! In the distance I could hear the Cuckoo - not my favourite bird for its habits but a sound I which I associate with Spring - at least until its tune changes when it is summer! I have a clock some friends gave me which calls like a cuckoo at 2 pm so I heard two that day! As I walk the Bluebells are fading but the hawthorn is in blossom with its pink tinged flowers and sweet odour. As the saying goes it is definitely time to “cast a clout” and get down to The Wood!

Our next event is the Bat and Moth Night on Saturday June 12th. Meet Forest Office, Beech Avenue, Bourne, 9.30pm. For more information see the website or call 07760468052.

April 2010

It sometimes seems to me that it has been a long, cold winter. Of course it is nothing when compared with other countries such as Russia or Canada so perhaps we should not complain! Nevertheless, the forest flowers are keeping hidden and the buds are still tightly closed. However it will not be long and spring will come, possibly not with a saunter but, when it is ready, with a gallop! The days are getting longer with plenty of bird song. We still have some winter species still here- I saw some redpoll last week. A good spot was also some tree sparrows with their distinctive dark cheeks and white collar - like vicars maybe. Many of the Hazel catkins are now fully out, blowing in the wind. On a recent walk we saw several hundred Hazel trees, each bearing several hundred catkins. If each catkin releases several thousand pollen grains I reckon that is a lot of pollen in the air. No wonder some people say their hayfever starts early, well before we are making hay! Perhaps those sufferers should call it Hazel fever, a condition one of my friends had when dating a girl of the same name! Our next event is the Dinosaur Trail on Easter Monday April 5th, a short trail around part of the wood, with a quiz about these prehistoric beasts. It is signposted from the main car park, from 2pm to 4pm. For more information contact Sarah on 07760468052, or visit www.friendsofbournewood.co.uk

February 2010

March can be a fickle month - one day warm, seeming almost springlike, other days cold when the wood hardly seems to wake from its winter slumber. However the general trend is definitely progressing towards new growth and new life. The path verges are green, the honeysuckles in bud and by the end of the month the carpets of Wood Anemones will be a spectacle. Above, the summer migrants will be arriving with the chiff-chaffs singing their characteristic song. I usually hear them about the 18th but this year they may be earlier or later - just have to wait and listen. The morning birdsong is already pronounced - I was listening to a beautiful thrush just a few yards away, singing with such clear perfection. The Chaffinches too are calling with their musical song. I wonder if they feel like unsuccessful entrants in a music competition such as “the X Factor”. They are very good in their own way but can seem to be losers when compared with the sweet tones of the Willow warblers arriving soon. Some of our winter birds will be leaving, others staying but just not so noticeable. I think it has been a good year for Marsh tits as I have seen them on many occasions. They remind me of international cyclists with a streamlined helmet on, such as Chris Hoy or Chris Boardman, but smaller and not on a bicycle!

For more information on the Friends of Bourne Wood phone Sarah on 07760468052 or see www.friendsofbournewood.org.uk.

December 2008

As we pass the shortest day “midwinters day” most of the trees have shed their leaves and the bracken has died back. The golden carpet of larch needles has lost its colour and many of the side tracks are muddy. Nevertheless the wood is alive with bird song as flocks of tits pass through it. Coal tits seem plentiful this year and there are at least two pairs of bullfinches near the car park. Nuthatches call  and one can occasionally see the flit of the treecreeper as it passes from one tree to the base of the next, climbing up the trunk searching for insects in the crevices of the bark. Despite the winter feel  one senses that spring is just waiting to burst out. The hazel catkins are still short and tight- but next month they will be blowing like lambs tails in the wind. Almost there!

January 2009

The wood is still dormant, with bare trees and closed buds. However, it is a restless sleeper – stirring and preparing to burst forth as the days get longer and the weather warmer. The Hazel catkins are already lengthening and the bluebell shoots poking through the ground. For the birds, it is already time to be active, the early starters may be the “first to catch the worm”. More importantly, the first claim of a territory may lead to attracting a mate, so the woodpeckers are already drumming and the great tits calling “teacher-teacher-teacher”. At first I thought the woodpeckers were drilling holes when they drum but they are usually just announcing their presence. I once saw one drumming against the metal cover of a telegraph pole- no hole was made but a lot of noise was!  There are plenty of quieter birds on the move, one of my favourite being the Goldcrest. This tiny bird makes little “peep” sounds as it feeds, often in groups or not far from flocks of tits. As Britain’s smallest bird I am amazed when it flies in across the North Sea. If I was that small I would think twice about traversing this stretch of water which often seems to have strong cold winds ready to blow me off course!

February 2009

The woods have been most picturesque with the February snow, like a Christmas card. The best views are on the first day or two when the covering highlights each branch. Excited children have been out with their sledges, parents not always showing their glee so extrovertly! We could not see if the plants are growing under the snow but the wood anemones will soon be showing. We have seen Dog's Mercury already out and the primrose florets are getting bigger. The hazel catkins are fully out, releasing their pollen into the wind. The small female flowers seem to be out later than the male catkins but that may be because they are small in comparison and have to be looked for to see them.
Now is the time of year that I look forward to the summer migrants arriving, even though it hardly seems like summer! The Chiff-chaffs are often the first to be heard, announcing their arrival high in the trees with their distinctive “chiff chaff” calls. I first hear them usually about the 20th March, some years a week earlier, other years a bit later. It is said that they are arriving earlier with “global warming” but it needs many reports over several years to make a reliable statement. I cannot go down to the woods every day so I may miss the first few days they are singing so my records are not reliable enough. I just enjoy the song, marvelling at the tiny creatures who have flown here from so far away, content with the thought that summer is on its way!