New Nature Survey

I have landed a plum job, surveying all the natural history of a local estate with a view to helping set up nature studies for a local primary school, the landowner being a governor of this particular school. After a visit with the head and deputy to meet the landowner on Monday, I spent a few hours in one specific wood on the estate on Tuesday afternoon. Wonderfully diverse habitat with the majority of trees being hornbeam and oak, with several conifers, hazel and some elder.
A really good find was a small colony of wood sorrel growing on a fallen bough. A rare plant for Hertfordshire, but one that the county recorder, Trevor James, is already aware of. Other spring plants were in flower: wood anemone, bluebell, primrose, bugle, and lesser celandine.
Overhead, a red kite soared and a common buzzard was being mobbed by the carrion crows. In the wood itself, the expected deciduous birds were both seen and heard. Nuthatch and treecreeper were noted along with great, blue and long tailed tits, pheasants, chaffinches, wrens, robins and chiffchaffs.
Another area on the farm that should be good for the children is a man made lake, now well established and populated by tufted duck, grey heron, moorhen, coot, canada goose and mute swan. The goat willows all around the water should be excellent for warblers later this spring, so a dawn wander is on the cards along with several nights mothing. Exciting times ahead and I'm looking forward to putting a plan together so the school can benefit from this wonderful opportunity to get out, study nature, look at conservation at work and become familiar with how farming can help encourage wildlife whilst still going about its business of producing food.

pheasant diving for cover

goldfinch

red kite

wood sorrel

wood anemone

greater stitchwort

bugle just coming into bloom