A recent survey has confirmed just how special the Lower Meadow is. Its wide range of species puts it in the national top grade of grassland – in fact it’s SSSI standard (Site of Special Scientific Interest). However it won’t be officially declared as an SSSI because that’s only done if a site is at risk, which Wapley certainly isn’t. One species that was recorded officially for the first time is the Bee Orchid (though we’ve seen it occasionally in previous years)

Several people have asked why the Lower Meadow has been cut earlier than usual. The answer is that we’re trying to stop the spread of meadowsweet and other invasive plants, and the new cutting date is based on advice from experts. It’s a compromise – some of the species we want to keep have only partly set seed, but we want to avoid them being strangled by meadowsweet and the like. Every third year we plan to have a second cut in September. The Upper Meadow will be cut later this month.

A light work morning this time – a general tidy-up and a walk round to plan future care of the woodland and meadows. Wellies or similar would be advisable.

Meet at 10.00 am at the Shire Way gate – please ring Paul Hulbert on 01454 315851 or 07771 562505 if you would like more details.

I couldn’t resist this little scene I snapped at Wapley this evening. I’m not sure who was more startled, the rabbit or the robin.

It’s going to be a good year for fungi, I think. These monster bracket fungi appeared recently and seem to be lasting.

You can see that they’re quite thick and fleshy. To give you an idea of the scale, the larger one is about 40cm x 30 cm – larger than a dinner plate.

The skin underneath appears fairly smooth – there are no gills.

When you look more closely you find that the under surface consists of small pores from which the spores are released.

In contrast the upper surface has a sort of spotted, “furry” pattern.

If you want to see these fungi for yourself, they’re in the fringe of the main wood, off the upper part of the lower path, some way down from where the upper and lower paths join.

On the work morning we were exploring the meadows with flora expert Rupert Higgins, who is carrying out a detailed survey for us.

The Lower Meadow is of course the better of the two. It’s of Site of Special Scientific Interest standard, but places are only designated as SSSIs nowadays if they are under threat, which Wapley certainly isn’t.
The plants in the different areas vary according to soil and drainage. Here you can see St Mary’s Church in Yate in the distance.

Thanks to Rupert for a very interesting morning. Our next work morning will be on Sunday July 8th, when we will doing some general tidying up and gathering information for future management plans and projects.

Please come and help our wildflower survey on Sunday 13 May, or just visit and enjoy the splendid display of flowers in the meadows and the woods.

We’re meeting at the Shire Way gate at 10.00 am.

Well, I think that spring has well and truly sprung. A week ago I spotted the first couple of blubells at Wapley – the real English ones, not the Spanish ones that you usually see in gardens.

And the rooks were doing what all birds do at this time of year…

Just a few photos of buzzards over Wapley this morning – quite a spectacular sight!

A “team photo” in the Upper Meadow.

Last week we had a great walk with the Walking to Health group. On a lovely sunny morning Tim and I took nearly 40 people on a tour of the Nature Reserve. We told them about the territorial rivalry between the rooks in the wood and the buzzards that nest down the lane.

While we were walking across the Common, someone spotted one buzzard, then a second one. A scouting rook flew across, but the buzzards took no notice. Then a dozen or so rooks took off and started to mob the buzzards.

Although there was no physical contact, at one point a buzzard had four rooks within two feet of it. The buzzard looked extremely worried.

Eventually the buzzards decided that discretion was the better part of valour and flew back to their side of the boundary.

It was amazing that this happened just on cue, and someone remarked that TV cameramen could wait for weeks to film something like that.

Click here for the map and details of our walk, and the things you can look for at this time of year

We’ll keep you posted about future walks at Wapley, but you can find out more about Walking to Health by clicking here, and their programme of walks by clicking here.

Tim explains the species in the Western Wood