18 June 2024
There was so much appreciation and enthusiasm for Hutchcomb‘s Copse when we held an Open Day on the 1st of June. Our small, two-acre wood was looking lovely, it’s wildness emphasised by Nettles and Cow Parsley alongside the animal tracks, and huge green canopies of leaves over our heads. We were delighted to raise money from entrance fees, teas and cakes, and received some generous donations. Thank you to everyone who kindly contributed, including by offering time and physical work in the...
17 May 2023
Our visit today included meeting a colleague from the Thames Valley Environmental Recording Centre (TVERC), introducing her to the Copse, and then enabling her to carry out a baseline survey. This Spring survey, along with a further one in late Summer, will help us to understand the trees, plant, and animal life in the Copse. We plan to invite species specialists to come and survey too – examples include Bat, Reptile and invertebrate groups. If you have survey experience and want to help at...
15 April 2023
A group of us spent a couple of pleasant hours in the copse - we were on a mission to lay reptile mats, identify birdsong, and look for butterflies. It seemed like the warmest day of the year so far. It was a perfect morning - the woodland floor had new growth including some baby nettles (they'll grow and get meaner no doubt!) but the paths were still easy to find and follow. The trees were just starting to come into bud. Hutchcomb's Copse seemed to be breathing in the sunlight and bursting...
25 March 2023
Saturday’s visit on March 25th marked the point when from this day forward, days are longer than nights. What wonders will we see as the season develops?
12 March 2023
With the meteorologists telling us spring had arrived it was good to see evidence of it in our most recent visit to the Copse. Lovely blue skies and sunshine provided the perfect backdrop for Hazel catkins. Hazel is abundant, previously being coppiced. Records from 1852 (see below), as well as 1870 and 1877 show that the coppiced wood (underwood) was a valuable commodity offered for auction. The coppiced stands are now grown tall again.
09 February 2023
We woke to freezing fog but by the time we got to the Copse the sun had burned through and the colours were astounding. The frost had cleared under the shelter of the canopy of trees. Cow parsley and the first nettles were starting to green up the dense leaf litter of the Copse floor. This animal track looked really inviting, so we followed it ...
30 January 2023
This is the first of a regular blog about the Copse, season by season. We will share what we notice on visits to Hutchcomb’s Copse, and provide updates about our plans. We bought the Copse last year and will work gently to preserve and enhance it. No ‘tidying-up’ is intended. We are thinking about when and how we might see and identify the flora, and the fauna who live there. Our most recent visit to the Copse was on a chilly and windy January morning. We were lucky – there was no rain!...