The saplings of Goytre House Wood

 

In the autumn of 2022 Gwent Ornithological Society ( GOS) members ,volunteers and the Goytre Cub Scout Group planted over one hundred saplings at Goytre House Wood.

The wood is owned by GOS and its their only nature reserve. Its a fabulous little wood and it attracts quite a range of species of birds.

Species such as Greater Spotted Woodpeckers, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Coal Tit, Long-Tailed Tits, Nuthatch, Treecreepers, Wood Pigeons, Jackdaws and Carrion Crows can be seen frequently on the site. Rarer species such as Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers in the past were known to frequent the wood but sightings of this small and rare species of woodpecker have been very few and far between, with none in recent years to my knowledge.

Pied Flycatcher ( Male)

Spotted Flycatcher

The wood is now starting to come to life now spring is here. In the coming months the skies overhead will have Swallows that nest in nearby farms and perhaps the occasional Martin or Swift. Travelling up from West Africa migrating to the wood will be both Pied and Spotted Flycatchers. I can't wait until they arrive. Hopefully the Pied Flycatchers will use the nest boxes that have been erected by Richard Evan. 

( Project Nestbox).

The field where the tree saplings are planted

This morning I checked in on the wood to see how the saplings are getting on. A mixture of species of tree were planted including Dogwood, Rowan, Hazel and Silver Birch.

Most of the saplings are showing signs of leaf buds starting to open and have visibly grown. The plastic sleeves that protect them , in some cases are full of grass that has grown in them. I tidied up a few of the saplings. The field in which they were planted is covered by a reddish plant - not sure if is a member of the dock family. It will be interesting to see how things develop. It was previously just grass that was cut regularly so its going to change now as nothing will be cutting the grass.

I put my drone up for an aerial shot of the field so I can can keep a record over time of how the field will change.

This is how it looked in Autumn 2022 - check here

This is how it looks now in March 2024

I had a little explore of the wood for a short time. The Bluebells are already growing and next month the wood will have a beautiful carpet of blue flowers.

Bluebells will soon create a beautiful floral carpet.