In the warm dry early Spring it was wonderful to experience the beauty of Hagg Wood. The fantastic display of wildflowers rewarding our efforts to hold back the brambles and promote good growing conditions along the rides and ditch margins. I’m sure there have been more primroses than ever before. Birdsong also seemed to be increasing with even more willow warblers, blackcaps and chiffchaffs. In early May there had been a lot of concern amongst birdwatchers about the poor numbers of hirundines (swallows, martins and swifts) making their way back to England. There were strong sandstorms in The Sahara in early April which may have delayed their return.
More encouraging have been increased sightings and hearings of Cuckoos. We used to hear this interesting bird around Dunnington from April to mid-June, when many adult birds return to Africa, but it is five years since I have recorded their presence, although one of our readers reports hearing the Cuckoo twice in Hagg Wood last April. Cuckoos target several host species but most common are meadow pipits, reed warblers and dunnocks. Amazingly cuckoos can specialize in a particular host and lay an egg which closely matches the target bird’s, and this has been the subject of many fascinating evolutionary studies. For a bird of its size and resembling a sparrowhawk,, a cuckoo is not often seen in flight and much more often heard than seen.
We want to restart our Woodland Working parties now that people are getting more comfortable with group events. We will be limited, however, by the equipment we can get into the wood with restricted access for heavier items. We are also planning to restart our talks programme in the autumn, with more details to follow soon. For anyone not familiar with the current access to Hagg Wood, information can be found on our website www.fohw.org.uk, which also includes further news of interest to users of the wood.
Our blog https://haggwood.wordpress.com/contact/ provides the opportunity to get in touch with us.
Friends of Hagg Wood 