Then, as we hurried round the paths a terrible noise of screeching metal and breaking wood suddenly hit us. We rushed up to the heathland, and realisation dawned. The work was being carried out on the neighbouring woodland! It seems that the machinery was working to clear up old wood and brash along the perimeter fence.

Amazing how noise can be magnified, and distances and directions confused, across a wood. Anyway all was well. And thanks to a concerned neighbour who took the trouble to warn use. The incident might have been very different.

More irritatingly, a few days later, one of our numbered posts for identifying "compartments" in the wood, was pulled up and thrown away somewhere, and some sticky leaflets for an animal action group were stuck on our transparent leaflet box. It was all rather stupid and time-consuming.

June certainly seemed to be drying up as we continued to widen the path along the west side of the reserve. We are determined to root out all the small tree suckers close to the path because it's just no use to cut them off. This will prevent somebody tripping up. As we worked in the sunshine, chiff-chaffs and wrens were calling, the green woodpeckers were laughing their heads off, and life was great. Especially when a regular dog walker became very complimentary about our work on the path!

It was along this path that we had seen signs of a fox's den or resting place about which I wrote last month. It seems to have been a false alarm. The fox smell was definitely there, but the "den" was really a pathway through the brambles. We were pleased that Brer Fox had not stayed around for long. It meant that the dormice could survive to another day. With luck...

John Hall © 2000