Within five minutes after knocking-off for coffee, we saw a green woodpecker, a jay, a dragonfly, a mayfly and a speckled wood butterfly. Not a bad haul for a nature reserve which is not one of Sussex's really super wildlife sites. But what we can provide on these few acres is an example of harmony between forestry operations and wildlife - these words are in the introduction to the management plan drawn up by Sussex Wildlife Trust for the reserve, which for us workers, is our bible.
Following the "bracken bash" of the summer we are again opening out an overgrown ride back to something of the order of 12 feet (3.5 metres) wide. Rides were originally formed for either access to a wood, and/or for horse-riding. And for the more habitat-conscious owners of woodland today, rides can be a valuable source of light for many plants and insects. Happily, therefore, our access into parts of the wood for forestry operations, can bring about this harmonious compromise.
As we poured another cup of coffee, I reflected upon how a change from a footpath to a ride can change one's perception of distance and steepness. I always thought that the path from the bridge to the car park was a killer when carrying a load of tools after a morning's work. Now I know why! Another pleasure of working on a ride is discovering a useful or interesting tree or shrub among the serried ranks of brambles and bracken. Then we give them more light and air with great joy.
The Trust tells me that the county experienced a butterfly invasion in the summer. From mid-August there were many reports of a fast-flying orangey-yellow species, with black wing borders. They were clouded yellows, a continental butterfly that every year migrates northwards.
Their need to migrate depends on the food sources on their breeding grounds. Obviously they were hungry for their food across the Channel - bird's foot trefoil and sanfoin. But although they can make use of these foods here as well, they do not breed successfully in the UK because it is not warm enough.
I wonder if you saw one this summer. I'm sorry to say that I didn't...
John Hall © 2000