Coppicing overhanging Wllows at the pathside pool

Scrub cleared from the pathside

Start of the day ,pathside scrub to be cleared.

#Ashlawncutting work party day forecast rain didn't show :-). WE coppiced overhangi Willow rom a pathside pool and cleared scrub nearby to opwn up a wide pathside strip that will be seeded with Garlic Mustard... cut material sorted and taken to the wetland's dead hedge...1/2

After finding Siskin @warwickshirewt.bsky.social Brandon Marsh SSSI yesterday I wanted to see if there were any at #Ashlawncutting (home reserve) and wasn't disappointed :-). Good to see them feeding,hope they & Redpoll find the wetland 1/2 a mile to the North & Alders we planted with self set Birch

Evening walk on the local patch #Ashlawncutting. Looking for windblown trees and all's clear, Badger still doing it's best to cause obstruction though. @warksmammalgroup.bsky.social

Speckled Wood butterfly on Hemp Agrimony

Brown Argus butterfly on Common Fleabane

Holly Blue butterfly on Hemp Agrimony

Uncut Asteraceae, Knapweed,Comon Fleabane,Creeping Thistle and Hemp Agrimony... mainly

Handy for the #DaisyChallenge. Conservation work today at #AshlawnCutting where we left Asteraceae uncut because the invertebrates will be feeding on them!! Species named in ALT.
@wildflowerhour.bsky.social

#Ashlawncutting work day today. The last ( for now) of the ssp.argentatum Lamium galeobdelon is removed from the reserve. We'll keep on top of it better now. Found an adjoining patch on private land and will start conversation with owner re. removal odf the schedule 9 weed. Violets loveus now!!

Keeping the access between the cutting and the QE2 Diamond Jubile Wood open

Before cutting overhanging scrub in the gap between QE2 Diamond Jubilee Wood and Ashlawn Cutting

2nd access point between the QE2 Diamond Jubilee Wood and Ashlawn Cutting

Cut strip alon the path edges in Ashlawn Cutting. Nutrient stripping when raked off

A rainy day at #Ashlawncutting LNR working at the Southern end of the reserve to cut and rake off enriched path edges and prune back overhanging scrub.

Common Blue

Hairy Dragonfly

Holly Blue

Small Copper

"Oh you pretty things..." #Ashlawncutting walk round after our work party today found, Common and Holly Blue with Small Copper and a Hairy Dragonfly. @savebutterflies.bsky.social @britishdragonflies.bsky.social

By catch. There are more questions than answers.... no Grass Snake this time though.

By catch at #Ashlawncutting LNR. Nursery Web spiders. It'd be interesting to learn about all the invertebrates that live on the site. @moistmacro.bsky.social

DEad hedge neatened up , better stakes and binders on.

Cutting Purple Loosestrife stems and raking up round scrapes lets light onto the Greater Birdsfoot Trefoil,Water |Mint and Cuckooflower

Dead stems of St.John's Wort cut and removed to nearby compost heap. Some left uncut as we do these days.

Binders make it stronger and look great for passers by. The public face of conservation . Keeps dogs out too !!!

Our hedging gang smartenened up the dead hedge around the marsh at #Ashlawncutting LNR with stakes cut to length and binders to hold it all together firmly. WE also cut and raked some areas left long over Winter to let light reach new growth flowers.

Peacock #butterfly finding Sweet Violet flowers to its liking at #Ashlawncutting LNR #WildWebsWednesday

#Wrensday at #Ashlawncutting LNR #Birdsong #UKBirds

#FlyDay When a Dark Edged Bee Fly nectars on a Violet flower at #Ashlawncutting #BeeFlyWatch

Brimstone butterfly

Grey Wagtail

Marsh Marigold flowers

Goldcrest

A touch of Yellow on my walk along #Ashlawncutting LNR this morning.

Good old Cherry Plum doing the trick for #pollinators . This one's at #Ashlawncutting . #WildWebsWednesday

One of the 2 seen in different locations yesterday and now recorded via i-record. Thanks for the reminder. This one at #Ashlawncutting LNR in Rugby.

Mallard Pair

#MallardMonday morning
at #Ashlawncutting LNR,Rugby

Peacock butterfly

Comma butterfly

Dark Edged Bee Fly

A quick afternoon visit to #Ashlawncutting LNR found a couple of Comma and a Peacock but also my second Dark Edged Bee Fly sighting of the day and the year. @bcwarwickshire.bsky.social

Wood Anenome

Secondary Woodland

#WoodAnenome at #Ashlawncutting LNR. We've been planting a few every year for the last 4 years and they seem to be establishing now.We're trying to get woodland flora in the secondary woodland. I'm going to claim they're now naturalised @wildflowerhour.bsky.social 🤞🤞

Amorning at the top of the banks at Rugby's
#Ashlawncutting LNR. Removing invasive garden throw outs Snowberry and Arum italicum Marmoratum. Used fly tipped builders bag to put Arum in and wonder how we'll get it all out of there. #flytip #naturereserve #publicopenspace....

Cherry Plum (Prunus cerasifera ) just what the doctor ordered as earliest blossom for #pollinators At #Ashlawncutting LNR,Rugby. #WildwebsWednesday @bsbibotany.bsky.social @amentsoc.bsky.social

Grey Wagtail seen again at #Ashlawncutting LNR after a bit of an absence,wonder if it's going to stay and breed... 2 pairs of Mallard on the marsh for #MallardMonday

Sunday work party at #Ashlawncutting LNR brush cut and rake near Ashlawn Rd access 3 small areas that had been left over a yearInstead of cutting all the grasslands evry year we now vary time and location and leave more untouched for a year or more.

False Oxlip

Early Dog Violet

False Oxlip in flower at #Ashlawncutting LNR in Rugby and Early Dog Violet flowering @wildlifebcn.org Summer Leys in time for this weeks @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

Snow White catching the #Springtime sunlight at #Ashlawncutting LNR posted for #FlyDay

Sounds,and sights,of #Spring at my local reserve. #Ashlawncutting LNR. It took a while but good views of busy Chiffchaffs this morning.

Spot the Chiffchaff. At #Ashlawncutting LNR this morning. Easy to hear but harder to see.

Frogspawn in part of this swamp we coppiced to let sunlight warm the water better. A usual spot but less used last year.

Recently pollarded Willow . Frogspawn to the left.

Cherry Plum planted for its early blossom/nectar. It was a 1m high whip 3 years ago. Today I took the spiral guard off as it's now old enough.

2 of the interventions we made at #Ashlawncutting revisited today. Small part of swamp that was coppiced and pollard willow now has a good amount of frogspawn and a Cherry PLum planted a few years ago now provides early nectar. #conservation

Got pleasantly absorbed in trying to get pics of this Goldcrest as it flitted about in the Ivy draped trees at #Ashlawncutting LNR this afternoon @btoengland.bsky.social @rspbengland.bsky.social #UKBirds

WE've had 3 trusty volunteers here every Thursday for the last 3 weeks. Today the whole #Ashlawncutting volunteer group turned out to cut and rake grassland on this once neglected Local Wildlife Site in Rugby. Once pasture & now a scrub/grassland mosaic #Grasslandrestoration

#Ashlawncutting LNR . One of 3 Comma #butterflies seen and the Little Egret predating frogs. Compare and contrast with the humans with a bucket I spoke to the other day!! #ecology