Messages are welcome on any subject relating to Troopers Hill Local Nature Reserve; the surrounding area of St George and Crews Hole or any of Bristol's Parks and Green Spaces.
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| Viewing Page 1 of 1 (Total Posts: 10) |
| Author | Comment |
Susan
 Feb 17, 08 - 8:41 PM |
On Troopers Hill Today - Feb 2008
I decided "On Troopers Hill Today" was getting so lengthy that we start getting Repetitive Strain Injury claims from people scrolling down through all the entries. Today's major sighting was a large doe (a female deer, Re, a drop of golden sun - with apologies to the Sound of Music). She came bounding through Crews Hole Woods as I, two Duke of Edinburgh Award candidate and their supervisor were working on clearing and widening a path between Troopers Hill Field of the foot of the steps to Sally's Glade. She looked like a roe deer to me but I am no expert. I had a camera in my pocket but completely forgot to do anything with it. However the pictures on Wikepedia here look very similar to the deer I saw. We are not quite sure what we can produce for our D of E candidates next time. They had a rabbit on their first work party, a deer on their second. It's going to be quite hard to beat. Well done to the D of E candidates. They worked really hard and did more than I thought they would achieve. We have roughly cleared the entire length of the path so we won't be disturbing nesting birds when we go back over the ground and improve it. Our next session will be building some steps on the steep, slippery section of the path. A happy 50th birthday to David and thank you for the champagne that he brought for us to share after we had waved off the D of E candidates at the end of the work party. All the best, Susan |
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Jules
Feb 18th, 2008 - 6:32 PM |
Re: On Troopers Hill Today - Feb 2008
NEVER apologise to "The Sound of Music"! |
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Liz
Feb 19th, 2008 - 11:40 PM |
Re: On Troopers Hill Today - Feb 2008
Never apologise FOR the Sound of Music either! |
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Rob
Feb 24th, 2008 - 11:47 PM |
Re: On Troopers Hill Today - Feb 2008
Not quite on Troopers Hill, but very close - the first frog spawn of the year appeared in our pond on Friday, by this afternoon there were 11 clumps. This is about a week later than last year - no doubt the ice on the pond earlier in the week discouraged them. |
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Roger
Mar 21st, 2008 - 5:50 PM |
Re: On Troopers Hill Today - Feb 2008
I didn't see any lizards. Probably won't see any in that spot ever again. |
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Rob
Mar 21st, 2008 - 6:38 PM |
Re: On Troopers Hill Today - Feb 2008
Not really the weather for lizards today - last Easter was a bit warmer! Lizards and slow worms will benefit from the areas of scrub that have been cleared - lots more open areas for them. They don't live in woodland. For the record none of the scrub has been cleared to create views - that is just a side benefit. It has all been cleared following advice that if nothing was done the area of grassland and heathland would become too small to support the rare invertebrates that live here. The hill would have become an extension of Troopers Hill Woods and would have lost the very reason that it was created an LNR. |
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Roger
Mar 21st, 2008 - 9:15 PM |
Re: On Troopers Hill Today - Feb 2008
For the record that was a recognised Common Lizard habitat, I expect a whole colony have been wiped out - to create a viewpoint - that is not habitat maintenance. I have, today, after much thought, decided that the "slash 'n' burn" has gone too far. Up to this point, I could see valid reasons for tree removal, here I am sorry, but I cannot. This really is destruction. |
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Rob
Mar 24th, 2008 - 12:21 PM |
Re: On Troopers Hill Today - Feb 2008
Roger, I can only repeat it was not cleared to create a view point; it was cleared as part of planned works to ensure that the unique landscape of Troopers Hill at its wildlife is protected. The plan was put together by the team at Bristol Parks with input from us and with advice from various naturalists and ecologists. There was very clear advice that if nothing was done then the spread of trees and scrub would have meant the grassland and heathland would have disappeared completely within 50 years and that it was probably already reaching the point where it was too small to support the various rare invertebrates found there. As I have said before we should be pleased that the site is now being properly managed instead of being almost completely ignored as it was during the late 1990s. |
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Roger
Mar 25th, 2008 - 9:51 PM |
Re: On Troopers Hill Today - Feb 2008
Lacerta Vivipara (the common lizard) is a protected species according to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, see http://www.jncc.gov.uk/page-1815 Yes, management is good, I agree, however, removing scrubland that is a known habitat of a protected species could be considered to be a less than savoury part of this management, possibly reckless, possibly against some laws. I am not going to descend into argument, and I know you personally did not trash that area :) Some restraint is required somewhere along the line. |
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Rob
Mar 25th, 2008 - 11:13 PM |
Re: On Troopers Hill Today - Feb 2008
I agree that there has to be restraint and if the work was being carried recklessly and without proper consideration then I would be the first to object. Having accepted the advice that the hill needs to be managed to preserve the unique environment; then we also have to accept the advice of the professionals at Bristol Parks about how it should be done and when. I'm sure that everyone who has met or spoken to any of the Bristol Parks team will agree that they genuinely want to see Troopers Hill managed for the best interests of both wildlife and people. That is why they have put so much time into producing the Management Plan and ensuring that it is followed. But I am not Bristol Parks' spokesman, if you (or anyone else) still have concerns then you can contact them directly, they will be very willing to discuss the work with you - the details are are on our Contact Us page. |
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