The recent rains have encouraged a great green surge in growth which could barely have been anticipated a month ago. The lushness of leaves around "our" heath provides valuable cover for young birds and other animals in their first few months of life. Walking around the heath and the surrounding woodland areas, a wash of birdsong gives the air a vibrancy which has not been evident for many months. Within the tangles of bramble and other underbrush many animals are quietly getting on with the business of living - only a short distance from those of us who walk past at regular intervals.

A few clumps of purple rhododendron are coming into magnificent flower - although these are one of the imported plants on the heath which need to be tightly managed. If left unchecked, they become rampant. Once rhododendrons have got a grip on an area of soil - even if cleared - it is unusual for any other plants to thrive there for around 7 years.

Our group's work over winter at the northern end of the heath above the stream has made a visible difference to the borders of the woodland. Some severe thinning of leggy birch and overgrown gorse over a couple of sessions has opened the edges up to encourage a regeneration of true heath. The exercise has not only extended the scope for wildlife: it has also taught us how the heath in itself is essentially a man made habitat. (Without intervention such as ours, the area would naturally regress to scrub - and, ultimately, woodland.)

Down by the stream which flows under the bridge by the northern areas of heath, the ground is now clearer. When we removed some fairly substantial birches and an intense tangle of bramble a few months back, we did so to enable a resurgence of growth at the level of ground flora. Already, some young green shoots are breaking forth. Thanks to some very mucky clearance work, the stream itself is now beginning to flow at a healthier pace than its previous turgid amble.

For those of you who are feeling energetic, there are many activities on offer in our area. Details of a few may be found via the following links:

Other useful wildlife web sites for wildlife news in this area are:

http://www.greenlink.co.uk/

http://www.wildlifetrust.org.uk/dorset

http://www.dorsetbutterflies.com

http://www.rspb.org.uk/dorset/groups/

http://www.english-nature.org.uk/about/teams/Events.asp?Id=17

Prepared For Broadstone.Net by Dave Evans

See the Broadstone Environment main page for information on this organisation.

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