Welcome to the spring newsletter from Bentley Wood
Welcome to your new Friends' newsletter, and a fresh year in our beautiful wood
IN THIS ISSUE
Welcome to Bentley Wood
Wood management plans for 2023
Friends of Bentley Wood events calendar
Nature Notes: a diary of the birdwatching year
Plus: guidelines for visitors, and how to buy a horse-riding permit
Change is in the air. The signs are everywhere that spring is well underway, and winter is on the way out. Birds are singing loudly in the mornings. The spring bulbs are flowering. Bats can be seen foraging on milder evenings, and by day a few pioneering butterflies are even seeking early nectar.
This year we are making a few changes ourselves at Friends of Bentley Wood (read the Chairman’s report here).
This newsletter is part of that, and aims to bring you more regular updates and information to enhance your enjoyment and understanding of this wonderful wood. Please feel free to share with anyone else you think may enjoy it.
Welcome to Bentley Wood
Bentley Wood is a special place, one of the largest (at 665 hectares) and most wildlife-rich ancient woodlands in southern England.
Find out much more about how this private woodland and designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) is owned and managed, and the special flora and fauna it harbours, in this detailed article.
Wood management plans – what’s happening this year?
Bentley Wood Forest Manager David Lambert will be hard at work this year, as always. He will, he says, “be continuing group selection felling of the beech on the shallow, less moisture retentive soils before planting any canopy gaps arising from this felling with a mixture of oak, hornbeam, whitebeam, wild service and hazel later in the season.”
He will be applying the same selection system in the south of the wood, removing diseased ash trees and some remnant Norway Spruce. That will leave gaps where sallow, hornbeam and crab apple can be planted, as well as some more oak to diversify the structure and species composition of the stand.
Read David’s full report by clicking here.
Join us at our Friends events in 2023
We’ve got a great programme of events in the wood this year. From spring woodland craft demonstrations to our new summer picnic lunch and evening bat walk, it runs right through to our Christmas party in December. There is something for all ages.
Get all the calendar dates and details here
A year of birds – what to watch for and when
In this fascinating birdwatching diary, Tony Goddard and Sue Walker recorded all the birds they sighted in Bentley Wood throughout the year. It takes us from the residents in December, some surprising visitors in summer and through autumn back into winter again.
If you’d like to find out what birds you’re likely to see in the wood and when, read Tony’s and Sue’s report here
IN BRIEF
Guidance notes for visitors. Some of the ways you can enjoy the wood while helping to preserve this special and fragile habitat. Read more
Permits for horse-riding. Gain access to some gloriously peaceful off-road riding. Read more
Coming up in our next issue: In the summer edition of the Friends’ newsletter, we’ll be telling you more about the new FOBW education initiative. In the meantime, see you at one of our events, or out and about in the wood!