Aldbury Nowers (previously known as Duchie's Piece) comprises two areas of hillside linked by The Ridgeway. The warm south-facing slopes host the small but beautiful flowers of chalk grassland including common milkwort, common rock rose, clustered bellflower and lady's bedstraw.
The reserve is one of the finest butterfly habitats in Hertfordshire with Essex skippers, marbled whites, green hairstreak, brown argus, and the scarce grizzled and dingy skippers. It is also very good for other invertebrates such as solitary bees and wasps.
Birds include large flocks of redwing, fieldfare and mixed finches during the winter, when a sparrowhawk may be glimpsed as it attempts to single out small birds from these flocks.
The Trust works with the owner, the National Trust, and the reserve is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Constant management is undertaken by the Trust to prevent the important areas of short turf from being overgrown with rank grasses, scrub and encroaching woodland. This is achieved through selective clearance and careful grazing by older breeds of sheep such as Shetlands.
Aldbury Nowers - Winter
As spring approaches work at Aldbury will be less intensive so as to minimise disturbance to wildlife.
Over the past week (end of Feb) coppicing and scrub clearance has been taking place, which has linked some established areas of chalk grassland together. Butterflies will be able to fly easily around the site as these new corridors are wide and link good quality habitat. Plants should hopefully grow in the new areas as more light will now reach the ground and birds should benefit from having a mosaic of scrub to nest and forage in.
The shetland sheep will be brought back on site within the next few months to carry on grazing the enclosures. With grazing being re-instated the quality of the grassland is now much improved and this is reflected in the diversity of both plants and butterflies found in these areas. During warm spells a lucky visitor may spot an early butterfly warming itself up after hibernation. The most likely species to be seen over the next few weeks is the brimstone, a large yellow butterfly which is quite common at Aldbury.
Bullfinches have been showing well in the scrubby areas and skylarks have started to sing overhead. There are still plenty of small birds around, search the large trees and scrub for tit flocks and you may spot a goldcrest or treecreeper amongst them.
