Oughtonhead
A mature alder/willow woodland with fen vegetation running adjacent to the River Oughton. It is adjacent to Oughtonhead Common Local Nature Reserve.
Despite being only around 5 hectares in size, Oughtonhead is one of the larger fen woodlands in Hertfordshire. For such a small reserve the diversity of habitats is suprisingly large, comprising wet and dry woodland, fen, aquatic and water margin areas. In addition there are several ditches which are important for certain fen species.
The site is typically semi-natural and has a long history of being managed as a fen. When this ceased, natural succession took place resulting in the mature alder carr seen today.
The reserve is an important habitat for birds such as kingfishers, water rail and woodcock whilst mammals such as the water shrew may be seen.
The site is owned by Hertfordshire County Council and managed by the Trust.
The reserve can be viewed by walking along the footpath which runs adjacent to the river. There is no access due to the wetland nature of the site but most of the reserve is viewable from the path. This also helps minimise disturbance to the wildlife found here.
The fen is maintained by cutting and by scrub removal to allow new growth. There is non-intervention management throughout much of the woodland.
