I had a message on one of the last days of April from a member of the old Astonbury Wood Volunteer Group, saying they had visited Astonbury recently and seen an Early Purple Orchid in flower. I asked if they had seen any more, but they said they had only seen one from the path, and not entered the area where the usual colony is. I visited the wood a couple of days later to count the plants. Upon arriving, a Blackcap was heard, along with some commotion from Buzzards, followed by calls from a Great Spotted Woodpecker. Making my way to where the orchids grow, I saw a couple of Speckled Woods and Green-veined Whites. Also heard were Chiffchaff, Stock Dove, Jay and Treecreeper. I left the path and made my way to the orchid colony, but disappointingly, didn't find a single plant in flower. Looking back towards the main ride, I saw amongst some Bluebells the familiar colour of an Early Purple Orchid flower, right beside the path and fully lit by the sun. By now, the original colony are all in dense shade of young Beech trees, and show no sign of flowering. It is a similar story at other sites locally where I know these plants grow, with not many seeming to flower this year. Possibly something to do with last year’s very dry spring and summer, followed this year by another dry spring? I photographed the pant, then had a look for butterflies in the glade. Here I saw another Green-veined White feeding on Bugle flowers and a Holly Blue feeding on a Bluebell. On my way back out of the wood I heard an agitated Mistle Thrush, which was having an altercation with some Corvids by the sound of it, then a couple of Tawny Owls called out from somewhere very close to where I was, before flying away out of sight but calling once again from a greater distance.

Herts Amphibian and Reptile Group (ARG) are carrying out a survey at Astonbury Wood for amphibians and reptiles. They have placed out pieces of roofing felt at strategic locations, which over time may become refugia for certain amphibians and reptiles. If you see these, please leave them alone as they will be being checked monthly and will serve best with as little disturbance as possible. The mats were checked by a couple of ARG volunteers after they had been down for two weeks, but they only found them being used by invertebrates on this occasion, but they did see a Common Frog in the long grass beside the bridge in the north of the wood.

I visited Astonbury on the 15^th May to plan for an up-coming work party, and had a pleasant walk around in sunny conditions. The first bird heard was Stock Dove, followed by Blackcap and Chiffchaff. Along the main ride I saw two Speckled Woods, two Red Admirals and a Green-veined White. Unfortunately, the one Early Purple Orchid that had flowered this year had been consumed, it appeared by slugs. I had a look in the area to see if I could find any more, and I did find one other that had flowered from a near horizontal stem and looked to be producing seed. Further on I heard Song Thrush, Treecreeper and Great Spotted Woodpecker. Around the southern glade I saw three male Azure Damselflies and one female, the first of this species I had seen this year; also, in the sun here was an Orange-tip feeding on Bugle flowers. Back up at the coppice compartment I noticed quite a bit of Pignut in flower towards its western end, certainly more than anywhere else in the wood where it gets eaten or grows in shade. One Yellow-flag Iris was in flower towards the eastern end of the lake and I was just about able to make out a Tawny Owl hidden deep in a cavity in an Ash. Plans for the work party are to cut and rake the nettle-dominated areas, renew the mesh on the bridge, and remove the Rhododendron that's growing up along the eastern edge of the wood.

We will be holding a few events at Astonbury Wood in the coming months. On the 22^nd July we have a tree ID walk which will be lead by the Astonbury Wood Warden and local tree expert, Andy - https://www.hertswildlifetrust.org.uk/events/summer-tree-walk-22jul26

On the 15^th August we have a guided walk looking at tree galls, which will also be lead by Andy - https://www.hertswildlifetrust.org.uk/events/tree-gall-walk-15aug26

Finally, on the 11^th September we have a guided bat walk, which will be lead by a member of the Herts and Middlesex Bat Group - https://www.hertswildlifetrust.org.uk/events/bat-walk-astonbury-wood

I visited Astonbury Wood towards the end of March to look at the ancient woodland indicator (AWI’s) plants in preparation for a guided walk on the subject. I've got a list of 37 plants that have been found in the wood which are ancient woodland indicators (AWI's). I decided to do a walk a little earlier this year, as for the past two years I've done it at the end of April, Bluebells have been early, and a lot of other flowers have been over by this time. It was a bright day, though chilly - a real early spring feel. On entering the wood, I heard a Chiffchaff, Stock Dove, and a Buzzard overhead, not a bad start. Early Dog-violets, Goldilocks Buttercups and Pignut were quickly found, ticking three off the list. I then heard the first Blackcap in the woods this year, followed by a Jay, Coal Tit and Greenfinch. To my Surprise I heard a Tawny Owl call though it was the middle of the day, and then a Great Spotted Woodpecker. in the meantime, I had passed a Wild Service Tree, Hornbeam, Holly, Hazel, and a Crab Apple, making a total of eight AWI's. The ninth was Wood Spurge. In the glade I saw a pair of Long-tailed Tit's carrying nesting material into some dense undergrowth, and quite a few Primroses in flower - tenth AWI and ten is the number of AWI's needed to classify a woodland as ancient in Hertfordshire. Honeysuckle made the total 11, and Bluebell 12. There are four sedges on the list, and I likely saw them all which would make 16, but they are difficult for me to tell apart when not in flower. Midland Thorn made 17, Wood anemone 18, Small Teasel leaf rosettes 19. Another tree, Wild Cherry made 20, Three-veined Sandwort 21, and Bush Vetch 22. Another tree, though likely planted Sessile Oak made 23 and my total for the day. Not a bad count, but hopefully there will be a couple more visible for the walk. It was cold so I didn't expect any butterflies, but saw a Peacock feeding on Lesser Celandine nectar in a sheltered but sunny glade.

Fourteen people came along to the AWI walk on the 2^nd April, plus myself and Matt, so quite a crowd. One of the 14 was Andy Holtham, the newly appointed Volunteer Warden for Astonbury. Almost all the people who came along were from the local community which I think was a first for an event at Astonbury. Not long after starting the walk, we found our first AWI - although I knew it had been planted, I thought it still worth a mention - the Wild Service tree, outside the wood but not far from the northern entrance. I thought this quite important as Wild Service are not very common now, but according to pollen data made up about 4% of our original native woodland, or "wildwood". Just inside the wood the abundance of Bluebell and Wood Anemones begins, and we quickly found several other plants too, and all the while I could hear a Nuthatch, Chiffchaff and Blackcap. The weather was overcast and cool, so the Wood Anemones were not open, but their abundance could still be appreciated. We took the anti-clockwise route around the wood, saving the best little bit until last. Nearer the southern end of the wood, where the Pignut is being squashed beside the path, I could hear Coal Tits and Song Thrushes. This area also had the highest density of Bluebell flowers, which are almost in full bloom, so early! Back up the main ride we had the glade with all the Primroses, sedges and Small Teasel. Then a Buzzard circling above us while we looked at some violets and vetches. We finished with some Goldilocks Buttercups. I gather the walk was found to be both enjoyable and informative, and I think the following conversation I thought I overheard could say it all: “You only live in the village, how come you drove here?” "Well, Curry's were supposed to deliver us a new washing machine yesterday but didn't. I brought the car so I could go down there and give them the hairdryer. Trouble is, I'm too chilled out after that!" We found 24 of the wood’s 37 AWI's on the walk - not bad for a couple of hours!

8^th April was set the be very fair weather, and the warmest early April day since 1946, which sounded ideal for another spring visit to Astonbury. On entering the wood at the eastern entrance, I heard a Greenfinch, where I've heard one several times before, so it would seem reasonable to assume one may be calling around that area at dawn – thinking about the up-coming Dawn Chorus Walk. Along the track I noticed quite a few Common Dog-violets, with their pale, almost white spurs. Violets are the foodplant of the Silver-washed Fritillary butterfly which can be seen at Astonbury in the summer. I've seen feeding signs on violets, but no caterpillars yet - which if found would confirm breeding. More birds were heard - Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Great Spotted Woodpecker - the first two likely being migrants from Africa. In the small Hazel coppice area were three Peacocks, two whites and a male Brimstone. The whites did not settle so I was unable to identify them. For a short while I was able to watch a Chiffchaff on the scrubby Hazel regrowth acting Flycatcher-like, perching, flying out to catch a fly, before returning to the perch - superb. Slightly further along the ride a male Orange Tip was flying up and down, with the sound of a Song Thrush and Stock Dove close by, then where the ride opens out into a glade, I saw my first Speckled Wood of the year. Down towards the southern end of the wood I heard Nuthatch, Coal Tit and Treecreeper in similar places to previous occasions, then heading back north along the Stevenage Brook, a pair of Jays. There was a Comma resting on a log close to the outflow from the lake, then in this year’s Hornbeam coppice area more butterflies - several Peacocks, another Comma and some more whites. Finally, I saw a Red Admiral flying up and down the small marshy area to the east of the lake. At least seven species of butterfly (the whites could have been Green-veined or Small) seemed a good count for early April!

Birds were just beginning to start singing around us as myself and 11 others set off into Astonbury Wood for the Dawn Chorus Walk on the 10^th April, still under the cover of considerable darkness. One of the first sounds upon entering the wood was the clatter of Wood Pigeons leaving their roost due to our arrival. A Robin and Song Thrush were heard singing close by, before the disturbance of the Carrion Crows from their roosts began - these birds would scarcely see a single person walk below them so early, let alone a considerable group. Once the Crows had quietened down we were still early enough to hear a Tawny Owl calling. We then had the loud song of a Wren and call of a Blackbird, before passing below many Blue and Great Tits beside the Stevenage Brook. At one point, their calls were punctuated by a Goldcrest singing from a Scots Pine, though this was difficult to hear due to the sound of traffic coming from the A602. More Song Thrushes which were easier to distinguish, and then coming away from the Road we heard a Coal Tit high in a Douglas Fir. By now it was much lighter and a Treecreeper could just about be distinguished from the other calls and songs all around. The two migrants - Chiffchaff and Blackcap - were heard close together just to the south of a glade. We then heard faint drumming of a Great Spotted Woodpecker, shortly followed by another from the other direction which had quite a different sound. We then heard the unmistakable laugh of the Green Woodpecker - somewhere within the wood. Stock Doves and Jackdaws were heard in the north east of the wood, where there is quite an abundance of Ash trees with old woodpecker holes in, suitable for these species to nest, then another Coal Tit and a Nuthatch were heard up in the spruces on the way out. Right at the end there was a superb Blackcap singing from the cover of the brambles by the old field studies building, which flew up into a small Ash and carried on singing right in view!

On the 15^th April, Year 5 pupils from Aston St Mary’s visited Astonbury Wood. Roy (Parish Clerk) was well under way telling a ghost story as I arrived to meet them. I missed the start, but it must have been good as the children were all listening intently. Once the ghost story was finished, I introduced myself and told the group about the work of the Trust and this Lottery funded project. I asked the children how many had been to Astonbury before, only three of the group of 12 put their hands up, so most had never been there before. Next, I asked if anyone new how old Astonbury Wood was. No one did, so I told them about it being an ancient woodland with the 1600 cut-off, and how I believed it had been mentioned in Domsday Book, meaning it was at leased 1000 years old. I explained the history of the Manor House, how it had begun as a Monastery, until 1541 when Henry VIII had it destroyed and built the Manor house in its place, and how even in the times of the Monastery, Astonbury Wood had been an important part of the estate. How it was thought the monks of the Monastery would have used the woodland as a place of sanctuary and somewhere to gather food and fuel. One of the teachers asked if anyone knew what a monk was. None of the children were sure, so she offered a great explanation. Walking to the edge of the wood, I stopped to talk about a very large coppiced Hornbeam. I didn't have to explain what coppicing was, as the class had recently learned about coppicing in the Chilterns in their geography class. That was good to hear! I next explained about the shape of the wood on the welcome sign, and how by looking at old maps, we could see it hadn't changed much in about 200 years. One of the children pointed out that it resembled the shape of Africa which I thought was a good observation, and something I had never considered. We next stopped by an area with abundant Bluebells, and I talked about the importance of early flowering woodland plants for many invertebrates. There were many questions from the children and their teachers alike! Roy asked about Spanish Bluebells, my answer mentioned hybrids, then one of the children asked what a hybrid was and it became a mini biology lesson! We walked on, to the recently coppiced area which was a cause of many questions, such as "How long will the trees take to grow back?", "How old does a tree have to be to coppice it?", "Why do trees have different bark?". ""Why does the area have a fence?" I answered as best I could and tried to teach the children to identify Hornbeam and Ash trees by their bark. We walked round to a Cherry, to have a look at another type of bark, and a look at some Wood Anemones. Here I was asked questions about squirrels, scrub and the rarest trees in the wood. As far as rare trees, I chose Wild Service, although they have been planted, but I knew there was one we could have a look at on the way out. Next was the old Drovers Road, then the wetter area for a different type of habitat and finally the huge 370-year-old Ash tree and Primroses. I briefly stopped by the Wild Service tree on the way back up to the Manor House, before saying goodbye. I was impressed by how engaged they were and how they asked some really good questions!

I had seen a Hazel had fallen across the main ride, but didn’t have a saw with me at the time. I returned shortly before writing this so I could properly clear it. I also pinned back up one of the posters that had fallen down which is asking people not to use the parallel path to the main ride which has carved a line through the ground flora, mainly Bluebells. I had a quick look at a couple of Elm trees for White-letter Hairstreak larvae, but didn't find any. Midland Thorn trees were close to full flower, and beside the one close to the main ride I saw a Holly Blue (last recorded at Astonbury 2012), and a Peacock. Further down the ride I was able to watch a Green Woodpecker pecking away high up in some Hornbeams. In the southern glade were Large and Small White butterflies, along with a Speckled Wood. I also looked along the western edge of the wood, where I saw a Little Egret fly out of the Stevenage Brook. Back up in the coppice compartment were three white butterflies, two Peacocks and another Speckled Wood. I also saw a pair of Song Thrushes feeding on the ground. Wood Speedwell, Wood Sedge and Bush Vetch were flowering. Tawny Owl calls were fairly frequent around the wood all morning!

The weather seemed suddenly to improve with the new month of March. I hadn't been to Astonbury for a couple of weeks, but had seen plenty of signs of spring elsewhere, so I thought I would go and see how things were looking at the wood. Upon entering I heard a Jay, Nuthatch, Stock Dove and Great Spotted Woodpecker almost immediately, which seemed like a promising start. Despite alarm calls of other birds at my approach, I saw a Tawny Owl that was apparently fast asleep. Then, I saw the first Wood Anemone leaves I had seen this year, followed by a few flowers! I pointed this out to a group of walkers who were passing, but sadly they didn’t seem very interested. Carrying on down the main ride, it was lovely to see my first Primroses in flower this year, and entering the southern glade I saw more primroses, and a butterfly - Comma or Peacock; all I saw was dark underwings as it flew by. Looping back to the recently coppiced compartment, it was nice to see the ground very green with Bluebell leaves. Around the outside of the coppice area I heard a Chiffchaff and saw a Treecreeper in a little Holly. The squill is looking very vigorous and blue at the very northern end of the wood. Last bird I heard on my way out was a Greenfinch.

The following day myself, Anna (Senior Reserves Officer) and Ian C (Nature Reserves Manager) conducted a couple of interviews for the Astonbury Volunteer Warden. As a result, Astonbury now has a warden! His name is Andy, and you may see him in the woods carrying out site checks from time to time. After the interviews I needed to make a short video for the National Lottery Thanks-To-You week, so myself, Ian C and Anna went back into the woods. Ian C was turning logs over looking for invertebrates and slime molds, of which he found a few. Anna found a Smooth Newt under a log, but I didn't find much at all. We made the video looking over the coppice compartment, and I thanked the Lottery players for funding the deer fence which would help to protect the growth in the coppice compartment for the future.

During the spring we carry out infrastructure repairs on our nature reserves, so March is when we generally carry out these surveys. I carried out this survey during March, and everything was OK. I just made a note to put in a culvert, or better bridge in place of the little bridge over the outflow from the lake, as the bridge acts as a dam when the flow is high. Heard a Great Spotted Woodpecker and Stock Dove close by upon entering the wood, the Tawny Owl was sat in the hole in the Ash, shortly after a Chiffchaff and Cole Tit were calling, then Green Woodpecker and Buzzard. More Wood Anemones in flower today, as well as Primroses and Lesser Celandines. Heard a Mistle Thrush, shortly followed by a Song Thrush then had a good view of a pair of Nuthatches high up in an Ash. Early Dog-Violet flowers followed by a few Early Purple Orchid leaves. I noticed someone appeared to have removed one of my posters about not using the path parallel to the main ride, while someone else had pegged it to the bottom of the post. Unfortunately, I didn't have anything to fix it back up. There is quite a bit of Pignut coming up by the southern entrance where I also saw a few rather early Bluebells coming into flower. Then there were a few Jays squawking about. The obligatory Treecreeper was calling near the north of the wood, where also I saw Goldilocks Buttercups coming up. Spring is well on the way!

Towards the end of the month, Jason and Ellie from Herts & Middlesex Bat Group visited Astonbury to carry out a bat roost survey, this time including likely looking habitat high up; they were both trained tree climbers. On the way into the wood we talked of loss of suitable habitat for bats as well as much other wildlife, and how it cannot just be replaced. You cannot plant an ancient woodland or sow a chalk grassland; most natural habitats take hundreds, if not thousands of years to properly develop, but can be destroyed by man in a matter of hours. After checking some potential roosts from the ground, they climbed several trees with holes and cracks throughout the morning, but found more Grey Squirrels than bats. A shame to think a non-native mammal is taking potential roost sites from some of our native mammals. Many other places they looked were empty, but looked good for roosts, and may be used in the summer; while bats will hibernate in trees, many have adapted to use manmade underground structures such as old ice houses. The one bat they did find was a Natterer's - Myotis natterer in a small cavity in a Hornbeam. Birds I noted were Jay, Song Thrush, Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Stock Dove, Green Woodpecker, Mistle Thrush, Chaffinch, Greenfinch and Great Spotted Woodpecker. It was cold but Wood Anemones were still flowering abundantly, as were Early Dog-violets here and there.

Nine volunteers joined the work party on the 29^th of January. There were two tasks; one group constructed deer baskets around the Hornbeam coppice stools that were mistakenly left outside the deer fence by the contractor, while the other four of us spent the day removing silt, leaves, sticks and other debris from one of the ponds. This will allow the pond to hold a greater amount of water and not dry out so easily, while also preventing as much oxygen being removed from the water, as the organic matter rots down. Hopefully repeating this work over a number of years, we'll start to see a greater abundance of life in the ponds. A productive day in the woods! Notable birds heard during the day were Mistle Thrush, Jay, Stock Dove, Nuthatch and Great Spotted Woodpecker. A small flock of Redwings flew over the pond at one point.

A few days after, I gave a tour of Astonbury Wood to about 20 Level 3 Countryside students from Capel Manor College. They parked at the Three Horseshoes, so we started from the southern end, which worked well, especially as it would largely be about the management work happening in the wood, which is mainly towards the northern end - what would be the middle of the walk. Every time I stopped to talk about something, I saw students with their notebooks out taking notes, which was great to see. We came to the recent coppice compartment towards the end of the walk, which worked well as it's by far the most striking area of management work to date. Here I was asked various questions, but my favorite was to be asked about how I managed discord from carrying out what could be viewed as such controversial work. Some of the students told me how impressed they were at how much had been achieved, both in planning and practically, given the short duration of the project. I even received a small applause at the end! I feel the group found the visit greatly useful, and have asked me to share the management plan with them to supplement the tour. Walking up the eastern edge of the wood on my way home, I came to a huge flock of finches just inside the wood. I first heard and saw them in the trees, then a group flew up of the ground, followed by another group and another. There must have been well over 50 birds. I could definitely see Chaffinches and hear Goldfinches, but didn't have my binoculars with me to identify anything else. I like to think there could have been a Hawfinch in there.

Approaching the end of February with days becoming noticeably longer, I went to Astonbury towards the end of one day to remove the warden posters before they became litter, and to carry out a site check. Something, possibly a squirrel, appeared to have enjoyed the taste of the warden poster at the northern end of the wood, as when I went to remove it I found one of the corners to have been nibbled off. The ground is very wet after all the recent rain, but it's nice to see the Winterbourne flowing, and several ephemeral pools having appeared. The wet weather also seems to be doing some good for the Bluebell leaves, which are racing up. At the southern entrance I saw the first leaves of Pignut I've seen this year, and could hear Great Spotted Woodpeckers drumming close by. On my way back out, I could just about make out the shape of a Tawny Owl sleeping deep in a cavity of a tree.

I recently received a positive sounding email from Herts and Middlesex Bat Group stating in part: “There are many trees with really good features [at Astonbury] and it’s likely that there are a number of hibernating bats there at present, and given the recordings a good chance that there could be some maternity roosts. We did a quick walk through the woods the other day and checked a few holes near the ground with an endoscope and found a few hibernating bats.” The group hope to return during the summer to carry out further investigations, and we will hopefully be doing a bat walk in September, so keep an eye out for that.

Not looking so far ahead, we have two events coming up at Astonbury. The first, on the 2^nd of April will be a walk looking at the ancient woodland plants of Astomnbury Wood, and can be booked on at this web address: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-ancient-woodland-plants-of-astonbury-wood-tickets-1981760244238?aff=oddtdtcreator

Secondly, we will be holing a Dawn Chorus Walk on the 10^th of April, which can be booked on at this web address: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dawn-chorus-walk-at-astonbury-wood-tickets-1982361778443?aff=oddtdtcreator

Before Christmas, which seems a very long time ago now, I spent a couple of days at Astonbury Wood acting as banksman for a contractor we had removing all the timber from the newly cut coppice compartment. I had hoped that the two days they had allowed for this would also enable them to move the brushwood to the edges of the compartment and construct a dead hedge. They were able to do some of the hedge, but at the end of the second day, there was still quite a lot of brush to move. I therefore asked, rather last minute, if any of our regular volunteers would be able to come and help those of us from the Reserve Team who were working Christmas Eve, if they would like to come along to Astonbury to help move brushwood and build the hedge. I was finishing for Christmas with a possibility that the Deer fence construction would begin on the 5th January (my first day back), so wanted all the brushwood moved to within the proposed fence line at leased. Two volunteers made it on the day, with Anna, Dan, Callum and myself from the Trust also in attendance. I provided mince pies as promised, which were very well received. It was a lovely winters day to be working in the woods, and we got a huge amount done! Birds heard or seen on the day were Great Spotted Woodpecker, Green Woodpecker, Grey Wagtail, Stock Dove and Nuthatch. There was more brushwood that would have to be cleared from the center of the compartment in the New Year, which I would like to get done as soon as possible, before Bluebells etc. are above ground.

First day back to work in 2026, Monday 5th January, I was cycling to the office in St Albans (16 miles) as usual, but came off my bike on an icy corner. I Didn't think too much of it at the time, but by the end of the day and the cycle home my left hand and wrist were in relative agony. A couple of hours into the evening and I was having an X-ray at a local hospital. The nurse told me I potentially had a fractured scaphoid, though nothing was showing on the X-ray (this fracture can take 14 days to become apparent). I was given a splint and told not to cycle. Apparently, the wearing of a splint also invalidates driving insurance. The following day I had the contractors starting the deer fence at Astonbury, but luckily, I don't live too far away from the wood, so was able to get there by walking. After showing the contractors where to put the fence I went to have a look at the pond, of which the following days’ work party task would be silt removal. As I expected it was frozen completely solid, so the work party task would have to change to moving the remaining brush from the middle of the coppice compartment. While in the woods I heard a Nuthatch, Mistle Thrush, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Jay. I also saw of a pair of Tawny Owls dozing while on my way out.

Six volunteers braved the cold for the January work party, but there was some disappointment at the change of task. Matt lead the day for me as I'm somewhat and frustratingly debilitated with my wrist. I went along first thing to set the task up, and ended up staying until I got too cold standing around. At first break, Andy, who is a very long-term volunteer, produced a cake he had kindly made to share, saying it was to celebrate his 20 years volunteering for the Trust! Wow! Cold and frustrated with my inability to help I left to walk home to do some admin work, hearing a Nuthatch, Song Thrush and Stock Dove on my way out of the wood. By the look of the photo Matt sent me towards the end of the day, the volunteers had got on very well, with the coppice compartment looking completely cleared!

I had a consultation at the Lister two weeks after I had injured my wrist. After being told a fractured scaphoid could take 14 days to show on an x-ray, I maintained caution. However, the doctor I saw was happy enough with my range of motion without the splint, and lack of pain, to say I didn't have a fracture, so wouldn't need another x-ray. This was great news to me, and would mean I could get back to my normal tasks at work, and return to cycle commuting. So, once I returned from the hospital (a journey I took on foot and by train) I got on my bike and cycled to Astonbury. I had two immediate reasons for going. First, I had been invoiced for the deer fence, so wanted to check it was complete and I was happy with it. Secondly, I had posters to put up about the Astonbury Wood Warden opportunity. I inspected the deer fence which looked as though it should keep deer out, so the contractors could be paid. Walking around to put the posters up at the four entrances, I thought sadly that the woodland could do with a minor littler pick, something I would have to return later in the week to do. Despite this, it was lovely to see a mass of Snowdrops just inside the northern entrance of the wood, and also a Tawny Owl, Stock Dove, Treecreeper, Jay, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Little Egret at various other locations.
 

Spring has its beginnings in winter. As I am sat writing this, still a few days before the Winter Solstice, I am listening to a Song Thrush, that for some days now has been singing in a tree behind my house, starting each day before the first hint of light has appeared on the horizon, and continuing without a break for two or three hours thereafter. Simply superb. I imagine the same thing to be happening at Astonbury Wood, though I have not been there early enough recently to be sure. I have heard a Mistle Thrush singing from somewhere high up during the day recently though.

Much of my time during the first couple of weeks of December has been spent coppicing and felling the first of the planned coppice compartments. The cutting may have been completed by the time you are reading this, and the timber extracted, and stacked outside the compartment. The timber stack will stay for some time, likely until next summer, when it will be hauled out of the wood. This will ensure we can keep ground disturbance within the woodland to a minimum. It is hoped that this area, once deer fenced will regrow over the next 20 years as a much denser area of coppice woodland. This type of young, scrubby growth, which Astonbury currently lacks, along with most woodlands in Hertfordshire, will improve habitat for birds such as Blackcap and Song Thrush, which currently breed in the wood, but could potentially provide suitable breeding habitat for Garden Warbler, Willow Warbler, Bullfinch and even Nightingale. As for now, the trees with the greatest habitat value have been retained as standards in the compartment.

That leaves me to say that I hope you have enjoyed this year’s updates from Astonbury Wood, and we would like to wish you a very merry Christmas and best wishes for the New Year, from all at Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust!

I didn't have time to map the areas we cut at the October work party on the day, so re-visited one of the final days in October to do just that, and see how the wood was looking as far as autumn colours were concerned. Once the mapping was complete, I walked down the main ride. Having rained earlier in the day, the trees were now lit by late afternoon sun and looking very autumnal, shining yellow and orange. I got some great photos in the glades, and spotted a few fungi. These were: False Deathcap; Honey Fungus; Trooping Funnels and Glistening Inkcaps. I also heard a Jay and Great Spotted Woodpecker calling from time to time.

The 8^th of November turned out to be a perfect morning for a fungi foray, it was bright the ground was moist from recent rain. I expected there would be plenty of fungi fruiting at Astonbury to keep the interest of those who came on the walk for a couple of hours, and it would be that things turned out rather better than I had hoped. I arranged this walk a little while ago by contacting the Herts & Beds fungi group, and had a reply from Kerry Robinson, who I know has a long history of recording fungi at Astonbury, so would be the ideal person to lead such a walk.                                                              

Of the 11 people who booked on, 10 made in on the day, which seemed a good turnout - better than some previous events. After a short introduction to Astonbury with thanks to the Lottery for making these things possible, I handed over to Kerry who gave a bit of background about her own research at Astonbury, over the past 45 years. One of the first things she said I think amazed everybody “Astonbury Wood has now over 1000 species of fungi recorded in it, and is in the top 60 sites in the country for fungi.”                                                                         

Once we began the walk, Kerry immediately began finding fungi. One of the first, a type of mildew was common enough, but different to most of the types of fungi we would likely see, being an Ascomycete (produces spores internally within sac-like structures called asci), unlike the toadstools, puffballs and rusts we would likely see in the wood which are called Basidiomycetes, and produce spores externally on club-shaped structures called basidia. Next among other things were three different scented fungi, the names of which I unfortunately failed to write down. The first though smelled like sulphur, then we had another with a liquorice like smell and yet another which smelled very much like bleach. As we carried on through the woods, it seemed as though a different species of fungi was being found every few steps, until we reached the southern end of the wood and found a near perfect Magpie Ink Cap. I think only one member of the group managed to photograph it, with several waiting to do so, before one very excited dog that was with us, ran straight into it and knocked the cap off. Sounds awful, but was truly comical. Shortly after someone found some Rosy Bonnets Mycena rosea which had a distinct smell of radishes.                                                          

Among the positivity of all the fungi being found, Kerry managed to fit in a rather more serious thing to note “In the 70's and 80's it would have been usual to find 100 species on a foray, one day we found 260. Now you would be lucky to find 60. Atmospheric pollution, fertiliser on farmland and run off have all caused a sharp decline. We don't know enough to put it back. Now we find single specimens when there used to be hundreds of some species. It's worrying.” After that reality check, some fungi with more familiar names were found, and more with not such familiar ones too. The ones I can remember were Fly Agaric, Amethyst Deceiver, Wood Blewit, Witches Butter, Yellow Stagshorn, Lacquered Bracket and Sulphur Tuft. The Sulphur Tuft were growing in abundance on a stump, and I thought someone described them brilliantly, saying "They're beautiful, look at that, it’s natures arrangement".                                                                                                                                

Shortly afterwards another member of the group found some tiny toadstool-like fungi on a piece of dead wood, which Kerry thought might be a new species for the wood. It goes by the name of Mycina pseudocorticola and if it is a new species it will be the 1003rd found at Astonbury.               The event over-ran by 45 minutes, but everybody seemed so interested in what they were seeing that no one seemed particularly to notice. I didn't count, but Kerry has since sent me a list of the 68 species of fungi found on the day, and confirmed the 1003^rd record! I felt a superb morning was had by all.

The November work party saw 11 volunteers braving the weather the first cold spell of the winter, on a day that started with rain, then snow, then more rain. By the time the work party started, most of the precipitation had ceased, but the bitter cold wind remained. luckily there was plenty of work to be getting on with to keep warm. Matt from the Trust joined me again, as well as Amy from the engagement team. We had two areas to work on, so half of the volunteers went with Matt to the north-western pond, where they cut and raked vegetation, and removed some Elders. This is one of several areas with clear indicators of nutrient enrichment which we hope to reduce to allow a more diverse range of plants to grow. Already, after last year's cut there is quite a bit of Three-nerved Sandwort growing along with a few Figworts, which are both ancient woodland indicators.

The other half of the volunteers with myself and Amy worked over in the eastern side of the wood where students from Capel Manor had felled some Sycamore trees last year. The plan for this area is to keep it semi-open while retaining mature Hornbeam, Field Maple, Oak and Elm and Midland Thorn, but cut and rake the ground flora annually, again to reduce nutrient. Similarly to by the pond, this area now has some Three-nerved Sandwort and Figwort, with an addition of a fair amount of Small Teasel, another ancient woodland indicator species. The volunteers worked hard through the morning stacking branches and logs that had been strewn around, towards the edges, where they can stay as deadwood habitat. In the afternoon, they cut and raked the vegetation. All were pleased with the difference they had made, and the thought of having made the task easier the next time around.    

During the day Coal Tits and a Great Spotted Woodpecker were heard, with a Sparrowhawk seen flying rapidly through the trees at one point. In the afternoon we had occasional calls of Green Woodpecker close by.

If you have been to Astonbury Wood in recent weeks, you may have seen that some felling has taken place along the central ride. This is continued tree safety work, and as previously the trees being felled are largely Ash with significant dieback that are in close proximity to footpaths. Some adjacent trees are also being felled to help open up areas along the ride to help with a longer-term plan of ride widening generally. While the work initially looks destructive, in the longer-term it will benefit the biodiversity within the wood: Any deadwood left over from the felling will provide habitat for saproxylic (dependant on dead or decaying wood) invertebrates and fungi; more light to the woodland floor will allow a greater abundance of ground flora and with it and with that we should see for example, more butterflies.

We are also planning to reinstate Hornbeam coppicing at Astonbury this winter. Again, this may initially appear destructive, but similarly to the felling, the longer-term will see a period of open woodland with a greater abundance of spring flowers, which will be followed in the years after by dense regrowth and could provide nesting habitat for bird species that no longer breed in the county, such as Nightingale. Nightingales have been identified as a priority species in the Hertfordshire Local Nature Recovery Strategy, having historically been relatively commonplace.  The primary aims of the coppicing will be to reinstate a coppicing cycle to conserve historic coppice stools and allow regeneration of the compartment to reach a density equivalent to no less than 1100 stools and 30 standards per Ha, using layering of regrowth to achieve this if required. The coppicing cycle will, over time allow a greater diversity of varied age, height, structure and density of trees within the woodland, creating a mosaic of habitat types. Aging coppice stools will again provide a currently rare habitat for saproxylic fungi and invertebrate species. Deer fencing will be essential to achieve these aims. Please see the map showing the areas that have been identified as suitable for coppicing, and the timing of the work.

With an upcoming work party and a couple of areas of the paths in the wood that have good plant communities, and the main glade along the central ride yet to be cut, I thought I would make a visit to carry out a pre-cut. It is best practice for wildlife, both plants and invertebrates, to do the cutting at least 24-hours prior to raking up. This allows invertebrates to make their way to new areas for feeing and shelter, and plants to release seed. A rainy Friday afternoon was my only chance to get to Astonbury before the work party, so I visited armed with a scythe. There wasn't much, if any bird song through the rain as I cut the section of path to the north of the bridge over the watercourse, but I did notice a Golden scalycap mushroom growing on a small Hornbeam, that had been much nibbled around the base by deer. With that section of path cut, I made my way down to the glade as the rain got heavier. I noticed on the way a single Bush Vetch still in flower. I arrived at the glade, and realised the task of cutting it could well be beyond me before dark, but I persevered, and actually got the majority of it cut. Despite the rain, a single Large White butterfly did fly up from the vegetation as I was cutting, hopefully to find some nearby shelter.

The October work party saw ten volunteers, and I was joined by Matt, who is the new Central Assistant Reserve Officer at the Trust. The first job for the volunteers was to rake up the cuttings from the path and glade I had cut previously. While one group were doing this, a couple of other volunteers scythed nettles again by the watercourse and Midland Thorn, with another pair grubbing out a young Rhododendron close to where another was removed in November 2023. A final volunteer, joined by Matt, cut the open area at the northern entrance to the wood, which isn't in great condition currently, being all nettles and brambles. With all the cutting and raking completed, after lunch I felled three trees around the edge of the central glade, to open it up slightly more, and allow a little more light into it. We also cut back some brambles adjacent to the very wet patch just to the south of the glade, which will hopefully provide a way around the wet area. I will assess over the coming weeks as the ground gets wetter if a boardwalk is necessary here. During the day we had Nuthatch, Green Woodpecker and Treecreepers calling. I noticed a few more Bush Vetch in flower, and we had a Speckled Bush Cricket hopping around in the glade while we were raking up.

There has been a spate of vandalism and antisocial behaviour at Trust sites over the past couple of weeks. A few examples have been a vehicle gate being ripped off its hinges and an electric fence hotbox stolen from our reserve at Archers Green, and the worst of all, the Otter Hide being burnt to the ground at Rye Meads over the August bank holiday weekend. With such awful things happening, I felt it prudent to visit Astonbury after the bank holiday to check all was well. Luckily, other than a couple of bits of litter, I didn't find anything awry. I was instead greeted with the pleasantries of Nuthatch, Green Woodpecker, Stock Dove, Goldcrest, Treecreeper and Great Spotted Woodpecker calls. Also, I saw a couple of dragonflies patrolling the north-eastern pond, likely Migrant Hawkers given the lateness in the year, and saw yet another of the rare, shiny Ganoderma lucidum brackets on a Hornbeam close to the western edge of the wood, by the remains of the drover’s road. Midland Thorns were covered in their bright red fruits or "haws" in several places in the wood, a valuable food source for wildlife in the colder months ahead.

I visited Astonbury another afternoon in September, mainly to look for plants that might have flowered later than usual because of the extraordinarily dry spring, and the recent rain. Upon entering the wood, I had a great view of a Tawny Owl dozing in broad daylight, and not much further on noticed an Oak with great looking features for bat roosts; large sections of flaking bark and a few old woodpecker holes. I didn't get a great deal further before it started raining. I hadn't expected rain, and thinking it would pass sheltered under the dense canopy of a Hornbeam. There was then a flash and almost immediate thunder and the rain became torrential, so I made my way rather swiftly out of the wood and back to my bicycle. It was another couple of hours before the rain eased off. I got soaked, but still, we need rain. With an upcoming holiday to Cornwall, I’ll not be able to return to Astonbury until the very end of the month.

Looking ahead slightly, we are holing a guided fungi walk at Astonbury on Saturday 8^th November at 10am, which will be led by local fungi expert Kerry Robinson. If you’d like to book a placed on the walk please go to the following webpage: https://hertswildlifetrustevents.org.uk/event/8nov25-a-fungi-foray-at-astonbury-wood

A late July visit to Astonbury to take photographs of all the infrastructure to use in the management plan. There were still a few birds calling: Blackcap; Stock Dove; Nuthatch; Treecreeper; Great Spotted Woodpecker; Heron; Jay Chiffchaff; possibly a juvenile Song Thrush. Butterflies: Several Red Admirals on the Oak at the back of the coppice compartment; possible Purple Hairstreak; Silver-washed Fritillary and Meadow Brown on Marsh Thistle.

I had a scything workshop coming up at Astonbury, and I had noticed a fair-sized branch had fallen onto the area I was intending to cut. This is the glade either side of the watercourse towards the north of the wood. Loose ends were tied up for now on the Astonbury management plan, so I visited the wood with a handsaw to cut up and remove the branch. The glade area was looking good, nettles look thinner and weaker than last year, the Hairy-brome grass is tall and seeding, and there's an addition of at least one species - Meadowsweet. While I was there I walked down to the glades on the central ride where I probably saw Purple Hairstreaks, though still too high to identify definitely. Other butterflies seen were Large White, Red Admiral, Green-veined White, Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown, Small White and Comma. Quite a bit of fungi is starting to fruit and the sloes are looking ripe. Very early!

For a scythe to cut properly it has to be exceedingly sharp. There are two stages of sharpening to go through to reach the desired sharpness, the first being peening, and the second honing. Honing is done more regularly, with a whetstone, approximately after every five minutes of cutting. Peening is less regular, and involves using a jig to hammer the edge of the blade thinner. I intended to peen and hone the scythe blades prior to the workshop, so they would all start off nice and sharp. I purchased a peening jig, but required something to mount it to. A log is the usual way to do this, and I knew there was an abundance of reasonably sized logs at Astonbury left from the coppicing we carried out in 2023. A quick visit, and I found the perfect one, a nice bit of Hazel. While I was there, I had a quick look around. First was the north east pond, where I found a big patch of Celery-leaved Buttercup where the pond had dried out, there was also a Southern Hawker flying about, and I found quite a rare fungus at the base of a Hornbeam - Ganoderma lucidum. I thought I'd go and have a look at the central glade too, where on the way I saw Speckled Wood and Green-veined White butterflies, some Butter Bolete mushrooms, and Wild Angelica, Purple Loosestrife and Water Mint in flower east of the large pond. Further on was a ring of seven Parasol mushrooms around an Oak, then in the glade, Hemp-nettle and Small Teasel in flower along with an abundance of dragonflies. At one point there must have been 10 flying around. I could only identify a Common Darter that landed and a possible Migrant Hawker, I think the rest were Southern Hawkers. There was also a blue butterfly, probably a Holly Blue, a Meadow Brown and a Comma. And finally, a Purple Hairstreak low enough that I could definitely identify!

Four people came along to the Scything Workshop in the end. I had ten people booked on, but many were unable to make it for various reasons. I had peened and honed the scythes the previous evening so they should have all been sharp to start with. After the obligatory health and safety briefing I explained to the group how to set the handles at the correct height and gave a demonstration of how to hone. The four attendees were then able to set the handles of their scythes, and I demonstrated the motion of scything. We then made our way into the wood and to the damp glade the group could have a go at cutting. I use this area for now as it is largely nettle dominated which makes for easy cutting with a scythe. With no questions from the group, we put some water in the holders for the sharpening stones, and I set two of the group off cutting in opposite directions either side of the water course. Shortly after the other two were able to follow along the next line to be cut, and before too long the area was almost completely cut. I planned for the raking up to be done the following day at the work party, so despite the workshop only being three hours long, we had time to cut another area with ease. Stopping for a break half way through the morning, we talked about why some species seem to decline with others such as Red Kite seem to be doing well, and how cutting and raking the glade as we were, should gradually increase the diversity of the area. All the while, a Southern Hawker was hunting smaller invertebrates around us, and a Great Spotted Woodpecker calling close by. After break, we cut the area in front of the Midland Thorn for the second time this year (another nettle dominated but improving glade). There was all round agreement at the end of the morning of the pleasantries of scything, which was good to hear! So many positives compared to a brush cutter, a scythe is: quiet; doesn't run on fossil fuel; doesn't vibrate causing HAVS; is lightweight; doesn't require an expensive training course; requires beneficial physical exercise... After the workshop I stayed at Astonbury for lunch. I walked down to the southern glade, pulled up three Himalayan Balsam plants and saw an Emerald Damselfly, making eight species of dragonfly I've seen at Astonbury this year. Afterwards I walked up to the north western pond, where a Grey Wagtail was bobbing up and down on a log, and another Southern Hawker flying around.

It’s the end of August and Leaves are falling early due to the extremely dry summer, and the woodland is beginning to look autumnal. Ten volunteers today, one of whom was new, a young chap who came along to see what the world of conservation was all about and weather he might like to work in it. To begin with I had eight volunteers raking the areas that were cut during the scything workshop the day before, while the other two brush-cut the entrance track and some courser vegetation in the second of the glades the scything workshop had made a start on the day before. Among the course vegetation of the glade there was quite a lot of Small Teasel coming up, so I asked Chris who was brush-cutting to try and be careful of this. Small Teasel Dipsacus pilosus is rather scarce in Hertfordshire woodlands, and is biennial, so grows a leaf rosette the first year and flowers the second year. Last year saw an abundance of flowering plants at Astonbury, so this year we have a lot of leaf rosettes, and next year should see another good number of flowering plants. Once all the cut material from the scything workshop had been raked up and moved, some of the volunteers were able to help rake up for the two who had been brush-cutting, while myself and a few others headed to the next glade along the track and cut it with scythes. We left two large clumps of Small Teasel leaf rosettes. What a difference it made to be able to chat as a group weather we were cutting or raking! We left a few of the ferns that were growing in the glade too, as there was a Leaf Hopper Eupteryx filicum found on a fern at Astonbury over the weekend by the Herts Invertebrate Project group, which was potentially the first time one has been recorded in the county! Slightly less exciting, perhaps, but on the way out of the wood I spotted another type of Bolete close to where I saw the Butter Boletes a couple of weeks previously. This time it was a nice pair of Rooting Boletes.

I hadn't had an opportunity to visit Astonbury to check on the site for a couple of weeks, so took an afternoon on a warm sunny day to do so. There had been some long over-due rain in the meantime, with a return to warm sunny conditions, so I hoped to see abundant wildlife, and I did. On the field edge before reaching the wood were numerous Gatekeeper butterflies, with also some Large Whites, Ringlets, Peacock, Common Blue and a Large Skipper, Green Woodpeckers were calling from the meadow the other side of the hedge.

 Once in the woodland, I could hear calls of Stock Dove, Blackcap and Nuthatch. Turning toward the north I heard a Chiffchaff, before sighting a Red Admiral and a Large White on a sunny Bramble patch. I watched the Brambles for a while and noted a Comma resting on a small dead tree, before being startled by the fast swooping flight of a Silver-washed Fritillary, the first I had seen in Astonbury this year. Silver-washed Fritillaries are large orange butterflies with a fast but graceful flight, the adults can often be seen feeding on Bramble nectar in woodlands, but the caterpillars rely on Dog Violets for their foodplant - which are relatively abundant at Astonbury. 

I headed to the north western pond, hearing Coal Tit and Tree Creeper along the way, and seeing a few Speckled Wood butterflies. I've been keeping note of Dragonflies I've seen at Astonbury this year, so we have a baseline of what is there. Today I was able to add two species to the list, which were seen among others flying above a very bright well vegetated pond. These were a female Ruddy Darter and a pair of Southern Hawker's. That brings my current total to seven species at Astonbury. Previously I have seen Small Red Damselfly, Azure Damselfly, Broad-bodied Chaser, Brown Hawker and Banded Demoiselle. Still by the pond I heard a Jay, and had a male Horsefly flying around close by. These look frightful, being larger than the females, but luckily do not bite! This individual seemed content feeding on the pollen of Pendulous Sedge. 

I left the pond and headed back south towards the glades. On the way I heard Song Thrush and Great Spotted Woodpecker, saw a Blackcap carrying food, maybe having a second brood? I saw a Ruddy Darter again, this time hunting over the coppiced area. I noticed at the back of the coppice compartment, numerous butterflies, mainly Commas and Red Admirals, warming up in the sunlight on the stem of a large old Oak tree. In the southern of the two glades along the main ride, I saw Ringlets, Gatekeepers and a Large Skipper, before going to look at a couple of Elm trees I know of in the wood. I was interested to know if there were any White-letter Hairstreaks at Astonbury, which is a butterfly species reliant on Elm. I couldn't see anything as I approached the Elms, but I did see Small Tortoisehell and Meadow Brown on the brambles close by. 

Then, as I was about to leave, there they were! I saw three White-letter Hairstreaks on a low branch on one of the trees! Quite exiting being a species not recorded at Astonbury since 1976. On my way out, I passed another open area full of Marsh Thistles. Here there was an abundance of invertebrate activity! numerous butterflies including many whites, Peacocks, Commas, Red Admirals, and a Brimstone as well as a lot of bees! Turning back to walk out to my bike I found myself face to face with an adult Fallow Deer and its fawn, it held its gaze towards me for a few seconds, but of course they turned and bounded back into the depth of the wood before I could get a photo!

Only the one work party at Astonbury this month as I have been away on annual leave enjoying a wildlife-rich tour of Scotland, but that is another story.

It was yet another warm morning in the second week of June as nine volunteers arrived at Astonbury for the day’s work party task, which was to be path cutting. A little bit of rain over the past couple of weeks has allowed the brambles to put on a spurt of growth and begin making their way across the paths. However, as we walked into the woods, there was evidence of how dry it has been, with the amount of bark stripping visible on some of the Hornbeams. Deer and Grey Squirrels will strip off bark in hot dry weather, to get at the sap running in the cambium beneath, this can be done to such an extent that it will kill a tree. A consequence of climate change? 

Back to the task in hand, I requested that we only cut one side of the path fully and be a little gentler on the other side, for the benefit of butterflies laying eggs and caterpillars feeding. There were also some plants growing along the paths that I didn't want cut, as they are not very common throughout the woodland. One of these is Wood Spurge Euphorbia amygdaloides, which is only present in a small colony in one location along the main ride. It is still in flower, so wouldn't benefit from cutting! I pointed these plants out to the volunteers. 

While the path cutting was being carried out, a few of us also scythed and raked the area in front of the Midland Thorn, which is currently dominated by nettle. Continued cutting and raking over time should reduce the nettle and allow the area to become more species rich. While we were raking up, we saw a large dragonfly that appeared brown from a distance, but wasn't close enough for identification. Birds seen or heard during the day were: Greenfinch; Jay; Song Thrush; Chiffchaff; Green Woodpecker; Stock Dove; Coal Tit; Blackcap; Nuthatch; and Treecreeper. We also saw Speckled Wood and Meadow Brown butterflies, and Yellowflag Iris with Reed Canary Grass in flower in one of the wetter areas!

It feels like a long time ago now that I was leading a group of four lucky people who managed to book on, and were able to turn up on the day for this years Bluebell walk at Astonbury, with the flush of woodland flowers now largely over for another year. For the walk we had perfect weather and on entering the wood heard a Chiffchaff straight away, and spotted Primrose, Dog's Mercury and Dog Violets, all ancient woodland indicators (AWI’s), along with the Bluebells. 

Further on we heard the call of a Wren then a Blackcap, and I was able to talk about the importance of dead standing trees with the view of a magnificent dead standing Oak. Close to this we looked upon the watercourse and the old drovers’ road. Next, we had the blossom to appreciate high in the canopy of a huge Cherry, then Honeysuckle which was yet to flower. We discussed the differences between Beech, Hornbeam, and Hazel. shortly after I was able to share out my binoculars for the group to get a brilliant view of a Mistle Thrush singing at the top of a Douglas Fir. 

We found some Pignut in flower close to the southern entrance, before making our way back north via the Central Ride. Here we had some of the best Bluebell views in the wood, under the dark Hornbeam canopy, before making our way to the sunny glade. Bugle was in flower, Small Teasel seed-heads were in abundance, and despite the early sunshine we had Brimstone and Orange Tip butterflies, along with the drumming of a Great Spotted Woodpecker. Further up the ride we had Wood Spurge in flower, Pendulous Sedge as well as Wood Sedge, and then the Midland Thorn in full blossom. The Wood Anemones were over in the Hazel coppice compartment, but the Bluebells here were flowering densely with a striking darker blue than those in the shade. Finally, we saw leaves of Yellow Flag Irises and Figwort, both yet to flower, along with the tiny flowers of Wood Speedwell, the last of a long list of AWI’s for the morning. There was probably much that I have missed too! Comments from the group afterwards were that they got much more than they had expected form the walk, and looked forward to going away and sharing their newly acquired knowledge, which was nice to hear.

We held another Dawn Chorus Walk this month, with a 5am start this time. Being slightly later in the spring, we were missing much of the sound of Blue Tits and Great Tits, making the bird song seem less abundant than the walk in April. The first bird we heard on the way into the wood was the lovely melody of a Blackcap, shortly followed by Wren and Song Thrushes. We then had a couple of Treecreepers, a Chiffchaff, Robin, Wood Pigeon, Blackbird, Carrion Crow and Green Woodpecker. Pausing by the Stevenage Brook we heard Goldcrest overhead, shortly followed by a Jay. Stopping in the southern glade we were unnoticed by a Red Fox, before it saw us and ran off up the ride. We headed out to the field edge east of the wood, where we heard Great Tit, Greenfinch, then Stock Dove on the way back in. On our way back out of the wood we heard Jackdaw, briefly saw a Moorhen on the pond, and finally heard Great Spotted Woodpecker, Dunnock, Blue Tit and Long Tailed Tits back by the entrance. 22 species in total, not a bad count!

I spent some time one afternoon recently overlooking one of Astonbury’s ponds. The edges were alive with Azure Damselflies, and occasional Large Red Damselflies, with a Broad Bodied Chaser darting around, many smaller flying invertebrates were present too. In the pond I saw a dragonfly nymph (presumably Southern Hawker) attacking a Smooth Newt! Not nice but that is wildlife!

After five months of collating photographs, writing (by Chloé Harmsworth), consulting, re-writing, designing etc. I met Martin and Gary from Landmark at Astonbury, the two contractors who were installing the new interpretation boards in the woodland. We've had two new welcome signs, one at either end of the wood, and eight smaller boards around the wood at key points of interest. Even without the new signs, Astonbury was already an overload for the senses with primroses, Wood Anemones, Early Dog Violets and Lesser Celandines all in flower and covering the ground, while the canopy is full of non-stop bird song. So, feeling quite distracted as I was, I showed Martin and Gary around the reserve and pointed out where each interpretation board was to go. Once I had done that I set to work removing the old council welcome signs. Martin and Gary worked swiftly, and had installed three of the new signs by the time I left. I returned the following day to see all the newly installed signs, and must say I was quite pleased with what I saw, knowing the wood they’ve used will fade with time and blend into the woodland.

An early start for a Dawn Chorus Walk; It was completely dark as I cycled to Astonbury, a full moon just above the horizon. The first light was in the sky as Callum gave a great introduction all about the dawn chorus to the group of nine who came along. Callum lead the walk around the route we had previously planned, with myself acting as back marker. The woodland was looking stunning in the early spring light, with the bird song adding another level of attraction. We first heard Wren, then a Song Thrush in the large Ash at the northern end of the wood. Next were Chiffchaff, Stock Dove, Blackcap, and several Great Spotted Woodpeckers, then Goldcrest calling from high in a Douglass Fir. Two Herons flew over by the Stevenage Brook, shortly followed by the call of a Green Woodpecker and a Coal Tit calling from another conifer. It was a truly magical morning which I am most grateful to Callum for leading.

The peak of the Bluebells at Astonbury was around the Easter weekend this year, and with ideal weather I went for a walk with some family. The afternoon was getting on, so there wasn’t ever such a lot of bird activity in the wood, with mainly Blackcaps calling, and the odd Buzzard and Red Kite overhead. When we got to the southern end of the wood, it was suggested that we head over The Three Horseshoes for refreshment. Being a nice afternoon, we sat out in the garden and were amazed to see Great Crested Newts swimming around in the pond!

One of the last days in February and two volunteers were not able to make it to the work party, and who can blame them? We had one of the wettest days for quite some time, making for less than ideal conditions for the main task I had planned. The task was to begin the removal of Turkish Squill plants from the very northern end of the wood, as they are non-native, and spreading, outcompeting our native flora for space and nutrients. The plants themselves are easily discernible from Bluebells at this time of year as they have begun to flower, which bluebells have not. They also have wider leaves than Bluebells, and a brown skin on their bulbs, which again, Bluebells do not. I set the volunteers to work on a couple of very well-defined patches of Turkish Squill, which they persevered with for some time, but because it was so very wet, the digging became too difficult. I had felled a Norway Spruce that had a lifted root plate, so was likely to fall, and was heavily leaning toward the path, so once it was cut up, some of the volunteers helped move the logs and branches instead. I had a couple of other volunteers cutting back brambles along two areas of the path that get particularly enclosed in the summer, so they are now much more open which should benefit the diversity of ground flora. After lunch, due to the difficulty of the digging task, I felled a small Horse Chestnut and Norway Spruce to open up the glade area at the northern entrance. The volunteers were all soaked and cold by this point, as was I, so it was good for us to be able to warm up by cutting up and clearing the two trees, after which we headed home slightly early to dry off and warm up properly! No work partiers now at Astonbury until May, when the woodland should be in full bloom!

A site check in the second week of March gave me the opportunity to have a walk around Astonbury to see what plants were coming up, or in flower. Though not part of the nature reserve, it seems worth noting that there were a lot of Cowslips coming up in the area at the northern end of the wood, by the old field studies centre. In the woodland, Primroses were abundantly in flower, there must be hundreds. Bluebell leaves are getting taller, indeed the ground in many places is now completely green with them. I flushed a Woodcock for the second time while straying off the path looking for Twayblade leaves. Wood Anemones are in flower at the southern end of the wood, and Pignut leaves are up. Birds are beginning to sing loudly. I saw two or possibly three Rabbits in the middle of the wood, something I didn’t expect.

I'm setting up a transect for a breeding bird survey to be carried out at Astonbury this year, and hopefully for many years thereafter. This can be used as an assessment of the condition of the site, and the effect management is having on habitat quality. I asked one of our volunteers, Alan if he would be interested in carrying out a breeding bird survey this year, as I know he's a keen local birder. He said he'd be happy to. We met on a perfect spring morning and were able to enjoy the sheer abundance of Primroses and Wood Anemones as we ambled around Astonbury, planning the route. We took the right fork after entering the wood from the northern end, where we saw a Tree Creeper on a birch tree, and heard a Chiffchaff and Wren calling. We took an out and back down to the large pond, but all was quiet. We then headed up to the pond in the north west of the wood, where on the way we saw Jackdaws going in and out of holes in and Ash, and a large mixed flock of Chaffinches and Great Tits. Nothing to note at the pond today, but on the way back down to the Stevenage Brook path we heard Great Spotted Woodpeckers drumming, with several Buzzards calling from over the wood, and saw Robins. Heading back up the central ride we heard Nuthatch calling as well as Red Kite. Further on still we saw a Song Thrush and a small flock of Redwing, then Stock Doves investigating suitable looking trees for nesting, a pair of Blue Tits going in and out of holes in an Ash, and finally we heard a Green Woodpecker calling from just outside the wood. Not a bad tally for a planning meeting! We also saw five butterflies, two flew past quite high in the west of the wood, and I couldn't be sure if they were Small Tortoiseshell or Comma, but we had a definite Comma on the ground in the sun along with two Brimstones flying in the glades in the middle of the wood. These butterflies will have just come out of hibernation, which is why they can be seen so early in the year.

The early February work party saw a full house of volunteers, which was good as there was a fair amount of work that could be done. The plan was to coppice three large collapsing Hazels in the north of the wood, to complete a group that had been started last year; remove a fallen but hung up Ash from over a path; and finally cut an area of bramble beneath the Hazels where Common Spotted-orchids were once recorded by Richard Pople - who carried out the bird survey for us at Astonbury last year – albeit over 30 years ago. The weather was kind to us, we got everything finished, and the volunteers made some fantastic woven deer baskets around the coppice stools. The whole area has really opened up post coppicing so it will be interesting to see what grows there in the spring, and over the next couple of years.

We were working close to a very large Ash, probably the largest tree in the wood, and a personal favourite of mine. Out of pure curiosity, Andy decided to measure the circumference with a stick, and worked out the diameter to be 170 inches. Growing at roughly two inches a year would make the tree about 360 years old!

I returned to Astonbury the following week, just to check the tasks I had planned for the next work party were still looking achievable. There was a spring like feel in the wood, Snowdrops were in full bloom and the Bluebell leaves had doubled in height since my last visit. I thought I’d have a look for any sign of a couple of plant species that have been historically recorded in the woodland, but for which there have been no recent records. I had approximate locations, but wading through the brambles I could only see Bluebell leaves poking through the humus. I did however flush a pair of Woodcocks out from their cover in the brambles, and while I don’t like the thought of having disturbed them, it’s good to know they are there!

Finally, we have a couple of events open for booking. On the 9^th of May we will be holding a Dawn Chorus Walk, which you can book on by following this link: https://hertswildlifetrustevents.org.uk/event/9may25-dawn-chorus-at-astonbury but you might have to be quick!

And on the 19^th of August we’ll be holding a Scything Workshop, where you can come along to learn all about traditional meadow cutting, and have a go yourself! Again, booking is via the following link: https://hertswildlifetrustevents.org.uk/event/19aug25-scything-workshop

At the start of this New Year, it definitely feels like Astonbury Wood has gone full circle through the seasons, and begun another round, since I started this job as Woodland Officer at HMWT. It feels like quite a long time now since I began, but what’s really amazing to think is how many annual cycles Astonbury Wood has grown and lived and changed, very slowly, over and over through time. Centuries have passed since coppicing would have first been carried out, and the drovers track would have been used to run cattle from Aston to market at Datchworth, and for some reason Astonbury was largely spared the axe and the plough, to remain to this day, one of those all too rare places we now know as ancient semi-natural woodland.

Time seems to speed up towards the end of each year, before momentarily stopping around midwinter celebrations, only to slowly get going again as we resume our normal lives, and everything falls back into that familiar rhythm. A UK woodland very much follows this same routine with the first signs of spring visible from early January, if you’re there to see them. The group who joined me for an amble around Astonbury in mid-January were. Sadly, there was no Mistle Thrush calling from the top of the tallest Ash at the northern end of the wood this year, but we did see early Snowdrops, Bluebells pushing through the leaves, and a Primrose in flower in one of the glades. A very early nectar source on this occasion, the common name Primrose comes from the Latin ‘prima rosa’ meaning the first rose. While not a rose, it does make a nice reference to one of the first flowers we see in the spring. It was very pleasant after the walk to be able to visit the coffee shop at the Rose and Crown, where Jim kindly bought Callum and myself from the Trust a Coffee!

On another note, I recently received a report of the birds of Astonbury during 2024 which was compiled by a local RSPB volunteer who visited Astonbury a couple of times per month throughout the year. There is nothing out of the ordinary in the records, and it was slightly negative in places as it compares the wood now to when it was last surveyed in 1986. But the sad reality is a decline in species virtually all over the country during the past 40 years. The overall conclusion of the report reads: “Throughout the year the bird species have remained positive and much the same on every visit, with a few single species being recorded. It‘s been a very enjoyable year. The predominant species this year have been: Robin Erithacus rubecula, Wren Troglodytes troglodytes, Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla, Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita, Jackdaw Corvus monedula, Carrion Crow Corvus corone, Jay Garrulus glandarius, Common Buzzard Buteo buteo, Great-spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos major, Mistle Thrush Turdus viscivorus, Moorhen Gallinula chloropus, Tawny Owl Strix aluco.” Hopefully with continued habitat restoration and conservation work, we can see an increase in number of birds using the wood, and indeed the return of some species that have been locally lost.

December was a busy month working on designs for the new interpretation panels we are planning to install early this year, so keep an eye out for that! We are also putting together a self-guided walk booklet for which I needed to take various photographs at Astonbury. I tried on a Thursday in late November, but despite it being cold and frosty, the sky was very overcast so I wasn't able to get any good pictures. The next afternoon I visited had excellent lighting, so I was able to get some fantastic photos!

We were recently granted a felling licence by the Forestry Commission to carry out 04. Ha of Hornbeam coppicing at Astonbury. The licence comes with the following obligations, which I must say I very much approve of:                                                                                                              1. The land on which the felling took place is to be managed in accordance with the rules and practice of good forestry so as to secure restocking with 100% hornbeam to achieve not less than 1100 stools per hectare evenly distributed over the site by coppice regrowth.                                                                                          2. All licenced trees felled are to be removed quickly and carefully so as to avoid damage to the remaining tree stumps, seedlings or coppice shoots.                                                                                                                                              3. The land is to be adequately cleared of lop and top as required, prepared ready in accordance with good forestry practice and weeded to facilitate coppice regrowth and weeded to facilitate natural regeneration or coppice regrowth. Any preparation or weeding must be done in a way so as not to damage existing trees, of any age, on site.                                                                                         

4. If before 30th June two years after felling where natural regeneration fails, or coppice stools fail (as specified under condition 1 above) to establish the minimum stocking density, the land is to be planted or sown before 30th June the third year after felling in order to secure a stocking density of not less than 1100 stools per hectare of 100% hornbeam evenly distributed over the site.                                                                                                                                                                                  5. For a period of 10 years from the restocking: a. The plants must be protected against damage and be adequately weeded. b. Any failure or losses should be replaced as necessary to provide a stocking of not less than 1100 stools per hectare evenly distributed over the site. c. Any stems subject to the conditions of this licence must be properly maintained in accordance with the rules and practice of good forestry.

The December work party had fewer volunteers than normal on what was a rather murky Thursday. The six volunteers that did make it got on very well nonetheless. We started off by clearing some scrub and small trees from the southern edge of the north eastern pond in the wood to let a bit more light in, but not too much, as this is being kept as the woodlands' sheltered pond. Once we finished there, we walked down to the glade with the Midland Thorn to coppice a lone Hazel. The volunteers made a fantastic deer basket, taller and wider than previous versions. And it's looking like this is how they need to be, seeing what Muntjac appear capable of reaching to eat. It's nice to hear the comments that come with this task about it being nice doing something creative at a work party.

Finally, on a visit to Astonbury to check and map the new deer fence around the Hazel coppice, I bumped into Kerry Robinson, one of the most expert fungi recorders in the county. She was out looking for fungi after what’s been quite a poor year for them. She told me she's recorded nearly 800 species at Astonbury to date!

I don’t know how many of you will have managed to visit Astonbury Wood this past month, but it’s been glorious this autumn! Yes, it has seemed relentlessly gloomy at times, but the cause of this “Anticyclonic gloom” – a high pressure system – gave us quite possibly the calmest and driest November for quite some time. This allowed all the golden, brown and orange leaves to fall to the ground quite undisturbed by wind or rain, and there they stayed, giving a brilliant hue to the air in the woods, even on the dullest days!

While the trees have been dropping their leaves, we’ve had a team of forestry workers removing some diseased Ash trees along the eastern edge of the wood. The unfortunate removal of these trees was due to their infection with Ash dieback, and their proximity to the bridleway outside the wood. Ash dieback is caused by the fungus Hymenoscyphus fraxineus which weakens and eventually kills many Ash trees making them more susceptible to limb or stem breakages. Ash dieback has been in the UK since at leased 2012 but possibly earlier, and is steadily killing Ash trees all over. At the Trust we try to retain Ash trees where it is safe to do so, in the hope there will be some resistance.

What seemed to be the first sunny day for some weeks coincided nicely with a work party. 12 enthusiastic volunteers had a great day clearing Brambles, Sycamore and Elder scrub around the southern edge of the pond in the north west of the wood, and cleared some more young Sycamores by the north western entrance to build a dead hedge to extend the fence line. I left the volunteers to it in the afternoon while I made some adjustments to the vehicle gate at the southern entrance to the woodland, in order to make it open inwards rather than outwards, as the forestry workers had struggled to get a tractor and trailer in and out. On my way back up to the volunteers I saw a butterfly. It was a Comma, and the first record of one at Astonbury this year. In fact, the first since 2007, and on the 12th November!

As we are speeding towards the end of the year, I’ve been thinking about the New Year we’re approaching, and planning some events in. We’ve got three guided walks planned in so far. You can have a look at these and book on by visiting these web pages:

A Winter Amble Around Astonbury - https://www.hertswildlifetrust.org.uk/events/An-Amble-Around-Astonbury

Dawn Chorus Walk - https://www.hertswildlifetrust.org.uk/events/dawn-chorus-astonbury-12apr25

Bluebell Walk - https://www.hertswildlifetrust.org.uk/events/bluebell-walk-27apr25

This will likely be my last entry this year, so I hope you all have a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

The lane to Astonbury Wood was underwater one morning early this month as I drove to meet Andrew Clark, a tutor of Forestry and Arboriculture at Capel Manor College. Luckily the woodland wasn't yet as flooded, despite having about two months' rain in one week. I showed Andrew to the area of young Sycamore (a non-native but naturalised species) I'd like felled to open up a glade in the east of the wood, and he thought they'd be perfect for the students to have a go at, which is what I'd hoped. He said they'd likely come along to do some felling in about 3 weeks, which is sooner than expected and a felling licence would likely be required. I suggested I could mark up about 40 of the stems to be felled this year to keep the timber volume under 5 cubic meters. Andrew said that should work well as there are about 20 students. He was even keen to have the wood if he could work out a way of extracting it, as they are always looking for timber to use for the firewood processing course they run at Capel Manor. After I left Andrew I went down to the southern entrance as I'd seen recently that someone had kicked one of the rails off the chicane, so I nailed it back on, this time with much bigger nails.

It turned out Capel Manor students hoped to make a start with the work at Astonbury even sooner than expected. Andrew emailed to say they would be doing some felling starting 8th October. Due to the earlier than expected start, I hadn't been to mark the trees yet, or even purchased any paint for that matter. After sourcing some emergency marker paint, I went over to Astonbury to mark about 40 Sycamore stems. It rained heavily afterwards, so I was left hoping the paint wouldn’t have washed off! I’ve not had any report from the college that the marked trees were hard to locate, rather that the students have been getting on well, and expect to be returning most Tuesdays until Christmas for their practical sessions.

On Saturday 12^th October, local Tree Enthusiast and volunteer Andy Holtham lead a tree gall walk at Astonbury. Tree galls are often overlooked, with probably the most famous being the Oak apple. Galls tend to be caused by various species of tiny wasps that manipulate tissue in a plant to make it a suitable home for larvae to feed and develop. I was away when Andy lead this walk so unfortunately wasn’t able to attend, but he tells me that it went well, it stayed dry, and the group found 9 types of gall on their walk!

The following week I arranged a meeting with Tim - Conservation Manager at the Trust - at Astonbury after not succeeding to get a local Amphibian and reptile recorder to come and assess the ponds. I was aware that Tim has done, and still does a lot of projects with ponds around the county. I found the meeting most useful! For the most part Tim liked what he saw with the ponds at Astonbury, with the marginal vegetation and deadwood in the water, he also said the water was very nice and clear. Leaf litter and silt were an issue as was shading, but nothing too terrible. Tim advised getting a dragonfly survey done next summer and an Amphibian and reptile survey starting very early spring, to get a baseline before carrying out any drastic work. He's kindly given me the details of a few people I can contact to help with this. However, if you are reading this and have a particular expertise in dragonflies, and would like to carry out a survey next year please do contact me at iain.ward@hmwt.org.  

17^th October saw a volunteer work party at Astonbury, which 10 volunteers attended. One task was to make a couple of adjustments around the southern vehicle gate, namely removing the bank of soil from one side of the track, and moving one of the pedestrian chicane posts away from the track to widen the access. Two volunteers made an excellent job of this. There was also cutting and raking to be carried out to the glades along the central ride. The other volunteers split into groups, and likewise made an excellent job of this.

Finally, thanks to all who attended the Aston Village Society AGM, and stayed to hear my update about the Ancient Astonbury project so far. It was great to see so many people there, and I was most grateful at being given the opportunity to speak!

One evening at the end of August, we held a Bat Walk at Astonbury. This was very kindly led by Chantal from Herts and Middlesex Bat Group. We had 10 people come along, meeting at 7:30pm at the Three Horseshoes carpark opposite the southern entrance to Astonbury, where I gave a brief introduction to the Wood before handing over to Chantal who gave a wonderful short talk about bats and how we could detect them. Bat detectors were then handed out for everyone to have a go, and Chantal had a little device that could produce very high frequency sound that bat detectors can be tested with. Most bats echolocate at frequencies far above what adult humans are able to hear which is generally 15-17 kHz. Common Pipistrelle for example echolocates at around 45kHz, Soprano Pipistrelle at about 55kHz. Knowing the frequency of the sound you are picking up enables you to tell which species of bat is close by.               

The sun had just about set but it was still very warm when we crossed over to the entrance of the reserve. We waited a short while by the Stevenage Brook but didn’t pick up any bats, presumably it was still a bit too light, and there were just a few late calling birds. It was much darker once we got into the woodland, and it wasn't long before we got to a glade and picked up first, Common, then Soprano Pipistrelle, both flying about overhead. We were in the glade so were able to watch the bats hunting against the sky above us. Chantal explained bats make a different sound when they catch prey, different to the sound produced when hunting with echolocation. She called this a feeding "buzz", and we were able to pick a few up through the bat detectors. We left the two Pipistrelles hunting in the glade and returned to what was now close to full darkness below the tree canopy. It wasn't long before Chantal called to everyone to set their bat detectors to 35kHz to pick up the sound of a Brown Long-eared bat, which was there for just a few seconds, then gone. But in its place, slightly lower at 32kHz we were able to pick up the "click-click-click" of a Barbastelle. Chantal explained that Barbastelles often fly quite long distances from their roosts to hunt, but as it was still relatively early in the evening it was likely this individual had a roost within Astonbury. Chantal went on to pick up several more Barbastelles with her slightly more advanced bat detector, but once we got down onto the path alongside the Stevenage Brook on the way back out of the wood we didn't pick up any more bats. The trees are much younger on this side of the wood, existing from 1950s planting, so of no real value as far as bat habitat is concerned. So that was the end of a fantastic introduction to bats at Astonbury. Afterwards we made plans to put a static detector back up at Astonbury later this week, as Chantal is curious about the relatively high level of Barbastelle activity!

A few days later we returned to put a bat detector up. First, we looked for older trees with decay around the main pond, but not too close to it, and under the woodland canopy so as not to pick up only Pipistrelle echolocation. We found a Hornbeam with a good-looking collection of cavities in the base about 20 meters north of the pond and went of that. Not too far away we found an Ash with an impressive cave-like cavity in the base, and a large dead-standing Oak with plenty of peeling bark and Woodpecker holes. I'm looking forward to seeing what is recorded!

I’m becoming aware of autumn/winter approaching, so I wanted to make sure I had a reasonably sized potential coppice area mapped, should the opportunity arise for the work to be done. A larger area will be beneficial to get more light into the wood and generate more timber to go for charcoal, as well as lessening the effect of browsing on the regrowth. I extended an area I'd previously mapped to include some additional previously coppiced Hornbeams. The area mapped ended up at about 0.4Ha but Hornbeam stools were sparse, with only about 60 present. A density of 500-1000 stools per Hectare would be preferable, so a minimum of about 200 in this particular area. However, the Hornbeam and Ash regeneration that's come through in the coupe we cut this year looks really good, so I'd expect the same to be the case for this compartment. Retaining approx. 6 standards in a coupe of this size would also be ideal. Once I had the area mapped and notes taken I went and tidied up and removed litter from an antisocial fire site I had spotted in the Woodland when we were looking for an appropriate location for the bat detector.

The bat recorder had been up for about a week and a half at Astonbury, and as we had it on loan for about 3 weeks, this seemed a good time to move it, to see if there might be other bat species elsewhere in the wood. I met Chantal and we took the recorder down from its location close to the large pond. It was showing 9MB of recordings which Chantal said was really good! We looked in the north of the wood for a place to put it, where no bat recording has previously been carried out to my knowledge. There is a pond at either corner of this northern end of the wood, and a reasonable abundance of old trees, so it looked good for bats. We put the bat recorder up a Hornbeam close to the western pond with some large old Oaks and Ashes with plenty of deadwood and holes nearby. On the way out of the wood I noticed an oak seedling totally white with Powdery Mildew. This is caused by the fungus Erysiphe alphitoides and has been particularly prevalent this year with the wetter than normal weather early in the summer. It is thought this fungus could be a major contributor to the current lack of Oak regeneration seen in our woodlands.

September is over already; the year is passing in a flash! While I’m all the more aware of the track at the north of the reserve steadily becoming overgrown making access difficult for our surveyors.  As the ambiguous statement on our tenancy says "we must maintain the access track if nobody else does." Somewhat surprisingly, it doesn't seem like anybody else does, so I spent a whole day scything the track and parking area and cutting the hedge. It was great weather for scything and thoroughly enjoyable, but in hindsight it could have been a good task for a work party! Next time perhaps. Popped into the reserve at lunch time and saw a Silver-washed Fritillary.

Due to the deer browsing, we had a meeting with a fencing contractor to look at deer fencing this years’ coppiced area. He advised the heavy-duty plastic mesh I was looking at using, was not up to the job. However, he's agreed to supply galvanised metal fencing for not ever so much more, so hopefully he'll be able to do the work for us at the beginning of November.

Finally, if you like the sound of learning about the world of the often-overlooked tree gall, we will be holding a walk to take a closer look at these at Astonbury on Saturday 12^th October. More details can be found at: https://www.hertswildlifetrust.org.uk/events/tree-gall-walk-12oct24

On the very last day of July I helped Andy Holtham with his Summer Tree ID Workshop. We had 12 people come along for the day which started at Aston Village Hall. Andy gave a very thorough and entertaining presentation which kept everybody's attention for a good couple of hours. He had handed out some fresh twigs with leaves of various species at the beginning, and worked through them describing key differences and identifying features. After some questions and lunch, we all went for a walk around Astonbury, so the group could have a go at putting into practice what they had learned during the morning. Andy gave everybody a key to common British tree species that he had produced himself which contained 60 species which was truly brilliant, and enabled easy identification of many of the species we came across. From what I understand everyone who came along enjoyed the day and went away with a good idea of how to identify quite a few common trees!

The predation of the coppice regrowth at Astonbury, presumably by Muntjac has been keeping me awake at night, so I decided to see if I could do something about it. We never managed to finish tidying up in the coppice compartment before the Bluebells were flowering in the spring so I knew there was a bit of material I could make use of, and with what would be quite a small task and no imminent work parties I thought I'd have a go by myself. I decided to go wider and taller with the coppice regrowth protection and took some inspiration from my recent visit to Bradfield Woods in Suffolk, using the branches upright rather than horizontally, essentially making a wigwam like structure around each coppice stool. I only managed to do this on four of the coppice stools that appeared most affected by the browsing, until I ran out of branches. It will be interesting to see if this is effective as I feel it would use less branches and less processing of the branches used. I thought it also had quite a fitting medieval look about it. There is a real abundance of Ash and Hornbeam regeneration all over the ground in the coppice compartment, which I hope will survive, as it'd be great if the compartment was of much greater density of coppice stools the next time it is cut in 10 - 15 years’ time. Hopefully in the near future we’ll be able to Deer fence the whole area!           I shared what little sun there was today while I was working with a Speckled wood, a Silver-washed fritillary and a Southern Hawker. I also watched a Grey wagtail for a short while, flitting around the pond as I was leaving the wood.

On the 20^th August I ran a scything workshop at Astonbury which I had two people sign up for and attend. We had dry weather and it wasn’t too hot, so just about perfect conditions for a few hours of scything. After the Obligatory health and safety briefing I talked the two volunteers through the basics of using a scythe and how to keep it sharp. Without delay we set off into the woodland and to the area I had planned to cut, which is the glade around the watercourse in compartment 3. The two volunteers got to work and both looked like naturals with a good rhythmic swing of the scythe through the nettles. The three of us progressed quickly, and after about an hour, had the majority of the area cut. The area closest to the path on the southern side of the watercourse is becoming dominated by Sedge, but further away from the path there is quite a lot of finer, grassy growth coming through. It's certainly looking better than when we previously cut it in November last year. After a short break we got back to work and finished the cutting, and finished by raking off all the cuttings which we piled up in the shade. I had intended to finish the workshop at 1pm, but was very grateful the two volunteers offered to stay an extra hour until the task was completed! There was agreement among us of the pleasantries of scything over brush cutting. Hopefully more areas of Astonbury can be brought back into a cutting rotation suitable for a scythe!

After all the rain we had during the spring followed by intense sunshine seemingly brought about by the Summer Solstice, the Hazel regeneration is looking good at Astonbury, and the paths had become rather overgrown. Lucky then that myself and Sam had 8 willing volunteers to lead through a day of path cutting at Astonbury. It was one of those summer days when staying in the shade was really the only feasible way of spending much time outside, fortunately in this instance Astonbury is currently virtually a closed canopy woodland, making the work for the day relatively comfortable. All went well, apart from late in the day when Sam came across a dead Buzzard beside the path. No signs of having been shot; accidentally poisened perhaps? It's not uncommon for rodents to be poisoned around farms, making seemingly nice easy pickings for our poor birds of prey.

A couple of days later I returned to carry out a survey of the Ash trees within falling distance of the bridleway along the eastern edge of Astonbury Wood which is a Medium Risk Zone, thus surveyed every second year, but due to the sometimes-rapid decline of Ash due to Ash Dieback, Ash trees are surveyed annually. One tree was identified that required fairly urgent work and another group that would likely require work more urgently by next year. Because of access and location, the trees will best be grouped together and the work carried out in one go.

In early July I received the results of a botanical survey at Astonbury that had been carried out over the spring. The completed survey looks great and includes 37 Ancient Woodland Indicator species! The following day I received the results of bat recordings taken at Astonbury between 26th April and 2nd May 2024. A fantastic total of six different species were recorded including Barbastelle. This information will really help with planning the future management.

The following week we were back for a work party with 10 volunteers. We had a tiny bit of path cutting to finish off along the main ride so I got a couple of willing volunteers to do that, while the rest of us tackled scrub and a large area of Nettles on enriched ground. One reason for the work was to open up a view of a Midland Hawthorn, which is a less common tree to find in Hertfordshire. The other was to cut and rake an extensive area of Nettles in the hope that a cycle of cutting and raking will make this area to become a more species rich glade. Only time can tell. A rather damp but very humid day, but none the less a perfect day to be in the woods in July!

Finally, why not book yourself a place on the Scything Workshop at Astonbury on the 20^th August or the evening bat walk on the 28th? You can find out more information here: https://www.hertswildlifetrust.org.uk/events/traditional-woodland-management-20aug24

https://www.hertswildlifetrust.org.uk/events/bat-walk-astonbury-wood-28aug24

I hadn't been to Astonbury for a couple of weeks due to a period of annual leave, followed by a catch up on admin work upon my return, and involvement in several work parties at other Trust reserves.

I received an email at the beginning of the month from Richard, our bird surveyor at Astonbury, saying he felt the access track at the northern end of the wood was becoming tight with growth from the hedges, and the footpath down into the wood was also closing up with vegetation. We were still about three weeks from our next work party and I had largely caught up on admin, but with no one else available I opted for a solo site visit. Upon arrival I was greeted with several Bee Orchids in flower in the old field centre car park and the sound of the first Cuckoo I'd heard in Hertfordshire this year! As I was lone working, I opted for hand tools, so did the cutting back largely with a scythe. Such a pleasant way to work! It was so refreshing to cut to the sounds of birdsong and without constant two-stroke fumes! After spending the morning cutting and raking the access track and footpath that leads into the wood past the old field centre, I carried out a bit of a site check.

Foxgloves were in flower, Hazel regrowth was coming through in the areas we had coppiced during the winter, and a lot of Small Teasel was coming up in the glades we are restoring. When I got down to the southern end though I was shocked to see how much Himalayan Balsam there was growing along the bank of the Stevenage Brook, and Giant Hogweed too! These are two non-native invasive species or INNS that outcompete our native flora. Unfortunately, this is an ongoing issue, with seed sources further up the Stevenage Brook. Luckily the River Beane Restoration Association are doing a great job on eradicating these, so hopefully we can clear the banks of the Brook adjacent to Astonbury in the near future. The Trust is also trialling an innovative biological approach to the problem of Himalayan Balsam and you can read more about that here: https://www.hertswildlifetrust.org.uk/news/tackling-himalayan-balsam-our-rivers-beautiful-enemy

We have a work party in the last week of June to cut back some of the paths around Astonbury, so hopefully by the time you’re reading this, you will have found it slightly easier to walk around!

If you would like to join one of our work parties at Astonbury Wood in future, please register your interest at https://hertswildlifetrust.formstack.com/forms/hmwt_volunteer_enquiry_form

Astonbury really came into bloom in the past couple of weeks and the woodland was full of flowers when I had a walk around with the old Astonbury Wood Management Group on the 25th April. It was great to learn from them about the management they had carried out in the past, and equally nice to hear how positive they were about the work the Trust has carried out over the past six months. We saw the glades we cut now filling with the blue flowers of Bugle and a lot of the locally scarce Small Teasel. We once again saw Orange-tip butterflies around their Garlic Mustard food plant, and we appropriately found ourselves surrounded by St Mark’s Flies, on St Mark’s Day.

On Sunday 28th of April we held a Bluebell walk at Astonbury. I was considering cancelling this walk on Sunday morning as it had rained all night, and was still raining heavily at 8am. I knew the woods were going to be very wet and slippery! I phoned a few of the people who had registered to gauge enthusiasm and the people I spoke to were nothing but enthusiastic! So, the walk went ahead. By the time we met at 9:30am the rain was much lighter and it actually stopped raining for the duration of the walk, with the sun, at times, poking through. There was a group of 11 of us in the end, with nine that didn't make it. I can't blame them as the weather and the forecast for the day were pretty awful. The Bluebells were past their best but there was plenty more to look at! I thoroughly enjoyed showing this very enthusiastic group around Astonbury with the help of Anna - Reserves Officer for Trust - as the back marker, and there were smiles all around! Only two members of the group had been to Astonbury before, so it was nice to be introducing the site to a new group of people. We finished at The Three Horseshoes pub for complementary teas and coffees, where it was great to see conversations about the visit to the wood continue among the group.

On Saturday 4^th May, 10 people made the early start for the Dawn Chorus Walk, which was led by Richard, Astonbury's volunteer bird surveyor. We first stopped by the Stevenage Brook at the southern entrance to the wood to listen for the Kingfisher that often flies up and down there, but no luck on the day. It was still twilight as we entered the wood with a Robin, Great Tit and Song Thrush calling. Next stop along the western path we heard Blackcap followed by Chiffchaff and a Green Woodpecker. Richard told the group he had seen one pair of Blackcaps looking to nest in the wood and three separate males singing. As we got away from the traffic noise - even at 5am! - we heard Wren, Mistle Thrush and Great Spotted Woodpecker. Again, Richard was able to tell the group he had seen three pairs of Wrens nesting in the wood. Arriving at the Hazel coppice clearing we were greeted with Nuthatch, and had Wren and Song Thrush always calling in the background. Back down to the southern end of the wood via the central ride, we finished with Goldcrest in the Thujas. A lovely early morning amble round the wood, with those who came expressing how nice it had been to learn some birdsong they could now recognise. Anna had been a great backmarker and stayed behind with me to take down the bat recorder and count Early Purple Orchids. We counted 69!

Finally, why not book yourself a place on the Summer Tree Identification Workshop we are holding at Astonbury on the 31^st July? You can find out more information here: www.hertswildlifetrust.org.uk/events/summer-tree-identification-workshop-31jul24