News: October 2010
Autumn update
By Ellie Phillips
Moth monitoring
Adventurous volunteers at Cleeve Common have been donning their head torches to help us to find out more about the moths living on the hill. Moth trapping has taken place in various locations on the Common with help gratefully received from Robert Homan, a local expert who kindly lends his expertise (and moth trapping equipment!).
A couple of late-season attempts have really paid off - following some trapping in late August and September we are proud to announce that the highest number of species recorded in one night now stands at 21; smashing the previous record of 20! This is not bad at all - being rather blustery and exposed the Common is not particularly hospitable for moths, so we’re after quality and not quantity! The limestone grassland could provide habitat for some ‘specialist’ moths, which rely on certain plants to complete their lifecycle. There has historically been very little moth trapping on the Common, and so building up information about the species present is important to help us when making management decisions. Robert has also invested much time moth hunting for day-fliers on the Common, and some nationally scarce species have been found including the Lace Border, which feeds on thyme, and the Cistus Forester, which feeds on rock-rose.
Walks and wheels
Elsewhere on the Common we’ve had a busy summer, packed full of survey work and events. Highlights have included several walks lead by the Cotswold Wardens, a walk over the Common as part of the award winning Winchcombe Walking Festival, and a guided walk with the Disabled Ramblers, organised with the Cotswold Way National Trails team.
Cattle and sheep
Autumn is now well and truly with us and our work is changing accordingly. The big round-up has begun and almost all of the sheep are now back at their respective farms, leaving our Galloway cattle to get cracking in their winter grazing paddocks as part of our restoration program for the limestone grassland. The cattle do a fantastic job eating off the rough grass, leaving behind a mosaic effect in the sward. This allows the limestone flora, which begins to struggle to compete with the grass if grazing pressure is not sufficient, space and light to flower and set seed. This winter, the cattle will be grazing Padcombe Valley and some of the banks of Watery Bottom; keep an eye out for posters detailing the exact location of paddocks, and please ensure that your dog is under close control around all stock – we kindly ask that you are particularly vigilant whilst the last few sheep remain on the hill.
Gorse cutting
Now that the bird nesting season is safely over, winter scrub clearance has also begun and our rangers are working hard to battle through thick gorse which is well above head height! Whilst the gorse and hawthorn scrub is useful for nesting birds and invertebrates, its value is limited when it becomes so tall and leggy; in areas where this leggy gorse is at the expense of good quality grassland, we remove it to allow the area to revert back to grassland.
Grassland survey
This summer we were fortunate enough to have a team of volunteers to help us survey the grassland on the Common. The data they have collected has been fundamental to making decisions as to where to pen our cattle and where to clear scrub, helping us to achieve the right balance between scrub and grassland. A big thank you from the Board of Conservators to all involved!
Water pipe project
In addition to the invaluable data gathered by our volunteers, our winter work is being made much easier by the installation of piped mains water onto the Common. The project has been completed just in time for the winter, and our rangers can now water our cattle at the turn of a tap, without having to use a tractor and bowser. As the evenings draw in, this frees up valuable tractor time and our rangers can get much more scrub clearance work done. The project, funded entirely by Natural England through our Higher Level Stewardship agreement, has ensured that the grazing on the Common is sustainable in the long-term; dropping water tables have been of increasing concern over the past few years. The pipeline will mean that it is very rarely necessary to use a tractor on the Common during the nesting season for ground-nesting birds, and we look forward to the benefits of reduced disturbance next summer.