Autumn/Winter 2014

FORTHCOMING FRIENDS’ EVENTS
Saturday, 7th March 2015 - “Ashdown Forest through the lens”
2.30 p.m. in The Education Barn, Ashdown Forest Centre
A photographic presentation by the well-known local photographer, Dave Brooker, who has built
quite a reputation over the years for fine representations of Ashdown Forest and the surrounding area.
The afternoon will also include some advice and a practical photographic session.
Sunday 19th April 2015 - A Bird Walk on the Ashdown Forest
9.00 a.m. from a venue to be decided
Members of the Ashdown Forest Bird Group will lead us as they point out birds that can be seen and
heard that morning.
Sunday 7th June 2015 - A Field Walk in Pippingford Park
2.30 p.m. at Millbrook East car park
Another chance to see the wildlife, iron workings, pillow mounds and wartime earthworks in an area
not open to the public. Some rough walking so please bring stout footwear and suitable protective clothing.
Places are limited to 25 for this 3 hour walk. Please note this visit is subject to there being no
military activity that afternoon.
Thursday 2nd July 2015 - A Nightjar Walk
9.00 p.m. location to be decided
The Ashdown Forest Bird Group has again invited us to join them as they spot Nightjars on the Forest.
Please note the start of this walk will be decided in the days before the walk.
For further information and to book a place on any of the above events (£5 additional fee
for non-members or join on the day), please contact Pat Arnold on 01892 611414
or email [email protected].
DIARY DATES/EVENTS
10th November 2014 to 20th April 2015
David Higgs Photography “ Weald - Platinum Print Exhibition”
15th November 2014 to 21st December 2014
Ashdown Forest Woodturners – wonderful Christmas presents!
Every Wednesday Health Walks – see website for details.
Remember to check our website for details of special events planned
for the school holidays.
ISSUE NO 18
AUTUMN/WINTER 2014
il fe
ASHDOWN FOREST
Celebrating over 125 years of care for the Forest www.ashdownforest.org
Editorial: Paul Cooper, [email protected]
Design and production: Studio 4, [email protected]
Photography: Steve Alton, Dave Brooker ([email protected])
Hugh Clark, Paul Cooper, Mike Payne, Tom Simon, John Stanton.
Only printed on paper from sustainable forests.
All paper used is FSC Certified and produced only at mills
holding ISO 14001 certification.
We are grateful to Natural England for supporting Ashdown Forest Life.
FEELING “TWITCHY”
This site is part of the European Natura 2000 Network. It has been designated
because it hosts some of Europe’s most threatened species and habitats. All 27
countries of the EU are working together through the Natura 2000 Network to
safeguard Europe's rich and diverse natural heritage for the benefit of all.
See www.natura.org.
COUNTRYSIDE TEAM
FOREST BIRD REPORT
“LYING FALLOW”
NEWS
THE CONSERVATORS OF ASHDOWN FOREST
Follow news on the Forest via Facebook and Twitter!
Ashdown Forest Centre, Wych Cross, Forest Row, East Sussex RH18 5JP
T: 01342 823583 E: [email protected]
www.ashdownforest.org
DIARY DATES
Cover - Autumnal Forest cloudscapes
Welcome...
…to Ashley Payne who joined the Countryside Team in June, bringing us
up to full complement for the first time in well over a year – Ashley has
settled in really well, and together with Tom and Colin have made a big
difference to our work programme.
It was a sad day however, when we said goodbye to Tracy Buxton who has been Forest
Centre Administrator for the last seven years. During her time here, Tracy put in place
new and efficient administration processes, grasped the world of web sites and social
media and provided the focal point for our volunteer support, particularly with regard
to the Information Barn. Tracy will be greatly missed by us all – staff, volunteers and the Board –
and we wish her well with her move ‘back up North’.
I am very pleased to report that, with generous funding from the Friends, we have now commenced our very
own two year Education Project. In brief, we will be looking to work with a number of local primary schools
to offer Ashdown Forest specific,
• Termly teacher twilight sessions focusing on different aspects of the curriculum
• Individually tailored school visits to the Ashdown Forest Centre
• Information packs about the site
Thanks go to the Sussex Wildlife Trust for their past support and with whom we have had a long standing
education arrangement. Now is the time however for us to provide our own programme, in order to continue
to inform and educate children, young people and schools, about the unique environment on their doorstep.
The other exciting news is that, with solar panels having been installed on the Tractor Shed roof, we have,
from the beginning of October, been generating our own electricity as part of the Forest Centre updating
programme – now we just need the sun to shine!
Pat Buesnel, Director [email protected]
Farewell to Tracy
Visit of Lord –
Lieutenant of East Sussex
We were delighted to welcome Peter Field,
Lord-Lieutenant of East Sussex, and his
wife Margaret to the Forest Centre on
a beautiful day in late September.
Following a quick tour of the site and meeting
staff, they visited the Information Barn under
the watchful eye of volunteer Debs, watched
‘The Threatened Wildlife of Ashdown Forest’ film,
complete with a presentation by Steve
(Conservation Officer) and were then taken by
Pat and Roy Galley on a guided drive around the
Forest. Following the visit, Peter wrote:
‘We had no idea what an extensive and
valuable asset the Forest is within our
community and it was so lovely to meet
your staff who are obviously a really
dedicated team. I will be posting a report
on our website and Facebook and will
encourage visitors to help by
joining the Friends.’
I rushed over and there it was sitting on the glass of the Barn entrance.
Aided by Office Administrator Tracy and an old plum stone, his majesty
was coaxed on to her hand, where he posed for several photos. He was
then carried reverently outside and placed on an oak leaf.
Feeling “twitchy”
I always feel I should treat all species equally because, the way we are abusing this
planet, today’s common species could well be tomorrow’s rarity. But there is
something about the rare that is undeniably appealing.
So I try to justify my “twitcher” tendencies
by telling myself that a rare species is
often a sign of good habitat, evidence
that we are doing something right in our
management of the Forest. So the arrival
of a Short-toed eagle earlier this year was
a cause for some celebration, though not
without its problems.
This was only the third recorded sighting
for the UK and the first time the bird had been seen on
the mainland (the previous records were from Jersey
and the Scillies). The juvenile eagle, with a wingspan
approaching two metres, lost its way and ended up in
Dorset, then Hampshire. After causing a great deal of
excitement there, it turned up on the Forest, where it
proceeded to stay for a couple of weeks, sometimes
disappearing for a few days but regularly returning.
Normally found around the Mediterranean, where it
migrates from sub-Saharan Africa, the Short-toed
So, why all the fuss?
eagle feeds on snakes, hunting over open ground and
hovering like a huge kestrel. So the fact that it was
happy to spend time on the Forest, dining on our
adders and grass snakes, suggests that we are
providing a healthy habitat for reptiles. Whilst the
eagle was here we were inundated with bird watchers
from all over the UK, which caused a degree of
disturbance and inconvenience, but they soon
departed after their quarry left, hopefully to
return to its traditional hunting grounds.
Well, books and websites have been devoted to the Purple Emperor.
It is neither the biggest nor the most rare native butterfly but it has a
kind of mystique about it. Some of this is due to its elusive habits;
the adults frequent the highest branches of, usually, oak trees, only
coming down to the ground to drink or suck minerals from, of all
things, animal droppings. Then there is the colour.
Both sexes appear similar from a distance; a
dark brown upper surface to the wings relieved
by white flashes. But when the light catches the
male at the right angle, the reason for the
common name becomes apparent; a glorious
iridescent sheen unlike the colouring of any
other native species.
My “twitching” tendencies really came to the fore,
however, in the case of another Forest rarity. I had
been told by one of our Rangers that a Purple Emperor
butterfly had been seen around the Centre. As I had
always wanted to see this species, I was thrown into
a state of high alert.
I was lucky enough to see Emperors twice more
over the summer, but nothing can compare with
that special, first close encounter.
One day, I was told by our Caretaker, John, that there
was a ‘big black butterfly’ in the Education Barn.
Steve Alton, Conservation Officer
Short-toed eagle
Purple Emperor
Inset top: Pale Tussock Moth caterpiller
bottom: Wood for the boiler
News from the Countryside Team
Heading into Autumn and the air is starting to have that chill and,
with the evenings drawing in, we are seeing some pretty
dramatic views and ‘cloudscapes’.
We are also enjoying some of the wildlife that comes with this
time of year and one of the most spectacular Autumnal finds is the
caterpillar of the Pale Tussock Moth. This one was found dangling
from one of our vehicles but it was promptly re-homed on a
Silver Birch. If you come across one, remember not to touch
it with bare hands! Those hairs will sting!
The autumn bird migration is well underway and that means there
is a possibility of sighting rare species such as the two Ring Ouzels
found by the Old Airstrip, feeding on the Whitebeam berries.
We have now also arrived at the time to light the boiler that heats
the Visitor Centre and offices. We will load it twice a day, every
day, from now until we get back into warm weather again.
This will be my first full winter on the Forest and I am looking
forward to completing my first full year!
Tom Simon, Countryside Worker.
Inset top: Dartford Warbler
bottom: Nightjar
Ashdown Forest Bird Report
After what seemed like total extinction, Dartford
Warblers have returned to the Forest with 10 birds
reported so far this year. Their numbers were
decimated by the prolonged bad winters we had
between 2010 and 2013. In 2012 there were no
reports at all and in 2013 there was a single
unconfirmed report. It was very pleasing when
the first reports came in this year that a pair
was nest building and finally raised young.
Woodlark have increased this year with 159 recorded
(not necessarily different birds), a high of 12 seen
around Friends’ Clump. Numbers have been steadily
increasing despite bad winters, as the birds tend to
leave the Forest between December and February,
returning to breed in mid to late February.
The Turtle Dove is a species that is in decline
internationally. On the Forest this year there
has been no confirmed nesting but 11
individual males were heard singing
through spring and summer.
A speciality species of heathland is the
Nightjar, a secretive and highly camouflaged
bird. This is a species that is quite difficult to confirm
in terms of numbers or breeding. In fact, as these
birds are only really active between dusk and dawn,
even seeing them is hard. The first male heard singing
was on 15th May and the last record was on 31st
July, which just shows how little time they spend here.
Numbers were significantly down this year with only
82 recorded as opposed to 191 in 2013. Gills Lap
area still seems to hold the most and this is a good
place to look next year.
Keep an eye out for Ravens. These majestic corvids
have been increasing in numbers on the Forest as they
continue to breed along the south coast. Identified by
their “diamond” shaped tail and distinctive “cronk”
or “gronc” call, they are much bigger than Crows or
Rooks, looking more like a Buzzard.
Looking ahead, winter visitors have already started
to arrive as the first Redwings were reported in the
second week of October. Flocks of Mistle Thrush,
Pied Wagtail and Meadow Pipit have been moving
back onto the Forest since mid-September.
Peter Johnson
Laying fallow
Fallow deer are beautiful creatures but remember, they are prey animals
meaning that their biology and behaviour is geared to producing an excess
of population each year to account for natural mortality and,
in the absence of predators, deer populations usually grow.
This has certainly been the case with fallow deer in
and around the Ashdown Forest. The Forest has had
a long association with deer, being first enclosed as
a royal hunting park in the thirteenth century. The
“pale” fence enclosed an area of over 5000 hectares
within which red and fallow deer were hunted. Over
the centuries, the red deer disappeared and, at the
end of the 17th century, when the pale was no
longer maintained, so had the fallow.
Since then the fallow have returned, initially
maintained at relatively low numbers by culling,
until the last 30 years or so, during which numbers
increased dramatically. Until now the Forest
Conservators have been content to leave the
management of the deer to adjacent landowners,
allowing the Forest to “lay fallow” as it were,
with no intervention.
Unfortunately, beautiful as they are, the consequence
of high Fallow numbers has been somewhat negative.
By 2009 the Forest Rangers were recording nearly one
deer per day killed or injured on the local roads. These
were just those that were reported and as well as the
obvious welfare issue, deer vehicle collisions (DVCs)
have damaged vehicles and injured or killed people.
Due largely to overcrowding, the condition of the deer
has been very poor in some areas, with average
adult body weights being only two thirds of
what they should be.
The fallow have also been a cause of concern to
livestock farmers who were finding that there was
little or nothing left for their stock in the Spring and
local residents have found that deer in gardens can
be a real nuisance.
In 2006 the Ashdown Area Deer Forum (AADF) was
set up to provide a forum on deer in the area with the
objectives of reducing the number of DVCs and ensuring
the welfare of a healthy, local deer population.
The AADF has succeeded in;
• improving deer warning signage on Forest roads
• with support from ESCC and Sussex Police,
establishing a volunteer Deer Warden Scheme
to deal with injured deer at roadside
• establishing a deer management group to raise
awareness and support landowners / managers.
The deer are known to have caused significant impact
to woodland ground and shrub layers, at best holding
back growth and at worst preventing it entirely. Deer
have very selective eating habits, do not always eat
the right things and can actually damage the heath.
Domestic livestock do a much better job and can be
moved around, resting the heath as required.
On the private land immediately adjacent to the Forest
landowners have increased their culls since 2009 /10.
This has been co-ordinated through the deer
management group and has already resulted in
a significant drop in DVCs, as well as signs that
woodland flora and grazing may be recovering and
an improvement in the condition of the deer. Recently
the Conservators have decided to carry out a trial cull
on the Forest to support the efforts of the deer
management group. The decision is based on
evidence gleaned over the last few years and the
result will be carefully monitored.
You are unlikely to notice culling in progress since the
numbers of deer to be culled are limited. Only one
trained person, with an intimate knowledge of the
Forest, will be culling. They will carry identification
and will be happy to explain what they are doing,
as will any of the Rangers. There is no danger to the
Public and you can continue to use the Forest
according to its byelaws, as you have always done.
Ultimately the deer will still grace the Forest, albeit in
more manageable numbers, their health and welfare
will be assured, Forest habitats will breathe a sigh of
relief that the grazing pressure is less and the risk of
DVCs will have been reduced.
Fallow deer
Vachery guided walk
A sheep-proofing dog training exercise
National Garden Scheme (NGS)
Every Dog Matters
Led by Ranger Mike Payne and supported by our volunteers, we hosted two very
successful guided walks at the Vachery Gardens as part of the NGS 2014 Open Gardens.
Between April and October there have been 79
reported dog related incidents and, over the
summer months, an increase in the number
of incidents leading to attacks and fatalities
of sheep as a result of dogs being allowed
to run loose on the Forest.
Here are a couple of the positive comments we received:
‘Thank you for a wonderful guided walk today. Mike Payne was informative
and knowledgeable about the Forest. The volunteers were a very merry band
who made sure everyone was comfortable and catered for.’
‘VERY much enjoyed the guided walk today. Thank you. The Ranger and
volunteers were all so friendly and informative.’
We will give next year a miss but will be working hard on further restoration
works in time for 2016.
Volunteers BBQ
Our legendary annual Summer BBQ was held as a ‘thank you’ to all the volunteers
who support us in so many ways and without whom we would find it impossible to
manage all we do. This year we enjoyed a lovely summer's evening with a
Wild West theme!
As reported in the last issue, we continue to work on an
Ashdown Forest Code of Conduct for Dog Owners. Our second
Dog Owners/Walkers Forum was held in October to discuss the
draft Code and on-going discussions with
Wealden District Council with regard to
funding. We hope to be able to update you
fully in the next edition as to progress
of the programme.
To keep the “Every Dog Matters” momentum
going, we held two days of ‘Sheep Proofing
Your Dog’ training – 30 owners and dogs a
ttended and with the very positive feedback
received, we intend to repeat the
programme next year.