New corridor in Churchland Wood

In Churchland Wood, Sedlescombe (TQ783189 - centroid) a corridor has been cut underneath the electricity transmission lines to stop vegetation from fouling the overhead wires.  This ancient woodland is rich in wildlife and I am minded to make this new corridor and its surroundings my wildlife project for the year, especially as it is only a very short distance from the end of our garden. It will also be easy to undertake some fixed point photography to show the changes as the vegetation returns.

Above - February 2017

I have know this ancient wood for over half my life and it has many treasures including dormice, badgers, fallow and roe deer.  The tree cutters have chipped the brushwood and left heaps on the ground, heaps that might prove interesting in their own right.  Yesterday, 13tth February, I saw a butterfly, a peacock I think, though it would not stay still.  The temperature was only around 9 degrees C, so it was surprising to see it but I hope a good omen.

On 23 February I found a photo of virtually the same scene taken in 2012, when the corridor was last cleared (see below).  The main difference seems to be that the brushwood was not chipped.

10 March 2017.  The power company's woodman started to make this central ride much wider and (see post dated 11th March) are taking special precautions to protect and conserve the local dormouse population.