December 2014 - Friends of Bourne Woods

The Friends held their first winter bird walk in the snow on the Saturday between Christmas and New Year, led by Vaughan Roberts. As always a walk in the snow in the woods is quite magical.

We started in the car park looking at one of the bird tables with the feeders which are filled regularly by a team of volunteers from the Friends. A brightly coloured Jay was enjoying the nuts, as were Marsh Tits and Great Tits, and a Blackbird kept nipping in for some seed. While in the car park a Treecreeper disappeared behind a tree before flying off. We saw our Christmas Robin all fluffed up in a bush just before setting off.

While walking around some of the less used rides we came across a charm of Goldfinches in the top of a tree and whilst watching those, a herd of deer galloped past, including one of the white ones. We passed a second bird table on our way back which had a Nuthatch feeding from it and a Greater Spotted Woodpecker in a nearby tree. Of course we also saw regulars such as Woodpigeon, Crows, Magpies and Blue Tits.

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Photographs by Jennifer Roberts

Part tree, part artwork, our living willow sculpture received a welcome maintenance session this week. Originally called ‘Shelter Skelter’, the sculpture was created by landscape artist Clare Wilks and has provided interest to visitors for more than twenty years.

Most of the long rods formed over the last 12 months were removed and replanted to create new sculptural borders or ‘fedging’ – the term used to describe living willow borders (literally a cross between ‘hedge’ and ‘fencing’). The once-lost central section was replanted too with the aim of recreating the original inner circle.

Flexible willow rods easily take root and can produce fresh leaf growth as early as late spring. Take a look yourself; aim east and north from the car park and you’ll find the sculpture situated on the side of the main path just past Diana’s Glade.

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