After April’s heavy rain it might have felt as if the mud and water on the reserve would never dry up, but recent summer droughts are very fresh memories. To prevent trees from sucking up moisture and shading out plants in rare habitats, the volunteer team has cleared more young trees from the bog nearest Chapel Lane and Lakeside. They have also used leaky dams to slow water flow across the bogs, encouraging water to slow down and keep the area moist for longer through the summer.

Six volunteers joined trainee warden Vanessa Lynn on an amphibian torchlight pond survey -  as Vanessa explains,

“Essentially we shine torches into the ponds to see what's there. The survey which covered a number of Hothfield’s ponds revealed 48 adult either smooth or palmate newts (Genus: Lissotriton). These are counted together since identifying smooth newts from palmates at a distance is tricky, as the females are almost identical from above. We found two male great crested newts, a protected species. There were 9 adult common frogs and a large clump of frogspawn in the 'dewpond' between the main reserve and the wet meadows. We also saw dragonfly larvae, diving beetles, and two water scorpions! it's so wonderful to see this thriving amphibian life at Hothfield. The data will be recorded and sent it off to Kent Reptile and Amphibian Group. Getting great crested newt records is especially good as these animals are endangered.”

Bird News

Snipe have been seen on the ground and linnets, buzzards, kestrels, overhead, The nightingale was heard very early this year, in early April.  We are well into the breeding season for birds. A robin built a nest at the back of the potting bench just inside my greenhouse and parents are now flitting in and out feeding their brood. Thirsty plants at the far end of the greenhouse are surviving on very sporadic watering just for now. On the reserve, the even smaller wren, Troglodytes troglodytes, a year-round resident, nests closer to the ground. The male wren will have built up to a dozen domed nests for the female to choose from, that’s even more than the whitethroat. The wrens nests are all well hidden in a bank, hole in a tree or crevice, in open ground or woodland The female lines the chosen nest with whatever soft materials she finds, incubates the eggs alone for around two weeks, and alone feeds the fledglings on moth larvae, for nearly three weeks, before starting a second brood. Wrens use their long thin slightly curved bill to probe crevices in banks and walls for spiders and fly and insect larvae. Wrens are heard almost all year round, a vibrant loud warble and final trill, or a hard tic-tic-tic call note, sung from a prominent perch or from a hidden position. The sweet clarity of the call, appearing from nowhere, lights up a grey winter’s day.

The Wrens grand latin name (Troglodytes troglodytes), means “cave dweller”, alluding to its furtive life among thick ground cover. Only the firecrest and goldcrest are smaller than this stocky little bundle of buff and brown feathers and cocked tail. They can easily freeze to death, so communal roosts of many birds crammed into an old nest or crevice help with survival in very hard winters. Come spring, males reclaim their territory and loud vocal duels ensue.

Margery Thomas

In order to help protect these vulnerable, disturbance-intolerant ground nesting bird species we will be asking that dogs be kept on leads and on the paths in the open areas of heath across Hothfield. This will enable our bird species to nest in peace away from the paths.  Dogs can still be off lead but under control in the wooded area around the edge of Hothfield Heathlands as tree nesting species are less sensitive to disturbance by dogs and people. With all of your help we can support these vulnerable and rare species to thrive again in our unique heathland habitat.

Will Glasson, Area Warden