Uncovering Wildlife at Boothby
July 2023, Boothby Wildland
With our mission to deliver nature recovery at Boothby Wildland, it’s been really important to understand what’s already here, how we can protect the native wildlife, and encourage it to expand on our land. Those local to the site may have seen an array of equipment and people monitoring the plants and animals over the last year. Everything from tiny tents that catch insects, audio monitors for identifying birds and bats, to people digging holes, sweeping nets and sampling the West Glen River.
Here’s a few highlights from what we’ve discovered so far!
Camera traps across the site have given us glimpses of fox, badgers, muntjac and fallow deer to name but a few – plus otters up and down the West Glen! It’s likely the otters are using the river to go between territories, but we’re investigating whether they have a holt (place of rest and sleep) along the bank.
Mysterious farmhouse doorstop pellets were revealed on camera traps not to be from an owl, as expected, but a kestrel using the porch as shelter!
Three barn owl chicks were raised in an owl box and local resident, Jake Mackman, was lucky enough to get some fabulous photos of a tawny owlet too.
Experts helping us restore some of the in-field ponds were excited by finding a plant listed as ‘vulnerable’ in the UK; we look forward to seeing how opposite-leaved pondweed (Groenlandia densa) spreads with time.
The field margins and meadows are especially rich in butterflies, with lots of varieties including small and large skippers, meadow browns and ringlets.
Two particularly exciting insect finds have been Roesel’s bush-crickets (a particularly large cricket with a striking yellow border) and the all-black form of ruderal bumblebee. Both species are at the northern edge of where they’re usually found in the UK.
We embraced #NoMowMay at Boothby Farmhouse and were delighted to reap the rewards – one spectacular bee orchid would have been enough, but we counted 50 in the garden, and a pyramid orchid too! It was a very encouraging sign to see what happens when you give nature some time and space, and we’re excited to see what this means across the rest of the site.
You can easily follow our progress in the coming months and years by signing up to our newsletter below.