Ashlawn Wildlife

The winter season can mean that wildlife is easier to spot by virtue of there being less vegetation coverage, A recent visitor to the cutting has been the water rail. This species was last seen around 10 years ago! It’s not rare but is typically very difficult to spot.

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Ashlawn Update

It has been several months since we reported on progress in the cutting. There has been a lot of work carried out, and plenty more still to do!

Here is a brief summary of tasks completed:

  • All required grass cutting and raking off completed
  • Maintenance and improvement to hedgerows
  • Cleared the site of the former encampment
  • Prepared the encampment site for scrub and grass regeneration
  • Coppiced a portion of willow in the marsh
  • Created an informal hedge barrier to the northern edge of the marsh by pushing over willow
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Full Steam Ahead for the Autumn Season

The Ashlawn volunteer group have been working for a few weeks on cutting and raking off of the path side verges and grassland sections. This will continue for many weeks to come! This is done to keep the nutrient levels lean, to encourage better growth of native wild flowers and grasses rather than an excess of scrub and rank vegetation.

There is a balance to strike, as some vegetation needs to be kept long to protect invertebrate life in its many forms through the winter.

The most recent work session was centred on the path down from Ashlawn Bridge car park and the verge at the base of that path. The gallery gives a flavour of the work being done.

An Interesting Find

While cutting the verge south of Ashlawn Bridge, a volunteer spotted an interesting spider. Initial evaluation suggests that it is a Wasp Spider. This finding is subject to confirmation by the British Arachnological Society.

Don’t be frightened, unless you are a male of the species!

Wasp Spider
Wasp Spider

Butterflies enjoying the warm weather

Over the last few weeks, a lot of our conservation effort has gone into removing non-native and invasive species. Some passers-by think we are destroying bluebells, but the only ones in Ashlawn are the non-native Spanish variety. If left unchecked, they would spread rapidly, to the detriment of more valuable native flowers. It is the native wild flowers and grasses that are of paramount importance to invertebrate life.

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It’s that time of year again!

Frogs were observed to be on the move into the wetlands of Ashlawn Cutting on Friday 17th February 2023. On the 23rd, around 50 clumps of spawn were present in the marsh south of the station platform. Hopefully, there is more to come here and in other suitable pools over the coming days.

During a work party on Thursday 2nd March, the spawning activity commenced in the southern end of Pytchley Marsh. A few pictures are shown here but you will need to zoom in to see the full detail!

Latterly, spawning activity has also commenced in Reservoir Pond which is very welcome news. The pond was restored during the summer drought and now has much more open water.

Restoring Reservoir Pond

We had a very prolonged dry spell in summer which was generally not good news for a nature reserve. However, it did give the volunteers an opportunity to restore Reservoir Pond while the water level went from low to virtually non-existent.

The pond is an important breeding site for the common frog. The pond had become severely choked by flag iris and reedmace. The resulting encroachment meant very limited open water for the frogs to mate and spawn.

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Ashlawn Grasslands Maintenance 2022

Grass cutting and raking off of the arisings has been on the go for the last two months. We have maintained a very good pace this season, with usually three brush cutters in action, with an energetic crew completing all the clearance. We expect to be finished by the end of November. The unimproved grasslands of the cutting are its core asset and deserve the full attention of the volunteer group.

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Rugby in Bloom Awards

Ashlawn Cutting was award a Gold and Overall Winner award in the Environmental category of Rugby in Bloom.

The awards presentation took place at the Benn Hall on Tuesday 8th November. The local volunteers attending the presentation received an an unexpected additional award. Our group was given a special award for outstanding contribution to Rugby in Bloom. In addition to a certificate, we also received an engraved glass trophy,

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