Wildlife and nature at Bore Place

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Thanks to funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and the support of volunteers, we have identified and are monitoring six indicator species across the Bore Place estate and neighbouring countryside: earthworms, dragonflies/damselflies, common blue butterflies, skylarks, reptiles, and dormice. By identifying and monitoring species, we hope to find better ways to ensure that the estate is managed in the best possible way to encourage wildlife whilst also improving the quality of the soil.

Find out more about our indicator species below:

Earthworms

Earthworms play a vital role in keeping our soils healthy. By breaking down organic matter and creating channels through the soil, they help improve soil structure, nutrient cycling, drainage and water retention. Monitoring earthworm numbers and diversity gives us valuable insight into the health of our soils and how they respond to different farming and land management practices. At Bore Place, this helps us understand the impact of our regenerative approaches and track progress towards creating healthier, more resilient soils that support both food production and biodiversity.

Common Blue Butterflies

The Common Blue butterfly is a useful indicator of the health of our grasslands and the biodiversity they support. Its caterpillars depend on plants such as bird's-foot trefoil, while adults feed on nectar from a range of wildflowers. By monitoring their numbers over time, we can better understand how our grassland management is affecting habitats and wildlife. Changes in butterfly populations can help us assess the impact of our farming and conservation practices, guiding our efforts to create a healthier, more diverse and resilient landscape at Bore Place.

Dragonflies and Damselflies

Dragonflies and damselflies are important indicators of the health of our ponds, wetlands and other freshwater habitats. They spend much of their lives underwater as larvae, so their presence and diversity can tell us a great deal about water quality and the condition of the surrounding environment. By monitoring the different species found at Bore Place, we can track changes in biodiversity and better understand how our land and water management practices are affecting these habitats. This helps guide our efforts to improve freshwater ecosystems and create a landscape where wildlife can thrive.

Skylarks

Skylarks are a wonderful indicator of the health of our farmland and grassland habitats. Known for their distinctive song, these increasingly threatened birds nest on the ground and depend on open landscapes with suitable vegetation and plenty of insects and seeds. Their numbers have declined dramatically across the UK, partly due to changes in farming practices, including the cutting of fields during the nesting season. At Bore Place, our team of rangers checks fields for nesting birds before any cutting takes place, helping to protect skylarks and other ground-nesting species. By monitoring skylark populations, we can better understand how our land management is supporting farmland wildlife and identify ways to improve their habitats. It's all part of our ambition to create a productive, nature-rich landscape where farming and wildlife can thrive together.

Dormice

Dormice are one of Britain's most threatened mammals, with populations declining significantly due to habitat loss and the fragmentation of woodlands and hedgerows. These elusive little creatures spend much of their lives in trees and shrubs, relying on well-connected habitats that provide food, shelter and safe places to breed.

At Bore Place, we've been monitoring dormice for many years, alongside the careful management of our woodlands and hedgerows.This provides valuable insights into how dormice populations are changing and how our woodland management supports them. By maintaining healthy, diverse habitats and improving connections between woodlands and hedgerows, we hope to create the conditions in which dormice and other woodland species can thrive.

Reptiles

Reptiles are valuable indicators of the health and diversity of our landscape. Species such as grass snakes rely on a variety of habitats, including grasslands, hedgerows, woodland edges and wetlands, for food, shelter and breeding. Their presence can tell us a great deal about the quality and connectivity of these habitats, as well as the wider biodiversity they support. By monitoring reptile populations at Bore Place, we can better understand how our land management practices are affecting wildlife and identify opportunities to improve habitats. Tracking changes over time helps us assess the impact of our conservation efforts and work towards creating a healthier, more connected and resilient landscape.

What to look out for on a visit to Bore Place throughout the year

Click on a season below to find out more:

Spring

Flowers

The meadow behind Bore Place House has our greatest diversity of wildflowers during the spring.
Look out for yellow rattle, bugle, bird’s-foot trefoil, meadow buttercup, clover, vetch, and stitchwort.
These flowers all provide a vital food source and habitat for invertebrates, so please don’t pick or trample on them.

Cuckoo

The cuckoo is a grey bird with dark grey and white bars across its chest and underwing.
They are a similar size to a dove and have long tails and pointed wings.
Cuckoos migrate to the UK from Africa during the spring and early summer.
You will be able to tell when they have arrived by the distinctive call of the male cuckoo as he searches for a female mate.
This call can be heard across Bore Place from around April-June.
If you want to catch a glimpse of a cuckoo, you can look for them along our woodland edges.

Newts

Newts are amphibians, meaning they spend time both in and out of water.
At Bore Place, we have three species of newt – Smooth Newts, Palmate Newts and Great Crested Newts.
Adult newts can be found in our ponds during the spring and summer.
During this time, they will mate and lay their eggs on pond plants.

Summer

Butterflies

A number of different butterfly species can be found at Bore Place during the summer.
Some of our most frequently spotted species include meadow browns, gatekeepers, small whites, and red admirals.
Different butterfly species will be found around different habitats at Bore Place.
Meadow browns could be found in our grasslands, whereas silver-washed fritillaries might be found in our woodlands, and large whites are most likely to be seen in our market garden.

Bees

We also keep several beehives at Bore Place, so you are likely to see plenty of honeybees buzzing around our meadows, gardens and grassland.

Bats

The bat species we have recorded at Bore Place are common pipistrelles, soprano pipistrelles, brown long-eared, and noctule bats, as well as myotis bats.
These bats are known to be roosting in most of the buildings around the site at Bore Place, and it is also likely that they are roosting in trees across our land.
Bats are most active during the summer.
Around dawn and dusk, bats can be seen foraging for insects around the buildings at Bore Place.

Autumn

Reptiles

At Bore Place, we have found grass snakes and slow worms around our site.
We also have previous records of common lizards and adders.
You are most likely to see reptiles along hedgerows or woodland edges as they bask in the sun.
We have over 200 bitumen felt reptile mats that we use to monitor reptile populations around the site at Bore Place, as reptiles sometimes warm up underneath them.
If you come across these mats, please could you avoid lifting them up, as this can disturb any reptiles using them.

Badgers

Badgers are nocturnal, so are most likely to be seen at night if you go for an evening walk along our trails, you might spot them dashing between hedgerows on site.

Winter

Lots of our wildlife will be hibernating and less easily spotted over the winter but keep your eye out for wintering birds such as grey herons and kestrels.
Now is a lovely time to look at identifying trees from their bark and buds, which can be very distinctive. These can help you find species again in the sea of green when it is summer.

Wildlife and Nature

Find out more about our indicator species below:

Earthworms

Common Blue Butterflies

Dragonflies and Damselflies

Skylarks

Dormice

Reptiles