Last year has seen great progress within the wildlife area and other parts of the mill site, and we have some exciting plans for 2012.   Our aim as always is to actively encourage the wildlife. As far as possible, the grassy areas have been allowed to develop without much intervention and we have a mown circular path so that visitors can walk round and enjoy.

Last year we had a very dry spring and the wild flowers, including the ox-eye daisies, red campion and foxgloves that we had planted the previous year struggled a bit but of course, like all ‘weeds’ and wild plants they are very resilient and made it through the drought until the rains finally came in early Summer.  No likelihood of that happening this year with all the rain we’ve been having this Spring!

Several nest boxes and bug/bee housing were put up last year and we had at least one box that had signs of an old nest when we checked it in July and it also had a wonderful solitary bee’s nest inside it.  The bat boxes were checked in February this year but unfortunately no sign of bats although we found some mossy delicate little nests inside two of them which we think were either long-tailed tits or tree creepers. The feeders that we introduced last year are topped up every week throughout the year with mixed seeds,  peanuts and fat balls .

Small pieces of corrugated iron have been placed in different areas to encourage grass snakes.  So far, we have not seen any although a little colony of field voles have taken up residence and we often observe them when we lift them up, if we are very quick!  Also a few toads use them as well. Please make sure you don’t step on them when you walk around.

Throughout last year, regular recordings were made of the plants in the area which have been in flower. Over 40 species have so far been recorded. It is hoped to produce a monthly identification sheet for visitors from this.  Although frowned upon,  a few ragwort plants have been allowed to flourish and several cinnabar moth caterpillars have been observed feeding upon them.  A small area of nettles have been set aside to allow further lepidoptera to flourish.  Buckthorn saplings have recently been planted both in the wildlife area and near the workshop to encourage Brimstone butterflies, however, it will be a few years before these develop into largish  shrubs so the butterflies can lay their eggs.

The bank next to the stream has been cut several times to encourage ground growing plants to develop and in the autumn last year the whole area was cut to a height of 4 cm to allow plants to develop this year.

This year sees the wildlife area as becoming well-established and in order for it to continue to flourish, we have increased the number of bird boxes and insect homes and continue to record plants and to have a system where visitors can also make a contribution to what they observe. As well as this, there are other ideas and plans which are being discussed.

However, it must not be ignored that the rest of the site is also of importance to the wildlife. Two wildlife volunteers took garden chairs to the top of the mill in the Autumn last year and waited till dusk.  The wait was rewarded with the appearance of brown long-eared bats flying all around them, an amazing experience and they are beautiful little creatures.  Outside around the old barns the usual pipistrelle were located with our bat detectors and also noctules and we were able to recognise their unique sounds thus identify them, so the bat population is looking to be fairly stable.

On the mill pool there has been our annual cygnet development with the resident swans and it was lovely to see the whole family of five cygnets develop and grow once again.  We believe the female is at the moment sitting on eggs somewhere along the stream so hopefully we will blessed once again with a lovely brood of cygnets. Observations have also been made of moorhens, dabchicks, mallard and tufted ducks, heron and little egrets.  On several occasions the pond has been graced with a splash of turquoise blue and sunset orange – yes, the kingfisher!  There has been a usual sighting of small birds, wrens, several tit species, blackbirds, robins, grey and pied wagtails, dunnocks and thrushes to name but a few.  The large bird box in the top of the mill which we were hoping would entice the local barn owls was occupied by stock doves which  reared three broods last year alone.   This year it looks like the jackdaws have got there first!

We have recently installed a nest box with camera at the rear of the mill building in the hope that blue tits or great tits will move in and raise a family. Visitors will be able to view any happenings on a small tv situated in the second-hand books area. We will keep you updated if there is any interest in the box.  The swifts and house martins are starting to appear and flying backwards and forwards checking out their old nests at the rear of the mill – a lovely welcome return.

Remember, nature is all around us and in order to have a comprehensive record of what has been seen by volunteers and visitors alike should please be reported and logged.  There is a wildlife diary in the same area as the tv and visitors are encouraged to write down their sightings and observations. It will be a busy and eventful time for the wildlife at the mill this Springtime!