Crow Wood and Meadow reserve
is situated in the foothills of the Black Mountains.
The reserve lies on either side of the valley of the
Dolward Brook, which joins the Slough Brook at Slough
Bridge. The reserve consists mostly of ancient grassland,
but there are nearly 2 hectares of wood pasture and 0.2
hectares of coppice. The fast-moving Dolward Brook is
fed by a deeply-cut, seasonally-running tributary stream
with wooded margins that separates the two Slough meadows.
Old Red Sandstone rocks inter-bedded with cornstones
underly the reserve, from which the mainly neutral soils
in the area are derived. A tufa-forming stream, rising
from a spring in the north-east corner of Lower Crow
Wood Meadow, runs down the eastern edge of the reserve.
The grassland to the north of the Dolward Brook comprising
the two parts of Crow Wood Meadow has, despite its
name, always been managed as pasture. The presence
of Yellow Ant mounds, together with plants like the
curious Adder's Tongue Fern, Burnet Saxifrage, Cowslip
and Lady's Bedstraw indicate an ancient grassland history.
South of the main brook at the western edge of the
reserve lies Slough Meadow. Like Crow Wood Meadow,
this field has probably never been ploughed or "improved",
and has a rich flora typical of old grassland, including
Meadow Saxifrage, patches of Adder's Tongue Fern, Bluebell,
masses of Pignut, and some Lousewort growing near the
stream. The meadow has been managed for hay with aftermath
grazing. Also south of the brook lie Little Meadow
and Upper Slough Meadow, which were created in 1991
by planting a new hedge. The hedge follows the line
of a trench which formed part of an ambitious and innovative
irrigation system dating from the 16th century. Traces
of the waterworks can be seen elsewhere on the reserve.
Both Upper Slough Meadow and Little Meadow have suffered
in the past by being ploughed for potato growing.
When the Trust acquired the reserve in 1988, they
contained
a species-poor flora, dominated by grasses. Soon
after purchase, the Trust embarked on a meadow
restoration
programme for the two fields, with the aim of restoring
many of the meadow plants which had been lost. Work
began in 1989 in Little Meadow. Hay and some hand-collected
seed from nearby species-rich sites, Dulas Churchyard
and the Whitfield Estate, was spread over the plot.
Livestock were let back into the field for aftermath
grazing and to help trample the seeds into the soil.
Further plots were created in Little Meadow over
the next 3 years. In 1993 and 1994 restoration
was extended
into Upper Slough Meadow.
Over 10 years on, and the results of this 5 year restoration
are a resounding success, and a credit to the efforts
of all who took part in the programme. Both meadows
have flourishing populations of Yellow Rattle, Cowslip,
Wild Daffodil, Knapweed, Bird's Foot Trefoil, and Common
Spotted and Green-winged Orchid. Many of the Spotted
Orchids show characteristics of the closely-related
Heath Spotted species D. maculata and both are probably
present, together with hybrids between the two. Green-winged
Orchids have been a particular success story with over
200 flowering spikes appearing in 2003, and some plants
have now colonised neighbouring Slough Meadow. Restoration
has also benefited the invertebrate fauna of the grasslands,
and in summer the flower-rich meadows and adjoining
pastures support large numbers of bees, hoverflies,
grasshoppers, flower beetles, day-flying moths and
butterflies.
Crow Wood is an outlying part of the larger block
of ancient woodland to the west known as Lower House
Wood. The small piece of coppice on the northern fringe
of Upper Crow Wood Meadow is also part of this wood.
Crow Wood itself is now managed as wood pasture. Grazing
animals selectively eat out the more palatable and
faster growing tree species like Ash, Lime and Hawthorn,
thus favouring the growth of more resistant trees such
as Oak, Beech and Aspen. Crow Wood contains many fine
Oaks, as well as Small-leaved Lime, Wild Service and
Field Maple. The wood contains breeding Redstart and
Pied Flycatchers, while both Great Spotted and Green
Woodpeckers are commonly seen. In early spring the
floor of the wood is a colourful mosaic of Wood Anemones,
Bluebells and Primroses. The fast-flowing Dolward Brook is overhung by Alders,
Hazels, Field Maple and Crab-Apple trees. Ramsons,
Water Figwort and Opposite-leaved Golden Saxifrage
can be found along the shaded banks. The clear well-oxygenated
waters of the brook support a range of juvenile caddis
and mayfly stages, as well as small trout fry and Bullheads.
Otters occasionally hunt along the brook and leave
evidence of their passage in the form of droppings
(spraints) along the water's edge. Very occasionally
a Kingfisher or Dipper may be seen. |
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