FLYCATCHERS GALORE! WILDLIFE SURVEY 2023

The annual wildlife survey at Redwood Valley never fails to throw up some surprises, and our continued efforts to maintain and enhance the habitat are reaping their rewards.

One issue that we have tried to address is the number of nestboxes taken over by blue and great tits before the rarer migrant visitors — the pied flycatchers and redstarts — can get a look in. So earlier this year six more nest boxes were put up, but it was decided to delay this until the end of April, by which time most tits would have already chosen their nest sites.

When we checked the boxes in late May we were astounded to find that four of the new boxes (including three with larger holes targeted at redstarts) were occupied by pied flycatchers, all with stunning baby blue eggs, including one brood that was in the process of hatching.

To have so many of these increasingly rare and exotic migrants (they winter in West Africa) here is a testament to the rich ancient woodland habitat. Moreover, with so many natural nest sites available, it was amazing to achieve such success with the boxes.

To our surprise, another new box had been taken over by a pair of nuthatches. The nest was made entirely of paper-thin layers of bark peeled from the nearby Scots pines, and arranged like petals on a rose. It is very rare for nuthatches to use a box — they would normally nest high up in totally inaccessible holes. The female sat tight as we snatched a quick photo. Another pair of nuthatches was later observed feeding young in a hole high above Seren yurt

Next year we plan to erect more boxes in this way, especially those designed for redstarts, so watch this space.

Whilst the great and blue tits use nestboxes willingly, coal tit nests are less easy to observe. However, this year we located two active nests — one in the bank of the brook, and another in a crack at the base of one of the ancient oaks.

Goldcrests were particularly abundant this year, and were spotted nesting high in the branches of the large conifers along the valley, including the giant redwood.

The sound of hungry babies led us to an elegant great spotted woodpecker nest hole high in a silver birch. It even had a bracket fungus doorstep and a tree bark porch awning. GSWs will sometimes predate the nests of other hole-nesting birds, but fortunately this pair appeared to be taking advantage of the abundant insect life in this rich woodland habitat, and the nestboxes remained undamaged.

Other bird species adding flashes of colour this spring were bullfinches and jays, whilst the usual birds of prey — red kites, buzzards and sparrowhawks — put in regular appearances.

Mammals are also a focus of our wildlife survey, and trail cameras/camera traps are a vital tool for this. The brook is a focus for all the animals here, with this year’s footage including a roe deer and her fawn that strolled along the brook past one of the cameras. Although we failed to pick up the otters this year, there has been much evidence of their visits — and all just yards from the two yurts and treetop cabin. The brook is teeming with life — lift up a stone and you might turn up a bullhead, native crayfish or perhaps a frog. This is what lures the otters up from the main river to forage for tasty snacks.

The wildlife pond has matured well and is action packed — it is a great place to watch damselflies and dragonflies, with broad-bodied chasers and emperor dragonflies among the species that visited and bred there this year.

With all this action at Redwood Valley, don’t forget to bring your binoculars, and to record what you see on the sightings board in the woodland kitchen.