Dactylorhiza in the Orchid Field
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Conservation Matters
Our Wildlife Nature Reserve The Gardens here at Dunge Valley, which were bought along with the house and have been in development since 1976, represent only a small part of our total land holding. In 1995, we were able to acquire the land that originally belonged to Dunge Farm making a total of nearly 120 acres or around 50 hectares. The great value of this land is its diversity. It runs from the high ground near Windgather Rocks at some 415m (1,360ft) down to 265m (870ft) nearly to the main valley river, Todd Brook, and incorporates pastures, meadows, scrub, woodland, streams, marshes and bogs. This provides a range of habitats for a wide variety of flora (plants) and fauna (animals). Our strategy for the land has been to protect and enhance the existing habitats, revert some of the pasture to a more natural state and, for the rest of the land, relieve the impact of farming (grazing and haymaking from the meadows) to encourage wildlife to return and flourish. We have begun to achieve this process by obtaining grants and assistance from government, environmental and conservation organisations such as Natural England, the Forestry Commission and the RSPB. The process of conservation has had to be balanced with our need to obtain an income from the land, which we achieve by renting it out to a local farmer, but with stipulations in place to manage the effects on the natural habitats and wildlife. It is important to keep in mind that the income from the Gardens enables us to enter our land into Natural England’s Environmental Stewardship Scheme, which offers grants for reducing grazing, ceasing fertilizer use and actively managing wildlife. We must emphasize that, although the huge 1,000+ acre farms make big money, the average hill farm of 150-200 acres only generates a living (with the help of subsidies), so conservation projects like ours are just not possible or financially viable for most landowners. Your input and donations as Garden visitors help to ensure that our conservation scheme can continue into the future. |
The Orchid Field
The BuzzardOverall we have seen a remarkable return of bird, animal and plant life to our land.
The beginning of the year, with the Curlew returning; the sound as they call overhead flying from their feeding ground to the wet meadows is wonderful in the still crisp air of a spring morning. Lapwings have also returned in good numbers and watching them cartwheel through the sky with their acrobatic display is a great sight. In the last few year Buzzards have been nesting in the valley. Their persecution by farmers thinking they were killing lambs and by gamekeepers raising Pheasant and Grouse was the main reason for their decline. They principally eat small rodents, but also take birds, reptiles, amphibians, larger insects and earthworms. Prey up to 500g is taken by active predation; anything heavier is usually carrion. Raptors (e.g. Hawks) have nearly always been present in the valley, but the increase in rough grassland, which encourages mice and voles, has allowed them to be much more successful and we see them hovering and scouring the ground searching for prey all year round. |
The FoxThere are also Foxes in the valley, but there is such a thing as a balance of wildlife. They tend to be controlled by the available food supply, so as the Rabbit numbers increase so do the numbers of Foxes. We have always had Badgers on the land and in the last ten years numbers have greatly increased throughout the valley. Unfortunately, they can have a detrimental effect on ground nesting birds, so we are seeking to try to fence out the main nesting areas with fine mesh but it will be a huge job. We often see Stoats and Weasels; again they tend to predate on mice and voles, but it’s an incredible sight to see a tiny weasel tackle a fully grown Rabbit and drag its body away. Mink which have also been seen in the valley infrequently, can have a detrimental affect on the Water Vole population. Our wildlife ponds are visited by a good range of ducks, coots and wildfowl, although the Canada Geese can be a problem as they can dominate the area to the detriment of smaller birds. |
The HareWhen we first moved here we often saw hares boxing in the fields opposite the house. Later when we heard hounds coming towards our property, we confronted the 'men' on horse-back and with the collaboration of all surrounding farmers we banned them from the area. The hare numbers have increased quite dramatically over the past few years.
When we acquired the land it had been massively overgrazed, but many of the rarer plants managed to hang on and return once grazing began to be managed. On the high land below Windgather Rocks, Bog Asphodel; Narthecium ossifragum thrives in the wet flushes and reed beds. Moonwort; Botrychium lunaria is also seen here. The worst haymaking fields we have, owing to the poor soil, are an absolute mass of orchids and wild flowers and illustrate only too well the dichotomy between farming and wildlife where grass production is the aim. We get huge pleasure in the summer wandering through a proliferation of flowers, which support a diverse range of butterflies and moths. Another unusual plant in these uplands is the Bay Willow; Salix pentandra whose shiny glossy leaves have the scent reminiscent of washing up liquid in the spring. |
A good crop of Primula veris (Cowslip) is establishing well in the Orchid Field (April 2017)