January
• Hedges
can start to be prepared for laying. The last of the food provided by hedges
will have been spoiled in the frosts and the sap will lie dormant in the trees.
• End of the pheasant and duck season. Beaters shoot and ‘catch
up’
February
• The
coppice coupes, which reach rotation this year, are harvested, and the exposed
stools, waiting to produce the vigorous tasty young shoots, so favoured by
deer, are protected. Strong straight poles are retained for hedging stakes,
long wispy ones for hurdles or heathering.
• Gamekeepers can prepare to install a feeder in these newly opened
areas, or display boards can be erected to tell people about the management,
and visitors they may find in the wood.
March
• Course
fishing season ends on the rivers to allow fish to breed and therefore habitat
work will end also to minimise disturbance.
• Birds will begin looking for suitable nesting sites and the sap will
begin rising in the trees. Therefore all work in woodlands and hedgerows halts
now till the next autumn.
• Construction can begin on new ponds and this work can continue until
the end of June. By which time the ground will be too hard and amphibians
will be looking for standing water for breeding
April
• If the
grassland being managed is a summer meadow, then it will be cut once during
this month or sympathetically grazed for a short period.
• Stocking of new and existing ponds can begin. If the stock is brought
in from another area, make sure the roots are thoroughly washed before planting
to reduce the risk of Canadian pondweed etc being introduced.
May
• Check any
winter tree plantings for signs of failure/disease and remove any competing
vegetation regularly between now and autumn.
• During a newly created meadows 1st year, a cut and removal regime
will be implemented now, and continued through till September.
June
• Maintain
the woodland equipment ready for the autumn. Sharpen billhooks, service chainsaws
and replace or sharpen blunt saws.
• The hazel removed from the woodland needs to be used before it starts
to dry and becomes less flexible for use in hurdles or hide screens.
July
• Course fishing season begins. Great timing as this is the best time
to sit back and enjoy the benefits of your labours for nature.
• Time to buy in the poults at 7-8 weeks old and 1 day old ducklings,
adding to those already hatched by the gamekeeper.
August
• Cut
and clear areas of invasive annuals, such as Japanese knotweed, before they
set seed.
• Now the spring meadows have flowered and set seed, they should be
cut with the clippings removed. These can be spread over other areas and any
caught seed will drop and hopefully germinate. Alternatively the area can
be grazed by sheep or cattle.
September
• Duck season begins Pheasant season begins. A busy time for game keepers
and students, ensuring the birds remain in good, healthy condition for the
shoots.
• Start to collect flower and tree seed (seeking permission where necessary).
Dry days are better for this task, as, if stored when damp, the seeds will
rot.
October
• Pond
restoration or management can begin at this time while ponds are more dormant
and the water level remains quite low. Never remove more than a 1/3 of the
vegetation from the pond in any one-year. What you do pull, place on the edge
for a time before removal, to allow any aquatic life to re enter the pond.
November
• Good
time to plant hedges, shelter bets and single specimen trees. There should
be enough rain at this time of year to sustain the plant but not too much
as to waterlog the soil and roots. It will also give the plants a chance to
get over the shock before the frosts arrive.
December
• Prune the apple trees in the old orchard, after the apples have been
harvested, or left for the wildlife at Lackham
