Wild Woodbury project records 1,300 species on site in just a year
The land at Bere Regis has been allowed to naturally regenerate
A year into Dorset Wildlife Trust's Wild Woodbury rewilding project at Bere Regis, surveys have recorded an uplift in the biodiversity and abundance of species moving onto the site.
Over the last year, the land has been allowed to naturally regenerate which has increased the biodiversity and abundance of wildlife.
Staff and volunteers have recorded over 1300 species in this summer's surveys and eight Red List birds of conservation concern have been confirmed to be breeding at Wild Woodbury.
A dry spring coupled with the increase of invertebrates attracted by the fast-emerging pollinators in the former arable fields has led to a very positive breeding season for birds.
A rising number of juvenile birds has been spotted across the site including cuckoo, whinchat and nightjar.
Skylarks have gone from two singing males last year to 18 in 2022; 28 yellowhammers have been recorded (no data for 2021); No tree pipits were recorded in 2021 but a breeding pair has been sighted raising juveniles this year.
All three are on the Red List Birds of Conservation Concern, compiled by a coalition of the UK’s leading bird conservation and monitoring organisations including RSPB and the British Trust for Ornithology.
Red List birds are classified as an endangered species facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
Butterfly transects have tracked 200+ meadow brown butterflies as well as silver-washed fritillary and newly-hatched painted lady on the wing.
The hot weather in July and August increased moth activity too, with traps holding hundreds of individuals and attracting some rarer species such as dingy mocha.
In just a few sessions, invertebrate specialists have amassed over 300 species of beetles, bugs and spiders, some of which only have a handful of previous records in Dorset.
Large clumps of the nationally scarce flora, lesser quaking grass have appeared which offers an excellent food source for many finches including goldfinch, linnet and yellowhammer.
Narrow-leaved lungwort, red hemp nettle and three species of orchid are present on the site including southern marsh orchid, as are small populations of cobalt crust fungi.
Wilder Dorset Project Manager, Rob Farrington said:
"The aim of rewilding Wild Woodbury is to build an exemplar for sustainable land use to tackle the climate and ecological crises - letting nature take the lead as much as possible and the restoration of natural processes on the site should provide the right conditions for many species to return in greater numbers over the coming years.
"Restoring a landscape and making space for nature on this scale takes time of course, but it is extraordinary to see all that has been achieved in just one year and to witness the abundance of wildlife which has made its home at Wild Woodbury.
"Our plans for the next year include re-naturalising the River Sherford to allow it to occupy a more natural course across the land, reducing the nutrient load carried into Poole Harbour and creating wetland habitat for wildlife whilst locking up carbon in wetter soils, introducing mixed grazing on the land and opening up 35 acres of the site for local people to use."