Champagne and forests

With my wine supplies and the Euro both at low levels it was time for a quick trip across to France to visit the Champagne region and beyond. Cruising along a French motorway is not the best way to build a good bird list.  A couple of White Storks heading north were the highlight in a rather barren landscape.  The countryside was one of huge open arable fields with little or no rough ground or weedy corners.  The cleaned and manicured environment appeared to have little space for birdlife other than pigeons and crows.  Into the champagne region, the vineyards above the arable land supported a few Woodlarks and Stonechats, whilst Serin and Black Redstart were a feature of the villages. Even birds of prey seemed very scarce; a few Buzzards, a Hen Harrier and a handful of Black Kites on the move.

The exception to this general impoverishment seemed to be the woodlands.  They were full of birds; several species of woodpeckers including Black and Middle-spotted, lots of Nuthatches, Short-toed Treecreepers, Hawfinch, Firecrests, Marsh and Willow Tits.  The ground flora was also rich; the abundant Wood Anemone and Cowslip seemed to be 2-3 weeks ahead of the UK.

Why should this be so different to my local woods where all the woodland specialities have dwindled to zero in recent times?  One obvious difference is that all French woodlands seem to be managed.  Stacks of fire wood are a ubiquitous feature both in the forest and throughout every village.  The French forest management is based on high forest of native species, with long rotations, small-scale felling and mixed age structures, in contrast to the UK forestry obsession with plantations of non-native conifers that damaged so much of our ancient woodland.  The French reliance on natural regeneration from ‘mother trees’ promotes a diverse woodland structure from saplings through to tall mature trees.  The woodlands also seemed to be wet; lacking the network of drainage ditches so obvious in many UK woodlands.

Although deer are present, they do not seem to be in large numbers, nor do the woodlands show any obvious browse effects.  Wild Boar are also obvious, or at least evidence of their foraging are everywhere.  The rooting activities of Boar are claimed to be beneficial for natural regeneration but may have damaging effects at high densities.  Shooting is commonplace and no doubt keeps numbers of both deer and boar in check.  Again by contrast, we have ineffective deer control in many areas and a blinkered view to allowing Wild Boar to re-establish in our woodlands.  My local ‘protected’ woodlands are sadly owned by the Woodland Trust who do little or no management but do promote open access.  Dog-walkers and off-road cyclists seem to be the dominant users.

Woodcock on the wane

 

A long wander through my local Wormley Woods coincided with the arrival of the latest BTO newsletter. Woodcock was the connecting factor.  I saw 2 Woodcock; one flushed by me and one by a dog.  Wormley Woods are very popular with dog walkers and cyclists. Even the remote corner I explored had an off-the-leash labrador tearing through it. I doubt I could find any significant area of the wood without a squidgy tyre print or a doggy do.  I later flicked through the BTO newsletter and settled on the feature on the forthcoming Woodcock survey before shifting to the BTO website.  Woodcock have declined significantly in recent decades. The old CBC recorded a 74% decline between 1968 and 1999.  A quick look at the recent Atlas results appear to show that Woodcock in Hertfordshire in particular have dropped away sharply between the last two atlases, with the Broxbourne Woods complex remaining a very small and tenuous toehold in the county.  No-one really knows why they are declining but, low and behold, recreational disturbance, the drying out of woodland, overgrazing by deer and declining woodland management have been put forward as possible causes.  All four could apply to Wormley Woods.  No doubt the Woodland Trust and Natural England are actively considering these issues at this very moment.

It is undoubtedly good that people get out and enjoy wildlife-rich areas, including nature reserves, as human indifference to wildlife is arguably its greatest threat.  Yet disturbance to the very wildlife that we are encouraging people to visit and enjoy is a real issue that can be subtle in its effects.   Research has shown that disturbance can affect settling rates and patterns of breeding birds, lower their productivity, and can result in reduced densities and delayed breeding.

Studies of Nightjar (formerly present in the local woods but now gone) have found a reduction in breeding densities on sites heavily used by people and dogs.  Increased nest failure due to daytime egg predation was found to be the cause, particularly where nests are close to paths.  The theory goes that as sitting birds are flushed from nests, the eggs are exposed to predation, with the main predator suspected to be crows.

The distribution of Woodlarks on Dorset heaths was also found to be significantly affected by the presence of people and dogs.  Within sites with recreational access, the probability of suitable habitat being colonized was lower in those areas with greater disturbance; this was reduced to below 50% at around eight disturbance events per hour. However, there was no effect of disturbance on daily nest survival rates.  Birds on sites with higher levels of disturbance fledged more chicks (per pair) owing to a strong density-dependent increase in reproductive output.  However, in the absence of disturbance, overall productivity would be 34% higher.

Further afield, a fascinating study on the island of Ouessant in France showed that visitors had a detrimental impact on the survival of juvenile Chough simply by scaring them away from feeding sites.  Annual survival rates of juveniles were found to be negatively correlated with the number of visitors during August.  The time spent foraging by juveniles was 50% less than expected during this peak tourist month.  Food for thought.  Or not, if it happens to be August.