2013 was a great year for me - Doug Lloyd invited me to become the voluntary warden for Common Hill Reserve!

I said “yes” with some trepidation, wondering whether I knew enough about all aspects of nature, knew enough about conservation and could do enough to be of any real help to the Trust.

Since then I have been on a continuous and enjoyable learning curve. With encouragement from Doug and others, I gradually became familiar with the annual management routine: hedging, mowing, grazing of the four main compartments of the reserve and to understand what I could do to help. I also became familiar with the various species that make this reserve a special place. I had a lot to learn especially which butterflies and flowers I should expect to see and which were unlikely.

I came to appreciate the importance of those parts of the reserve that were “organic” wildflower meadows and the reason that certain species were present, and that this in turn explained the presence of certain butterflies, especially the relatively rare Wood White.

I also came to see that these wildflower areas were becoming a rare habitat in need of conservation and likewise the two areas of old orchards.

Unexpectedly, I discovered the human history of the reserve to be an added conservation dimension having been relatively impoverished traditional smallholdings in earlier times with the remains of two cottages on the site. More ancient history is also apparent in the form of a track-way that passes through the reserve that may well be Neolithic.

And then there is the wider habitat in which the reserve is set…..

Situated as it is on the Common Hill ridge fairly centrally on the two mile stretch incorporating   Nupend reserve and Lea and Paget’s reserve and bisected by the Wye Valley Way and with many neighbours interested in wildlife, the Common Hill Reserve is very much part of a “Living Landscape” as envisioned and encouraged by the Trust.

So, over the past eight years, I’ve learnt a lot and spent many happy hours getting to grips with its nature and its conservation and starting to see the dynamics of the reserve and indeed Herefordshire Wildlife Trust – nothing is entirely static. I feel privileged to be the warden of this reserve and to have the opportunity to enjoy an intimacy with all its aspects.

Awareness of this dynamic has led me to see the need for recording as much as possible about the reserve for the benefit of my successor (whenever), conservation officers, Trust members, neighbours and anyone who shows any interest in the reserve.

With the benefits of recording in mind and the amount of information acquired (not necessarily remembered!) I gradually established four ways in which I, as temporary volunteer warden, could contribute to the long term success of conservation in this locality.

Mapping the reserve

Being a retired surveyor, I was able to measure and map (scale 1:500) the reserve recording the various habitats and features of interest. This is now available as a permanent  management tool and dated information source.

Creating a Voluntary Warden’s Handbook for the reserve

I am recording all the knowledge that I accumulate in an A5 loose-leaf hard-back folder (similar to the reserves guide) and computer copies. Currently there are 57 pages including maps, articles, specific species information, human history, reserve history and dynamic (e.g. arrival of Red Kites, declining ant hills, flowers “gone missing”) and species survey results. I find that one item that is particularly helpful for me, as a non-botanist, is the “appearance of flowers by month schedule” - currently about 150 species during the year. Species identification generally, including flowers, ferns, fungi, butterflies, moths, birds and bryophytes is supported by those more expert than me including Mary and Ian Roberts, Jane Wise, Sheila Spence, Jo Weightman, Stephen Watkins, Bob Hall, Peter Hall, Martin Hales, Ian Draycott, Dave Dawe and others. I am grateful to them all.

Having established a reasonably practical and all- encompassing format and in conjunction with the respective voluntary wardens I have recently started similar handbooks for two other reserves.

Creating a diary

My visits to the reserve vary considerably in frequency and duration but certainly most weeks for at least a couple of hours. The diary records practical work done (e.g. hedge maintenance, Bramble and Bracken bashing, cutting hardwood grow-back, clearing paths, sheep monitoring), species observations and public relations e.g. stopping for a chat with whoever passes through. Practical work is close to my heart having once had a small small-holding and for me is wonderful fresh air exercise. What a God-send cordless hedge-cutters and brush-cutters are! This diary is summarised quarterly and submitted to Pete Johnson – my reserve manager.

The diaries for previous years tell me this month (March) to expect Black Cup fungus  and Scarlet Elf Cups and to hope for Morril fungi and where to find them. Likewise early flowering Lady’s Smock, Wild Strawberry, Lesser Celandines, Primroses and Violets. Then just to prove that Spring has arrived there are likely to be Small Tortoiseshell , Comma, Brimstone, Red Admiral and Orange Tip butterflies. Likewise Slow-worms and Grass Snakes will appear under the reptile refuges.

By the end of February there were 10 plants known to be in flower and by the end of March there are likely to be 18 – another 122 or so to look forward to!

Sharing experiences with all and any interested parties

This is a two-way process; by spending time on the reserve, I learn from passers-by (e.g. first discovery of the rarely seen Bird’s Nest Orchid) and neighbours and try to pass on what I know e.g. the whereabouts and extent of the elusive Adder’s Tongue Fern

I have come to understand that a lot of different people are interested in this reserve and as a result we now have a WhatsApp (open to all) on which we can share observations. Mating  Buzzards is the most recent observation posted.

In the spirit of encouraging continuity my intention is that my documents can be shared and/or passed on to anyone interested. All 4 of these activities are works in progress – being frequently added to.

Lock-down opportunity

All these activities that I have described are naturally very time consuming, so what a golden opportunity national lockdown has presented! My main focus, spent largely in isolation on three of the reserves since September has been the mapping, which is a wonderful, if rather disciplined, way to get intimate with the nature of these reserves.

Apart from Common Hill reserve my mapping enterprise has now included Lea and Paget’s, White Rocks and most recently Nupend Reserve. See below as an example one of my scale maps of the newly acquired three-acre field at Common Hill, to be named Round’s Meadow after the previous owners who kept it free of pesticides and fertilisers for 50 years. Also see below a photograph of the new meadow.

During my periods of solitary mapping, I often find myself pondering what else could be done to encourage more continuity i.e. more sharing opportunities in relation to the detailed familiarity with each reserve and its surroundings.

And here’s another benefit flowing from Covid lockdown: an opportunity to read. These are a few of my favourite recently read books that relate to active involvement with wildlife:

Orchard: A year in England’s Eden by Benedict Macdonald and Nicholas Gates

An expert month by month journey through the life of an ancient orchard not very far from Common Hill. Really wide ranging on all aspects of wildlife well researched and referenced. Very pertinent to understanding the old orchards of Common Hill reserve

Waterfalls of Stars by Rosanne Alexander

A wonderful account of 10 years spent as wardens on the island of Skomer off the Pembrokeshire coast.

Song of the Rolling Earth: A Highland Odyssey by John Lister-Kaye

Possibly the most meaningful and insightful book that I have ever read.

A story about how the author came to establish a field centre 40 years ago in the Scottish highlands where anyone can go to stay in Osprey and Otter territory. We were booked to stay there last Spring.

 C’est la covid!

Personal continuity

Warming to my theme of continuity: I have to confess a lifetime’s interest in wildlife but only in my second and sixth decades have I been able to devote time to active conservation.

Below is a photograph of my father with a team of volunteers planting trees at Wessington Pastures reserve in 1980 and a quote recorded by the Hereford Times: “what we try to do is to leave things better than when we find them and pass on the trees for future generations”.

With a touch of the poetic and more than a nod to continuity below is another photograph showing three of his great grandchildren looking for Slow-worms and Grass Snakes at Common Hill reserve, just a few years ago.