Rotherfield Reserve News
The grassland areas at our Rotherfield Reserve were fenced in October 2016! To learn more about our new grazing project please scroll down to ‘Rotherfield Reserve annual hay cutting’ and read the UPDATE WINTER 2016 – 17. Photos taken 31 March 2017 – click on each photo (up to three times) to enlarge.
Ralph Hobbs
Moth Trapping Event at Crowhurst Reserve – 10am on Sunday, 7th May 2017
Ralph Hobbs will be running the Trust’s moth trap overnight at the Crowhurst Reserve from 8pm on the Saturday evening. All are welcome to view the moths close up when the trap is opened at 10am on Sunday 7th May, sorry no dogs. Please park in the Crowhurst recreation ground car park, then it’s a few minutes’ walk up Sandy Lane to the reserve entrance gate which will be clearly visible on the left. A map of the Crowhurst reserve and entrance can be found on the ‘Our reserves’ tab.
Moth trapping 2016
On the night of 25th June, the moth trap was set up within the Crowhurst Reserve woodland for a second time, 3 weeks earlier in the season than last year’s event. A highlight for me was watching three Large Elephant Hawkmoths in torchlight at dusk as they hovered to feed from honeysuckle flowers high up in the tree canopy.
The following morning 15 people, mainly enthusiastic ‘friends of Quarry Wood’ including Paul Johnson, David Burrows (a fellow ‘moth man’) and myself gathered to examine the catch. Despite the unsettled weather, a good total of 38 species was logged. All were relatively common species, but there were many gasps as they were extracted from the trap indicating just how attractive many of our moth species really are when seen close up. Just 14 of these were also recorded on the night of 18th July last year, so the reserve list now advances from 46 to 70.
Ralph Hobbs
Large Elephant Hawkmoth (not in trap)
Common Emerald
Light Emerald*
Clouded Border*
Clouded Silver*
Brimstone moth*
Satin Lutestring*
Common Lutestring
Heart and Dart
Mottled Beauty
Willow Beauty*
Pale Oak Beauty
Silver Y
Beautiful Golden Y
Small White Wave
Orange Footman
Rosy Footman*
Treble Brown-spot*
Scorched Wing
Large Yellow Underwing*
White Ermine
Buff Ermine*
Bloodvein
Riband Wave*
Twin-spot Carpet
Treble Lines
July Highflyer*
Barred Yellow
Barred Straw*
Ingrailed Clay
The Rustic
Flame Shoulder
Small Square-spot
Uncertain*
Green Oak Tortrix (micro)
Bee moth (Pyralid micro)
Large Fruit-tree Tortix Archips podana (micro)
Donacaula forficella (Pyrale micro)
TOTAL 38 species positively identified.
* also recorded here last year
Moth Trapping Event at Crowhurst Reserve – 10am, Sunday 26th June 2016
Ralph Hobbs will be running the Trust’s moth trap overnight from late Saturday evening. All are welcome to view the moths when the trap is opened at 10am on the Sunday morning. Please park in the Crowhurst recreation ground car park, then it’s a few minutes’ walk up Sandy Lane to the reserve entrance gate which will be clearly visible on the left. A map of the Crowhurst reserve and entrance can be found on the ‘Our reserves’ tab.
Waved Carpet moth
Our Powdermill Wood reserve is home to the scarce Waved Carpet moth. To see what it looks like, and for more about this species, there is a useful information sheet published by Butterfly Conservation that can be read by clicking here - Waved Carpet factsheet
Rotherfield Reserve annual hay cutting
UPDATE WINTER 2016 – 17 – The Rotherfield Reserve grassland was fenced in October 2016 and lightly grazed by cattle and sheep for the first time before the winter set in, courtesy of our neighbouring farmer Louise Hendrick. This followed a successful application to LUND for a fencing grant that will allow us to have the meadow grazed in the traditional manner each autumn, thus saving our volunteers the hard work of annual mowing and raking. None of us are getting any younger! The grazing should also build on the excellent work carried out by our willing volunteers every October without fail for many years, by enabling even more wildflowers to establish over time from dropped seed.
The reserve remains open to members and their friends. Please be aware that a few small cattle (Dexters) or sheep may be present in the meadow areas any time from mid-June to late November (usually autumn only). Therefore when entering or leaving via the new pedestrian gate please close the gate behind you. The circular footpath through the wood also remains open with two new styles installed where the fence crosses the path.
Ralph Hobbs
This year’s annual meadow cut and rake at the Rotherfield Reserve will take place on Sunday 18th October 2015 from 10am til 3-ish, and we still need as many volunteers as possible please – many hands make light work!
Now that Barry Hawkins has retired as reserve manager the mowing will be carried out by Leigh Richardson who has helped us with the raking in the past. Leigh is suitably skilled in countryside management for conservation, and is planning to make a start before 10. This year we will be happy if we only manage to cut up to about 70% of the total area, so we will be concentrating on the places where the grass grows lushest and supports fewer flowers.
The annual hay cut is one of our most enjoyable social events of the year, usually with plenty of wildlife to be seen on the day! Everyone is welcome – members, friends, and family etc so please do consider joining us on the day, or even for part of the day. The main activity is to follow the mower and rake the grass off to one side, with everyone working at their own pace! Grass rakes and hay forks are provided, but please bring your own picnic lunch and drinks! Lunch break is about one o’ clock and we will also take coffee and tea breaks as required.
For directions and a map please click on the Rotherfield Reserve link under ‘Our Reserves’.
We look forward to welcoming you on the day, meanwhile if you need any further information please don’t hesitate to call me on 07763 151787.
Ralph Hobbs
Moth trapping 2015
This year we ran the moth trap within the Crowhurst Reserve on the night of 18th July, and on the following morning 6 friends of the reserve and myself gathered to examine the catch. In the end we identified a total of 46 species and the list has been passed to the Sussex moth recorder. This was not part of the nationally organised ‘Moth Night’ (which this year falls on 10-12 September) but served to add records to the reserve list, as well as enabling the reserve volunteers to closely observe a selection of ‘their’ moths. Here is the full list -
Black Arches
Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing
Willow Beauty
Satin Lutestring
Rosy Footman
Common Footman
Clouded Border
July Highflyer
Mother of Pearl (Pyralid micro)
Riband Wave
Swallow-tailed Moth
Dun-bar
Catoptria pinella (Pyralid micro)
Light Emerald
Brimstone Moth
Buff Ermine
Small Fan-footed Wave
Drinker
Smoky Wainscot
Barred Straw
Scalloped Oak
Double-square Spot
Large Yellow Underwing
Lunar-spotted Pinion
Snout
Nut-tree Tussock
Lesser Yellow Underwing
Early Thorn
Small Magpie (Pyralid micro)
Buff Arches
Large Emerald
Treble Brown Spot
Common White Wave
Bright-line Brown-eye
Flame
Uncertain
Rush Veneer (migrant Pyralid micro)
Clouded Silver
Mottled Rustic
Marbled White Spot
Coronet
Dark Sword-grass (migrant)
Carcina quercana (micro)
Perinephela lancealis (Pyralid micro)
Dusky Sallow
Clay
TOTAL = 46 species positively identified and accepted by Sussex moth recorder Colin Pratt
Also in the trap, but not identified to species level –
Pug moth sp
Caddis Fly sp
Bumblebee sp
Ralph Hobbs
10th May 2015
First of all a huge thank you to all our members for renewing your subscriptions for this year. Due to your continuing support, and now that Barry Hawkins has stepped down as Rotherfield Reserve Manager, I am pleased to report we have managed to secure the services of a reliable grass cutting operator for two days hay-cutting this autumn, using our ‘trusty’ machine. This will be an interim measure at least, but we will still need our jolly bunch of volunteers to help rake off the cuttings on the usual dates, and these will be confirmed here on this page and in our Autumn Newsletter.
Our ‘Diary Dates‘ page has now been updated for 2015. Please join us at our Crowhurst reserve for a ‘morning with moths’ on 19th July! Click on the ‘Diary Dates’ tab for further details, and for other information on visiting our Rotherfield Reserve this summer.
We look forward to seeing as many members as possible out on the reserves throughout the summer enjoying the wonderful wildlife. Members please feel free to ask friends, relatives, or neighbours to join you when you visit - everyone will be most welcome!
Honorary Reserve Manager needed for our Rotherfield Reserve! If you could be interested in helping to look after our beautiful woodland and meadow reserve near Rotherfield, or you know someone else who might be, please contact either myself on 01424 752878, or Barry Hawkins our previous Reserve Manager on 01892 521024. Thank you.
Ralph Hobbs, Chairman
Rotherfield meadow work party – Sunday 19 October 2014
Where better to spend an autumn day than in the beautiful surroundings of our Rotherfield reserve meadows doing a bit of cutting and raking to help ensure the grasslands flower just as profusely the following summer?
This year’s annual meadow cut and rake is on Sunday 19th October from 10am til 3-ish, and we still need a few more volunteers please – many hands make light work! This is also one of the most enjoyable social events of the year, usually with plenty of wildlife to be seen on the day!
The main requirement is to follow the mower and rake the grass off to one side, with everyone working at their own pace! Grass rakes and hay forks are provided, but please bring your own picnic lunch and drinks! Lunch break is about one o’ clock and we will also take coffee and tea breaks as required.
We look forward to welcoming you to Rotherfield Reserve – see reserves tab for a reserve map and directions if you have never been before. Further information from Barry Hawkins, Reserve Manager – 01892 852120.
Ralph Hobbs
PS Only if there’s likely to be really heavy rain all day we may postpone, possibly until the next Sunday 26th Oct.
2014 guided walk and moth events
WE ARE VERY SORRY THE WALK ON 28 June at 2pm HAS HAD TO BE CANCELLED.
Derek Bates, Reserve Manager
Please visit our updated Diary Dates page for information on our guided walk and moth events for 2014. With the early spring we look forward to the fine Bluebell displays in April (this year probably sooner rather than later in the month), and to seeing as many members as possible out on our reserves throughout the summer enjoying the wonderful wildlife.
Members please feel free to ask friends, relatives, or neighbours to join you when you visit - everyone will be most welcome!
Ralph Hobbs, Chairman