The woodlands of Holywell Dene, together with its adjacent agricultural fields, support a wide variety of Flora and Fauna.
Flora and Fauna
Wild flowers found, which are indicators of native woodland, include:
- Sanicle
- Wood Anemone
- Hard Shield Fern
- Great Wood-rush
- Dogs Mercury
- Water Avens
- Goldilocks Buttercup
- Wild Garlic
- Bluebell (native)
- Primrose
- Wood Sorrel
The trees and large shrubs found in the Dene, both natural and planted, include:
- English Oak
- Ash
- Beech
- Sycamore
- Blackthorn
- Wych Elm
- Common Alder
- Hawthorn
- Hazel
- Holly
- Rowan
- Willow
- Guilder Rose
- Gorse
Most of the very common birds are seen in the Dene and immediately adjacent fields, but the less common birds seen regularly, include:
- Blackcap
- Bullfinch
- Reed Bunting
- Cormorant
- Curlew
- Dipper
- Little Grebe
- Goldfinch
- Goose - Pink footed, Greylag
- Great Spotted Woodpecker
- Grey Heron
- Grey Wagtail
- Kestrel
- Kingfisher
- Nuthatch
- Owl-Barn, Tawny
- Partridge - Grey, Red-legged
- Pheasant
- Redwing
- Siskin
- Sparrowhawk
- Song Thrush
- Tit - Coal, Long-tailed, Willow
- Treecreeper
- Tree Sparrow
- Warbler – Garden, Grasshopper
- Whitethroat
- Woodcock
- Yellowhammer
Mammals which may be seen in the Dene, include:
- Common Shrew
- Bank Vole,
- Wood Mouse
- Mole
- Hedgehog
- Rat
- Stoat
- Weasel
- Fox
- Otter
- Badger
- Rabbit
- Roe Deer
A few pictures taken in and around the Dene.
The flora and fauna of Holywell Dene change dramatically throughout the seasons.
Here’s what to look out for at the moment.
The Dene through the seasons
Wild Flowers
As we move from spring into summer we find Holywell Dene is filling out with lush, green growth. The weather patterns of this year’s spring brought flowering forward by a number of weeks, many plants flowered weeks before they were expected to do so.
Holywell Dene is rich in the diversity of its trees and shrubby hedgerows. From early March we can see that some species are ready to burst into leaf, and in at least one case, to burst into flower.
Trees and Shrubs
Last year’s wet summer and this year’s cold spring made it touch and go for our butterflies. However the hot and dry weather this summer was the turning point and obviously the second brood, appearing in August/September, was much better.
Fauna
