Cotton Dell

Cotton Dell

One of our nicest reserves for a day out. Follow the woodland path alongside the stream and discover the wonderful flower rich grasslands at the top of the valley.

Highlights

• Take a walk around the reserve on a sunny autumn day in late September and enjoy the sights and sounds of the woodland as it changes before the onset of winter
• Visit in the spring and you’ll be rewarded by the appearance of spring woodland flowers trying to make the most of the sunshine before the tree canopy closes in. This is also the best time to listen out for woodland birds
• The grassland areas will be looking at their finest in mid summer when butterflies and other insects will be doing their best to find nectar on the diverse range of wildflowers.

If you go down to the Dell today…

Take the path following the course of the Cotton Brook, which flows through the heart of Cotton Dell, and you will find a wonderfully diverse range of habitats; the steep valley sides are covered in woodland, flower rich grasslands dominate the fringing land where the terrain is more even. Ponds, scrub, boggy areas and the stream itself all contribute to the wildlife value of the reserve.

The woodland at Cotton Dell is located on an ancient woodland site. This means that the site has been continuously wooded for over 400 years. Over the years however different types of woodland management have been carried out and most of the really old trees have been removed.

In some places individual trees were felled and the resulting spaces were allowed to naturally regenerate. In other areas entire blocks were cleared and replanted with conifers. As you follow the track around the reserve look for these contrasting habitats and their effect on the ground flora and shrubby layer. On one side of the track you’ll be able to see broadleaf woodland with regenerating trees and shrubs and ground layer species such as bluebells, wood anemone and wood sorrel and the rare (although rather unexciting in appearance!) greater woodrush. On the other side you’ll see the conifer trees provide much denser shade and the ground layer is far less diverse. Although these conifers are of some value they tend to support less wildlife than the adjoining broadleaf woodland.

 
Felling trees can bring benefits for wildlife!

Woodland management involves taking a long-term view. Part of the future management of the site is to return the site to how it would have looked in the past - broadleaf woodland with a range of tree species (oak, ash, alder, birch) and shorter shrubby species (such as holly, field maple, hazel, hawthorn). Trees are amongst our longest living plants – but nothing lasts forever.

A wildlife rich, healthy, sustainable woodland needs to have a number of elements if it is to provide a woodland for future generations.
•    There needs to be gaps in the canopy so that acorns and other tree seeds can develop into seedlings, some of which will grow into saplings.
•    Woodlands are better for wildlife if they have an understoryey layer – these are shorter, shrubby species such as hazel, field maple, bird cherry – these species can all be found in some parts of the Dell.
•    Eventually some of our saplings, with enough light, will reach tree canopy height and become mature trees.
•    As these trees start to age and gradually die they provide fallen and standing dead wood. Dead wood is crucial for wildlife rich woodlands – dead wood provides homes for birds such as woodpeckers, as well as providing habitats for numerous species of fungi and insects, which are in turn a food source for bird such as our woodpecker.

We have to start thinking now about any management to ensure that there will be future mature and veteran trees. To achieve this we will be gradually felling some of the trees to open up gaps to encourage natural regeneration or newly planted trees to develop into our woodland of the future.

 
Butterflies, bees, boggy bits & bare ground

One of the main reasons Cotton Dell is so good for wildlife is because there is a wide range of habitats. Look carefully and you’ll see that a different range of plants grow in the fields than in the woodlands. They will also have different insects associated with them.

Small boggy pools, even temporary ones can provide homes for opportunistic insects. One of our most easily identified beetles, the green tiger beetle, is found associated with bare patches of sandy ground in the cattle grazed pastures.