Forest of Bere

The Forest of Bere is a fantastic place for woodland birdwatching. The only disadvantage(s) are the fact that it is a perfect dog-walking place too. Because some dogs have a strong prey-drive, this can be a disadvantage to the wildlife. And even very docile dogs are likely to scare wildlife. You are a small Woodmouse (Apodemus sylvaticus) foraging for acorns among  the leaf-litter. Something shimmering catches your eye (or maybe mice aren't good with peripheral vision but it's the principle that matters) and you look up. Imagine those big forward-facing eyes. Bigger than your own face. Freaky right? I'm not saying there's anything wrong with dogs, in fact I would love a Basset Hound myself, but you get the point. Small animals freak out. Right. The other disadvantage is the amount of harvestmen (harvest spiders or harvestman-spiders) around. The Phalangiids are the worst. These are very very long-legged arachnids that look like spiders. The differences between spiders and harvestmen are:

• Spiders spin silk, harvestmen can't.
• Spiders have three body-sections, harvestmen have one.
• Spiders have eight or six eyes, harvestmen have two very rubbishy ones.
• Spiders sit still most of the time (apart from Wolf Spiders), harvestmen have a habit of touching everything including your hand (eugh!) 
• Spiders are scentless, harvestmen emit a smell when alarmed (Thankfully we humans can't detect it) .

Again, there's nothing wrong with harvestmen, it's just I'm an arachnophobe. Only with spiders, harvestmen and whip-spiders (spider-like segmented arachnids which I have never seen in the flesh) but I love scorpions. Anyway, on with the birds. There are a number of beautiful little pools and ponds full of wildlife. Hundreds of hawker dragonflies flew strongly after insects. One even caught an Emperor Moth! Many dragonfly species were present, mainly Aeshna cyanea and Aeshna grandis (Brown Hawker). The Emperor Dragonfly Anax imperator also came up a lot. Damselflies and stoneflies  and a couple of mayflies also made an appearance. The main prey for the dragonflies was daddy-long-legs (crane-flies), blow-flies  various moths and, very very thankfully, clegs. These are one of the few animals I would say are a total nuisance! Clegs, fleas, gnats and lice would rate about 1 out of 10 on the satisfaction scale, with Phalangiids and daddy-long-legs rating 2. Most spiders except the widdly weeny teeny tiny money-spiders would rate 3 etc. etc. Whirligigs  whirled, water-measurers well, measured I suppose, backswimmers and water-boatmen  and pondskaters skated. I saw loads of birds so I will just list them.

BIRDS SEEN:

Kestrel hunting voles in adjacent field and her mate (probably) ripping up a mouse
Treecreeper creeping up a tree (a Sessile Oak Quercus petraea to be technical about it)
Yellowhammer feeding
Several different flocks of Blue and Great Titmice at ponds and pools feasting on Haws (Hawthorn berries) and a Glastonbury Thorn (Double-flowering Hawthorn)
Various doves mainly Wood Pigeons (Ringdoves) pretty much everywhere
Crows and Ravens, also Rooks
WOODCOCKS!!! Oh my god it's me Woodcock in miniature with wings and a long beak!
Epic Kingfisher by the spring with a stream forming after it and going through a hole in a block of earth that acts as a bridge
Various warblers, mainly Chiffchaffs
A Little Egret and a Grey Heron
A Jackdaw
Many Nuthatches
Siskins
Other finches
House Sparrows
Grey Partridge
Dipper
Peewit (Lapwing) flying overhead
A roosting Tawny Owl
Common Pheasants
Gold and Firecrests feasting on Common Yew berries

OTHER ANIMALS:

Fallow buck  and doe
Roebuck and Roe doe (oh my god loads of deer)
Dace and Minnows
Dozens of day-flying and night-flying (that came out at dusk or seen resting by day) moth species
A very large yellow-and-black caterpillar with spines on it
Brown Trout
Red Admiral, Brimstone, Orange Tip, Large and Small White, Peacock, Clouded Yellow, Painted Lady, Comma, Small Tortoiseshell, Common Blue, Holly Blue, Small Copper and Swallowtail butterflies plus many hairstreaks
Brown Hare
Rabbits
Various bees and wasps
Staghorn Beetles

PLANTS:

English and Sessile Oaks
Scots Pines
Field Maple in field
Viper's-bugloss (oh my god it's soooo purple! Oh my god I love saying oh my god)
Norway Spruces
Common Yews and a Lutea Yew ( The Lutea Yew is a yew with yellow arils)
Several buttercups
Wood and Sun Spurge
Mistletoe
White, Yellow and Least Water-lilies     
Wood, Bloody, Meadow and Hedgerow Crane's-bill
Herb-robert
Common Stork's-bill
White and Bladder Campion
Common Bird's-foot Trefoil
Yarrow (Milfoil)
Elder
Ground-elder
Juniper
Holly
Salad Burnet
Great and Dark Mullein
Sheep's-sorrel
Bittersweet
Black Nightshade
Ivy-leaved Toadflax
Lords-and-Ladies (Wild Arum)
Devil's-bit and Field Scabious
Whatever grasses grow in the field but I know False Oat-grass and Cock's-foot  is in there
Wall Barley (oh my god Flydarts are so fun to throw!)
Wall-screw moss along the wall
Field Wood-rush
Maidenhair Spleenwort
Hart's-tongue
Male Fern
Bracken

.......Oh my god there is so many plants at that place!!!!                  

Let me get the point across.
GO THERE!!!!

Byeeeeeeeeee peoples! Have an epic time! :o):o)

PS if you don't have an epic time you are not paying attention to the epic wildlife!!!!!