Island Life Magazine Ltd October/November 2010 | Page 96

country life

Island Life - October/November 2010

A special dormouse Safari
provides much-needed data
WORDS AND PHOTOS BY TONY RIDD
The Peoples Trust for Endangered Species
(PTES) allowed a privileged few to accompany
them whilst they checked and recorded some
of the 400 dormice boxes that they have in
their woodlands at Wootton.
Briddlesford Woods is the largest remaining
block of ancient semi-natural woodland on
the Island. It is one of the few places in
the UK where endangered dormice and red
squirrels can both be found. Two species
of rare bat; barbastelles and Bechstein’s,
also breed here and the woodlands have
recently been designated as both a Site of
Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a Special
Area for Conservation (SAC). This gives the
woodland the highest protection under EU
legislation!
96

The site is also of interest for its
invertebrate and plant life. The Nationally
Scarce, wood cricket is found at Briddlesford
and there are isolated specimens of wild
service tree, an excellent indicator of old
woodlands. One of the most important
features of the woodland flora is the
abundance of narrow-leaved lungwort. This
species is restricted in Britain to ancient
woodlands on the shores and tributaries of
the Solent. These are just a few of the rare
and important animal and plant life that
Briddlesford has to offer and the assemblage
of these species is unique within the UK.
Our group of eight, covered an age range
of about 60 years, this shows a good cross
section of interest from young to old! We
Visit our new website - www.visitislandlife.com