Butterflies
Since 2015 when active management really started, the varieties of butterfly at Rosemary Lane have grown exponentially from 1 species in 2015 to 29 species by the end of summer 2022.
Skippers: (Hesperidae)
Small skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris), Essex skipper (Thymelicus lineola),
Large skipper (Ochlodes venata), Grizzled skipper (Pyrgus malvae),
Yellows and Whites: (Pieridae)
Wood white (Leptidea sinapis), Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni), Small white (Pieris rapae), Green-veined white (Pieris napi),
Orange tip (Anthocharis cardamines), Large white (Pieris brassicae)
Coppers, Hairstreaks and Blues: (Lycaenidae)
Purple hairstreak (Neozephyrus quercus), Small copper (Lycaena phlaes), Brown argus (Aricia agestis),
Holly blue (Celastrina argiolus), Common blue (Polyommatus icarus),
Fritillary: (Nymphalidae)
Painted lady (Vanessa cardui), Small tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae),
White admiral (Limentis camilla), Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta), Purple emperor (Apatura iris),
Peacock (Inachis io), Comma (Polygonia c-album), Silver-washed fritillary (Argynnis paphia),
Browns: (Nymphalidae, Satyrinae)
Speckled wood (Pararge aegeria), Gatekeeper (Pyromania tithonus), Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina), Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus), Marbled white (Melanargia galathea), Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus)
Bats
A bat survey has shown the following species are likely to be present:
Barbastelle, Serotine, Alcathoe bat, Brandt’s bat,
Daubenton’s bat, Noctule, Common Pipistrelle,
Soprano Pipistrelle, Brown Long-eared bat.
Birds
Besides the more common birds (wren, robin, blackbird, various tits) the scarcer birds which have been identified as present are song thrush, blackcap, grey wagtail, chiffchaff, nightingale and there is a resident buzzard.
Amphibians and Reptiles
Frogs, smooth and palmate newts, toads and grass snakes are present. So far no great crested newts although they are present nearby.
Plants
For the last year we have been systematically recording all the plants we have seen in the wood. We should have started doing this sooner, but we now hope to follow how the flora changes over the years as we open up the canopy and let more light in. So far we have recorded 147 species of trees, flowering plants, rushes, sedges and grasses which are listed in “Plants of Rosemary Lane Wood”. Three of these are new records for the immediate area.
Three plants that have not previously been recorded in the Rosemary Wood Tetrad. Wood bindweed, identified by the large bracts at the base of the flower that completely hide the sepals. Spurge laurel sapling in January 2024, unfortunately it did not survive and wood small reed.
Ancient woodland is identified by the presence of a sets of specialist plants that can take a long time to establish and spread slowly. Wood anemone for example is said to take 50 years to spread 1m so a large patch could be hundreds of years old. The northern half of the wood is officially designated as ancient woodland and here we find some classic woodland plants:- wood anemone, bluebells, pignut, wood mellick, wood speedwell, wood false brome and three nerved sandwort.
In the southern sections which were pasture until the late nineteenth century the ancient woodland indicators are only found around the edges where they have spread in from the old hedgerows. Much of this area is heavy wet clay and the open areas are dominated by sedges, rushes and grasses, even the brambles struggle. The most species rich areas are along the trackways where disturbance and better drainage has allowed various annuals and biennials to establish. Common and Marsh figwort are both widespread, as are bugle, violets, strawberries, greater birds foot trefoil (food plant of the wood white) and self heal.
The Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland divides the countries into tetrads which are 2k x 2km squares. There are lists of plants that have been observed over the years in each square. We have found three plants that have not previously been recorded in the tetrad TQ03H which includes most of Rosemary Lane wood: wood small read, spurge laurel and wood bindweed.