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AN INTRODUCTION TO THE WILDLIFE OF BROOK MEADOW:

 Brook Meadow Artwork for Interpretation Board (by Marion Forster)

 

There is always plenty of wildlife to be seen and heard on Brook Meadow. Take a walk along any of the paths, stopping every so often to look and listen, and you will be amazed what you can find. Spring and summer are the best times to visit, though birds are active all year.

 

Water Voles

The most important wildlife on Brook Meadow are the Water Voles. These are delightful creatures that live on the banks of the River Ems. They eat only vegetation and are quite different in their habits from Brown Rats with which they are sometimes confused. The best time to see them is at dusk in the spring and early summer. The Water Vole is the most a highly endangered mammal in Great Britain and is protected by law.

 

Other Mammals

There are no Rabbits on Brook Meadow, but Foxes do breed locally. The occasional Roe Deer passes through and Moles are very common, witness the hundreds of molehills in January and February. In the summer Bats can be seen feeding over the streams.

 

Fish

Brown Trout are a great local attraction in the river where large Eels can also be seen. Impressive shoals of Grey Mullet come up the Lumley Stream from the harbour at high tide.

 

Birds

Birds are always present, particularly in the wooded areas. Birds you are most likely to see and hear are Robin, Wren, Dunnock, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Chaffinch, Greenfinch and Woodpigeon. Also present in winter are Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Long-tailed Tit and Great Spotted Woodpecker, while Chiffchaff, Whitethroat and Blackcap are regular summer visitors. Little Egret, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail and Kingfisher are common on the two streams, particularly in winter and a Water Rail is an occasional visitor to the Lumley Stream. In the sky look out for Sparrowhawk, Kestrel or even a Buzzard, plus Swallows and Swifts in summer. Meanwhile, hundreds Gulls fly constantly overhead to and from the harbour to their inland feeding sites. A grand total of 66 species have been recorded on and around Brook Meadow.

 

Insects

In summer you can see over 20 species of butterfly on Brook Meadow. Some of the more colourful species you are likely to see are Small Tortoiseshell, Painted Lady, Comma, Red Admiral, Peacock, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown and Ringlet. Probably the rarest one is Essex Skipper.

The two streams attract a range of damselflies and dragonflies, including the beautiful Banded Demoiselle with dark bands on its wings and the bright green Southern Hawker which may fly low to inspect you.

 

Wild Flowers

Over the past few years a complete survey of all the plants on Brook Meadow has been conducted in collaboration with local naturalists. At the time of writing the list has reached a total of 312, including 185 herbs, 50 trees and shrubs, 33 grasses, 13 sedges, 5 rushes, 2 horsetails, 1 ferm and 23 mosses and liverworts. The list includes 7 old meadow indicators.

In winter, the river banks are covered with the sweet smelling Winter Heliotrope, while spring is heralded by the bright yellow flowers of Lesser Celandine (a favourite flower of Wordsworth). The pink flower spikes of Butterbur appear on the river banks in early spring and, in summer; later on this plant grows huge leaves which traditionally were used for keeping butter cool. In summer the meadow is full of wild flowers, such as, Ragged Robin, Cuckooflower, Meadowsweet, Wild Angelica and Strawberry Clover among lots of others. In late summer the meadow is ablaze with the yellow flowers of Fleabane and Hoary Ragwort.

Brook Meadow has a wonderful variety of meadow grasses, but botanically, the most important plants are the sedges, of which some are nationally scarce, such as Divided Sedge. Greater and Lesser Pond Sedge grow on the banks of streams.

 

Trees

Although basically a grassland, Brook Meadow has a large number of trees which are very important for wildlife. There are two areas of dense woodland on either side of the meadow, plus over 100 mature Crack Willows along the banks of the River Ems. In early spring, Hazel and Alder provide a fine show of hanging catkins, while later in the spring Pussy Willows are covered with catkins. Alder Buckthorn, Rowan, Black Poplar and Hawthorn have been planted for their wildlife value.

 

Fungi

Despite its wetness, Brook Meadow does not have many fungi, though what it lacks in quantity it makes up for in quality for the rare and very tasty Agrocybe cylindracea grows on old Willow stumps.