Friends of Gillfield Wood
Below are 4 files relating to the results from the May 2019 Flora Walk with Rebekah Newman. We have permission to circulate these to members but please note that Rebekah had clearance to access the land to the south of the brook which is privately owned. This was granted on the basis that it was a supervised walk. Nobody should access these areas without the landowners' permission. There is NO PUBLIC ACCESS to these sites which are on private land on the south (Derbyshire) side of the wood. Rebekah had express permission from the landowners to conduct the surveys and subsequent walk for us in May.
The following two reports summarising the findings of the Heritage Lottery Funded Phase 2 project are now available for you to either read or download.
These reports represent the culmination of the joint effort between FOGW and Prof. Ian Rotherham's group from Sheffield Hallam University. They have, however, been produced solely by a small dedicated group of FOGW members and are completely separate from any reports produced by SHU. A considerate amount of effort has gone into both carrying out the surveys and into producing these reports so please do take the time to read these fascinating reports
SYBRG has placed its own report on the project entitled "Reconstructing Gillfield Wood's Historical Setting". This can be found by clicking on the following link:
The project, organised by SYBRG with the Friends of Gillfield Wood, is funded by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. It places Gillfield Wood (an ancient woodland), Totley Brook (the stream that flows through it) and its setting into a wider historical landscape context to include field boundaries, ancient hedgerows and industrial sites. The project looks at how the woodland and its setting have changed over hundreds of years and the evidence that still exists today. In addition it also delves inside the wood to investigate the unique and remarkable dressed upright stones/ stoneposts which have been placed in and alongside the brook, most probably in the last three hundred years. Investigating these has helped to place this historic site into a wider context of 'water, geology and land-use'. The field survey findings are supported by archival research. A legacy of the project is to develop skills and knowledge within local groups.
Photos of wax cap fungi taken by Mac Jackson on Day 1 (1st November 2016) of the Phase 2 field survey.
...and seven from Pauline Burnett taken the morning after a rapid thaw following a severe frost the night before. Shows how resilient these fungi are!
...and one from Chris Measures of the "holy grail" of wax caps - the Pink Waxcap!
Photos of waxcaps taken in the wood in 2011 courtesy of Chris Measures.
"In the Wet" is an occasional blog to inform you about life in Gillfield Wood in those wet places such as Totley Brook and any marshy area or tributaries close by the brook. And of course there is our new pond which I am beginning to monitor. I will give you a details of the aquatic invertebrates that I find but only when I can identify them! This is very much a learning and sharing activity for me. I hope you find the information interesting and the photographs illustrative of my findings. Please email comments to me at paulhancock1954@gmail.com.
Welcome to "In the Wet".
Paul Hancock
In the Wet #1 (May 15 2016)
Had a chance to investigate the pond for wildlife today. The tadpoles are doing well; they are well spaced in the shallow areas. The planted marginals are looking strong and healthy.
Observation of the pond showed it to be somewhat murky, which was in stark contrast to Andy Brewster's observations yesterday of clear but algae-littered water. Derek Bateson suggested we may have had a Duck feast to have altered the water so much!
Male and female flies of the family Bibionidae (St Mark's Flies) were hovering over the pond. Some were clearly female as they were dipping their abdomens in the water to deposit eggs.
Two types have been identified by the spurs on the end of the tibia of the foreleg.
Opposite is the female - Dilophus species – identified the ring of short spurs on the foreleg.
This male fly has two large spurs in the same location on the foreleg and belongs to the genus Bibio, possibly marci, which is the St Mark's fly.
We also have a water beetle visitor, Helophorus grandis …
… and a mayfly visitor Baetis rhodani. The latter has weird turbinate eyes which are orange on top.