Chesworth Farm

Surfacing works at Chesworth Farm

31 volunteers joined Ryan at Chesworth Farm as Horsham Green Gym got stuck into the surfacing which we have been planning over the winter. The aim of the task was to not only cut back some of the vegetation such as the ever encroaching Bramble but also to surface with aggregate some of the worst affected gateways which you can see above. It was excellent to see such a good turn-out at what is undoubtedly a tough task with lots of barrowing and digging the order of the day.

Not much was seen on the wildlife front as all of the volunteers had their heads down grafting but Ryan did manage to see a couple of Grey Herons on the wetland fields. David Verrall also managed a nice picture which he took over the weekend of one of a number of Greenfinches seen around the site.

Greenfinch - D. Verrall

Also of note if you are not already aware the Friends of Chesworth Farm are running their next event this coming Saturday which is a guided walk around the Farm. This is a fantastic opportunity to get to know the Farm, see the livestock as well as learn about how the site is used by the wildlife at this time of year. 

Chesworth Farm

Stonechat - D. Verrall

Stonechat - D. Verrall

Ryan managed to find a Stonechat or possibly two a week or so ago when leading a GreenGym task at the Farm. But despite a few looks whilst checking the livestock in the proceeding days I couldn't seem to find them. However today in the pouring rain when checking the cows in Parlour Mead Field this little beauty popped up right in front of me and showed down to about 20ft which was fantastic. Unfortunately I did not have a camera to hand but David Verrall once again came up with the goods and managed to photograph the bird later that day.

Chesworth Farm

Platt Pond Reflections - R. Allison

Horsham Green Gym were down on the Farm this morning and the two main jobs were some Bramble clearance in Parlour Mead Field as well as some reedbed management. If you visit the Farm you will notice that a section of the reedbed at Platt Pond has been cut down to water level and some of the reeds roots removed to help create a new reedbed at Warnham Local Nature Reserve.

The reeds are cut in the winter for a number of reasons, the main reason is to stop the reed totally covering the open water area which would happen if left to its own devices. The second reason is that having a mixture of different aged reeds within the pond gives the best diversity for the reedbed itself.  It is also very important to remove the cut reeds as this stimulates growth in the cut reed as well as stopping the pond silting up as the cut reed begins to rot.

Before

During

After

As you can see from the photos above the volunteers were very busy and managed to get all the reed cut that we wanted. Straight away you can see the benefit of this job as it has created a muddy edge to the pond which is perfect for birds such as Moorhen and Water Rail to feed around during the winter months.

Lastly we have now moved the cattle into Parlour Mead Field so please be aware they are now on the Riverside Walk and remember to close the gates if you are using the path through the field. On the wildlife front the following species were noted:

Meadow Pipit 9, Redwing 12, House Sparrow 8, Herring Gull 1, Cormorant 2, Moorhen 1, Grey Heron 1, Goldfinch 20+, Jackdaw 2, Carrion Crow 2, Woodpigeon 8, Blue Tit 3, Chaffinch 3

Chesworth Farm

Riverside Fields - Chesworth Farm

There were plenty of birds around making the most of the sunny conditions. There was a steady stream of Woodpigeon moving over the Farm in a south-westerly direction including a couple of decent flocks of over 40 birds. There was a single Meadow Pipit on the wires by Tip Field and bright pink male Bullfinch in the corner of Parlour Mead Field. Also of note was a flock of 23 Redwing in White Gate Lag.

The herd of British White cattle have done an excellent job in grazing the flood meadow over the past month or so and will soon be moving into Gravel Pit and Spring Barn Fields so keep your eyes peeled for on Farm signage.