Wildlife/Biodiversity – under construction…. content below is just filler for now…
Some filler text to begin with (much more to follow soon)
Traditional orchards of all kinds are a haven for wildlife – by combining some elements of woodland and meadow, orchards create an unusually rich ‘wood-pasture’ type of habitat
They support many familiar species of wildlife of all sorts, 1800 species of animals and plants ranging from birds, small mammals, butterflies and bees to a rich variety of meadow wild flowers (e.g…)
Plus many less familiar and rare species including a range of unusual insects and providing habitat for many species of mosses and lichens such as the golden- and green-shield lichens.
One particular feature of Gloucestershire orchards is mistletoe, which grows well on apple trees in our local climate. This provides a micro-habitat within the orchard, supporting its own range of birds (mistle thrush) and insects (kiss-me-quick beetle, mistletoe marble moth etc)
This value is all year round – with orchards used as breeding and foraging grounds throughout the summer, and as food sources for birds, mammals and invertebrates in winter
Older trees – veterans, gnarled and hollow with cavities and cracks are hugely important refuges for many types and species of wildlife. Their ecology adds immeasurably to the ecological value of orchards – contributing to their individual history and special character not found in modern orchard plantations.
A video from our Youtube channel:
Some orchard wildlife species:
Noble chafer beetle, orange tip butterfly, red admiral butterfly, red mason bee, kiss-me-quick weevil, mistletoe marble moth, hedgehog, badger, fox, field vole, pipistrelle bat, greater horseshoe bat, dormouse, robin, wren, blue tit, bullfinch, treecreeper, great spotted woodpecker, green woodpecker, lesser spotted woodpecker, fieldfare, redwing, mistle thrush, mistletoe, yellow rattle, oxeye daisy, cowslip,