Fauna & Flora
The area around Grewelthorpe has a rich and diverse Fauna and Flora. There are three main types of environment.
Extensive livestock agriculture, including dairying, is practised on much of the land around the village. This has meant that relatively small grass fields with hedges have been retained. This has allowed patches of semi natural vegetation to be maintained and the hedges support a wide range of invertebrates which in turn, together with fruit bearing plants such as hawthorn, blackberry and elder support good populations of small vertebrates such as voles, shrews and mice. Birds use the hedgerows for shelter during nesting and feed on the fruit, seeds and invertebrates. Little owls have regularly nested in at least one site in a hedgerow near to the village.
The village and it’s pond is particularly attractive to a wide range of birds, insects and mammals. Grewelthorpe is a strip village and most of the gardens back onto open countryside. As a result In the winter the village’s bird tables are visited by a colourful array of birds including Great tits, Coal tits and Blue tits, Green Finches, Gold finches, Wrens and occasionally by rarer species. See list in Hackfall section below. Frogs and toads abound and hedgehogs wander in and out at will. On a summers evening Pipistrel bats fly up and down the main street and the cries of Tawny Owls show that populations of this top predator are very strong. Eyed Hawk moths have been seen dipping their long proboscises into nectar bearing garden plants such as the ubiquitous Valerian.
Hackfall woods to the north and east of the village is a Site of Special Scientific under the Wildlife and countryside act. A report on the site says that “It is important as a largely undisturbed example of ancient semi-natural broad-leaved woodland and it contains a wide range of plant communities.” The natural communities of plants have been supplemented by the planting of ferns and other plants during a period of landscaping in the nineteenth century.
The report goes on to point out that “Local variations In geology within the gorge are reflected in the variety of plant associations within the wood.” There are acidic soils on “Brimham Grits”, more alkali soils on “Ure Shell Beds” and the Calcareous springs that bubble out in certain areas provide an environment for plants that require particularly alkali conditions. A list of the species noted in the report can be found here SSSI Report.
The woods are currently owned by the Woodlands Trust which aims to preserve ancient woodlands in Britain.
Hackfall Wood Grewelthorpe
OS Landranger 99; Explorer 26; SE 234773; 112.0 acres (45.3 ha)
Pt. Site of Special Scientific Interest, Semi-natural Ancient Woodland + Replanted Ancient Woodland Site; Well Worth A Visit; Parking Nearby; Information Board; Mainly Broad-leaved Woodland; Good Views; Marshland; Wildlife Interest.
Hackfall & Ure
“All three woodpeckers are present (green woodpeckers, great-spotted woodpecker, lesser-spotted woodpecker) and other woodland birds including woodcock, spotted and pied flycatcher, nuthatch and treecreeper.
The River Ure runs through the bottom of the woodland and in waterlogged river margins and tributary streams, kingfisher, dipper and grey wagtail and common sandpiper are present. The varied habitat also provides cover for birds such as wood warbler, pied flycatcher and redstart.”
Osprey have been occasionally reported.
The Woodlands trust have a policy of leaving fallen wood to encourage animals and plants (particularly fungi) at the bottom of the food chain. Fallen wood is cut up and stacked in what are known as “beetle banks”. As the wood rots it provides food and shelter for insect larvae including a rare insect which has been noted in Hackfall Woods, the red net-winged beetle Platycis minutus.
This paragraph from The Woodland Trust’s web site provides a bit more insight into the processes involved.
“White-rot decay supports a very wide range of some of our most colourful insects. Larvae of the beautiful red net-winged beetle Platycis minutus develop in relatively soft moist heartwood, especially beech and ash.”
Another rare animal found in the woods is a small yellow slug called Limax tenellus. They’re faster than
you think so you’ll have to be quick to see one.