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Oak/Birchwoods The oak tree is considered by many to typify the English countryside. The oak and acorn are used by many organisations to symbolise our natural heritage eg. the National Trust. In the woodlands of the Dark Peak cloughs, particularly along the River Derwent, oak and birch trees are dominant. This is due to the silicic nature of the soil providing the acidity preferred by both the oak and birch tree. Fragments of oak/birchwoods are also found in certain locations in the South West Peak and White Peak. Traditionally these woodlands were managed as coppice for charcoal production or for the oak bark used in tanning. General decline in these trades has led to a deterioration of Peak District oak/birchwood woodland, which now covers about 2200 hectares in total.
Oak/birch woodlands are home to numerous irreplaceable woodlands wildlife communities. Species include hazel, aspen, wood sorrel, wood anemone, wood sage, bird cherry and bluebell, and upland birds such as pied flycatcher and wood warbler. The proximity of the oak/birchwoods to moorland offers an important variety of habitats for birds such as the nightjar, tree pipit and the black grouse - now extinct from the area. The oak tree itself supports the greatest variety of insects and invertebrates than any other British tree, including the purple hairstreak. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Oak/Birchwood species:Black Grouse ( Tetrao tetrix )
Thought to be commoner than the red grouse in Staffordshire in the 1600s, the black grouse declined throughout the Peak District until 2000 when the last bird was seen. The reason for the loss of the black grouse from the Peak District is unknown but it is thought to be due to the lack of a mosaic of different habitats - moorlands with wet areas for chicks to feed on insects, open fields for courting displays, woodland/scrub for shelter and flower-rich grasslands for adult feeding. Re-introduction of the black grouse into the Peak District has been considered and a few birds were recently released. Similar programmes of re-introduction of birds such as the red kite have been successful in other parts of the country. It is unknown whether this re-introduction will be successful. Some questions to consider are:
These are difficult questions to which we do not have all the answers. Only in the future will we be able to judge the success of the black grouse re-introduction in the Peak District. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Also known as lambs tails because of its catkins. Hazel produces distinctive nuts in late summer, much loved by woodland mammals. Hazel was one of the early colonisers of Britain after the last Ice Age along with birch. Equally at home in the White or Dark Peak, it has been much coppiced in the past with numerous uses for the stems (poles) it produces. Their abundance and flexibility has meant hazel coppice-wood have been used in numerous ceremonies long forgotten. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Wood Sorrel ( Oxalis acetosella ) Look out for this delicate, veined, white flowered plant with a shamrock-like leaf in early spring. Due to its' flowering period, it has long associations with the Resurrection and Ascension, sometimes being known as Alleluia. It is an indicator of ancient woodland, flowering before the trees above break into leaf. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Wood Anemone ( Anemone nemorosa ) Also known as the Windflower. One of the earliest of spring flowers, this white, purple-streaked flower with feather-like leaves is typical of ancient woodlands, of which it is a faithful indicator. Large colonies of the plant can fill the air with a sharp, musky smell. As with wood sorrel, it flowers before the woodland trees break into leaf so reducing sunlight to the woodland floor. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Bluebell ( Hyacinthoides non-scriptus )
Nothing is more evocative of British woodlands in spring, especially oak woodlands of the Dark Peak, than spectacular swathes of bluebells under opening woodland leaves. It is one of the most written about flowers by poets and romantics, including Gerard Manley Hopkins. A plant now protected by law, as it has been unscrupulously harvested in recent times. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - A summer migrant having spent the winter months in tropical Africa. Typically found in oak woodlands, it feeds by launching itself from a branch, usually in the upper reaches of a tree, swerving and twisting to catch insects. Unlike the spotted flycatcher, it rarely returns to the same perch. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Purple Hairstreak ( Quercusia quercus )
Very closely allied to oak trees. The larvae feed on oak leaves while the butterflies are rarely seen as they fly around outer upper branches of oaks, and ash if nearby. Adult males prefer ash to oak to bask in the sun and await passing females! Feed on honeydew. Very elusive. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
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