Throughout 2024, I followed in person a year in the life of an ancient, broadleaved woodland in the heart of rural Dorset. I followed its progress from certain points within its bounds, and observed the beauty the woodland had to offer throughout the seasons. It was really interesting to see what goes on during each month of the year within a classic english country woodland, and to be able see the subtle differences as time went on.
Previously on my blog, I left the woodland at the end of June after six months of colourful adventures. I watched as winter transformed into a vibrant spring and moved towards the summer months. From majestic skeletal trees and the unrolling of green to carpets of blue and flashes of beautiful butterflies, the woodland showed itself to be a master of changing its finery in dramatic style. To read more, check out Part 1 on my blog!
This time I delve into the second half of 2024 amongst the trees, as summer brings tranquil days, autumn comes with a riot of colour, and the woodland slips back into its winter slumber. How will these months differ to those of the first half of the year and what can we learn as the days regress once again. Here’s part 2 of my A Year in the Life of a Woodland.
July
Summer has arrived! Stepping into the woodland, humid warmth is replaced by a refreshing cool within the shade of the tall trees. All around the undergrowth is starting to die back, with flower heads dropping their spent petals and seeds beginning to be produced. Herb robert survives on though, with nodding heads of still bright pink flowers, whilst honeysuckle hangs from the trees, giving off their heady scent, and enchanter’s nightshade and bramble flowers start to appear. Amongst all this, ferns now stand tall along open tracks and wooodland glades, lush green and stealing the summer sunlight from any plants tucked below.
Birds of the woodland are now concentrating on feeding their young or are even coming to the end of this year’s breeding season. Distant chiffchaffs and wrens sing on though, alongside woodpigeons calling, and tits communicating up in the trees. Buzzing flies can also be heard on warmer days, whilst dragonflies dance along woodland borders on silent wings. A fox slinks by through the shadows of the trees, on silent paws, at ease, only turning its head as it walks by. With the woodland now full of new life, the excitement and activity of spring is ebbing away, and we welcome the days of the more relaxed summer season.
August
The woods are returning to their quieter state once again. The days are beginning to shorten in small increments, and the first whisperings of autumn can be felt. The start of August has been interesting with the woods seeing hot days broken up with spells of grey and heavy showers. As evening sun breaks through the still lush, but battered canopy, it’s noticeable that the woodland floor is picking up pace receding now. The hint of colour from flowers is completely disappearing, whilst the green undergrowth is beginning to show the brown leaf litter layer below.
Silence blankets the woodland, broken by wind up in the tree canopy, distant bird contact calls, and noise beyond the woodland altogether. The joyful bird song of spring has long served it’s purpose, and now the time has come when summer visitors are beginning to think of moving on to warmer climes, as the first signs of autumn have arrived. Plants hang with fat seed heads, hazel trees are laden with nuts that are already being pilfered, grey squirrels can be heard alarm calling up in the trees, and jays are popping up with their rough screaming calls. It’s a time of bounty and fruitfulness, a time to celebrate what nature has given us this year, and a time to prepare for the slumber to come.
September
The first breath of chilly air has arrived and rarer dry days have an edge to them. Another change in the year is coming, as the woodland floor dies back, leaving increasing patches of last year’s leaf litter open to the air once again. In places grass is crowding out other species on woodland rides, whilst ferns begin to turn brown, like fire catching their leaves’ edges. The first holly berries are beginning to redden, hazel trees are bedecked in green nuts, ripe blackberries are already beginning to soften, and oaks are growing their iconic nuts complete with their classic cups.
The mornings are now renewed with a gentle soundtrack of calling birds in the woodland, with residents claiming territories and migrants passing through on their way. Nuthatches, wrens, goldcrests and robins are amongst this cohort, creating a bubble of bird song. The afternoons are quieter, filled with lazily buzzing insects, and the odd animal sound. This afternoon though, the woodland soundscape is broken up with the sound of a great-spotted woodpecker moving from tree to tree and tapping to find food beneath bark.
October
Nights are drawing in, temperatures are beginning to cool, and the dampness in the air is creeping in. Trees, such as oak, hazel and ash, are beginning to show changes to the colour of their leaves, adding yellows, reds, and oranges to their palette. As the trees signal the start of changing out of their finery, the ferns covering the woodland floor below are now fully on fire, curling up and browning away. As this dying off progresses, new life is symbolised through nuts, seeds and berries, such as the first ripe holly berries, shiny and red, waiting to be eaten. To buck the trend, ivy tendrils are sprouting clusters of green balls, their late flowers that will reach their peak in November.
Most of the summer avian residents will have begun their travels to warmer climes, leaving overwintering birds moving through and residents staying put. For example, our native robins are beginning to sing strong once again, needing to defend their important territories throughout the winter. Tits can be heard beginning to travel in small feeding flocks, whilst wrens and goldcrests flit in the branches currently going solo. Mammals do not make an appearance during my visit, but there are signs of the badgers, foxes, roe deer and squirrels that call the woods home. Times are bountiful for those who can find it, but harsher days are on their way!
November
The arrival of November is accompanied by shortening day lengths and biting northerly winds. Mostly the month begins calm in the woodland with grey or sunny days. As trees continue to take in the goodness of this year’s bounty of leaves, the green of summer has been fully taken over by bright fierce colours in the canopy, with the orange of oak, yellow of hazel, gold of field maple, and red of hawthorn, amongst others. The leaves also begin to fall from on high, twirling to the ground and beginning to form a crunchy leaf litter under foot. The trees are going to go out with a riot of colour!
The soft sunlight falling through the trees marks a slowing of time and activity for wildlife. Pheasants meander amongst the trees being released from local shoots. A raucous jay echoes through the still trees. Mushrooms poke up from the leaf litter here and there creating a more ethereal quality to the woodland during this time. It finally feels like autumn has arrived just at the point when people look towards the closing of the year in a month’s time. Time to savour the last hurrah of nature!
December
The year is rolling on to its close once again and winter is fully upon us. As I step back into the woodland for one last walk of the year, a cool breeze bites my cheeks whilst cheerful sunshine falls through the trees. Now I find myself surrounded by leafless forms once again, bare, skeletal, but magnificent, especially the ancient oaks. The last few hazel leaves cling to their branches, but most trees have now shed their finery, and a new carpet of leaf litter satisfyingly crunches beneath my feet. The trees are putting nutrients back into the earth as they now lay in slumber.
Up above my head, I can hear a soft tap, tap, tap. The sound of a great-spotted woodpecker moving from tree to tree once again, and tapping for food under their barks. Birds call all around me, from angry wrens, territorial robins, and hungry blue tits, to a raven passing overhead, blackbirds on the wing, and even a nuthatch going about its business. Badgers will now be sleeping more, whilst foxes are more active, thinking about breeding once again. There is still so much life to be found out in this Dorset woodland, even if all are just trying to survive through to another year. December is rolling on and a new year beckons!
As the weather gets warmer and drier during spring and the countryside begins to bloom, I always like to set myself the goal of getting out into it as much as possible. I like to use these countryside walks as a way to calm my own mind and escape the stresses of modern day-to-day life. In particular, I am always drawn back to the woodlands and forests, with the tranquillity they breath to me. Growing up in Dorset I have always been able to disappear into the trees and appreciate such a habitat at any time of year.
In celebration of my love of the woods, especially during springtime, over April and May this year, I made 4 visits to one of my local ones to observe it as the season changed. On these trips I sat and wrote down my experience on my favourite log (see photo above), and took lots of photos with my new DSLR camera whilst walking through the woods. Check out below to see my diary entries and the photos that accompany them:
Spring bird calls and song provides the soundtrack to my trip, including everything from groups of foraging long-tailed tits to angry blue tits and charismatic chiff chaffs. I also hear the reminiscent winter squabbling of jays, and on a stop to my favourite log in the middle of the wood, I can hear the coarser call of a raven and the calls of male pheasants.
This morning I chose to get up at 5am to meet a 6.08am sunrise, and to make the most of the dawn light. At this time of day, on my walk to the woods, I had great sightings of roe deer and brown hare, and got to see a beautiful pink sunrise. The dewy grass added to my photos in this glorious light.
Snow white garlic flowers are now emerging in the wood, whilst early purple orchids are also beginning to sprout here and there. The bluebells are now starting to create a sea of blue, with their white counterparts dotted here and there amongst them. Soon the woods will be fully awash with purply-blue and patches of white.
You can definitely forget yourself among these trees, flowers and wildlife, which this morning included the bark of grey squirrels up in the tree canopy. Today, I have stayed awhile sat in the morning light of the woods, but I now know to make my way home from here, as the sun begins to burn through the trees a little too hot, and the midges begin to bite my neck more noticeably. This signals ‘the best part of the day has thus moved on’, as i must.
On my trip this time to the woods, I took my four-legged friend Cassie. At the ripe old age of 13, she is becoming weary on her legs, but is still up for an adventure. This is great as there is nothing better than sharing the wonder of the outdoors with another being, even if they are no more than 3 feet tall.
The days are getting hotter and the sun higher in the May sky. In the depths of the wood though, the canopy keeps me cool. The woodland floor is now a tangle of unruly vegetation. The dying bluebells, orchids, and spring flowers jostle with unfurling ferns, sticky goose grass and flowers that persist. These include stitchwort, herb Robert, and red campion, which are gems of colour in a sea of green.
Ash trees are finally fully in leaf and roe deer ramble lazily between the trees around me. Though this transition period may be more subtle than others, it truly signifies the changing of the seasons, as the important time for some species is replaced by the next. Thus, summer has now crept up on us!
Laura's Wild World 