Bucklebury Common
Habitat Restoration
Habitat Restoration Protects Rare Species on Bucklebury Common
Fantastic progress has been made with habitat restoration on Bucklebury Common to protect rare heathland and wood pasture species. The work has been carried out with some help from West Berkshire Countryside Society volunteers and is part of the Partnerships for Nature (P4N) programme. The Common is one of seven sites in the North Wessex Downs National Landscape P4N programme – which is funded through DEFRA’s Species Survival Fund and administered by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The Bucklebury Common project covers 266 hectares of wood pasture, restored heathland and newly created heathland, and is expected to lead to a significant increase in a wide range of species, including heathland birds, reptiles, bats, and butterflies.
Heathland Restoration
Heathland is an important habitat for the survival of some rare species, including woodlarks, adders and the Dartford warbler, but there is very little remaining in England. Bucklebury Common is the largest remaining area of lowland heath in the North Wessex Downs – and this project will more than double its size to 66 hectares. The heath would originally have been grazed by wild herbivores, and then by cattle. But since cattle grazing stopped after the Second World War the heath has become overgrown with invasive birch. An area of birch and holly has been cut back, allowing heather seeds that have lain dormant for over 80 years to germinate.
Protection of 200 Veteran Trees
The project includes wood pasture restoration which will protect around 200 veteran trees. Old trees are a valuable resource for wildlife and an important part of Bucklebury Common’s history. Many of the older trees on Bucklebury Common are overcrowded by lots of younger, taller trees. This reduces their lifespan and their ability to support an abundance of wildlife. Veteran trees are being ‘haloed’, by removing younger trees around them. This will increase the longevity of the veteran trees, allowing them to form lots of features which are great for wildlife like cracks and hollows, dead branches and ‘epiphytes’ – other plants growing on the tree. Wood pasture is also being restored by pollarding of younger trees – trees cut above the reach of livestock and deer which resprout with lots of fresh growth.
New Homes for Adders
Bucklebury Common is home to a small but very important population of adders, an increasingly rare reptile. Adders hibernate during the winter in structures called hibernacula. These are often natural, formed of narrow cracks in the roots of old trees, or rodent burrows. To increase the population of adders, artificial hibernacula have been built using logs and soil. These will provide additional spaces for them to hibernate safely through the winter.
Reintroduction of Cattle Grazing
Cattle grazing will be returned to the common to help maintain the heathland and wood pasture and prevent invasive birch trees regrowing. Another benefit of cattle grazing comes from cattle dung – which provides a fabulous resource for insects and fungi. A small herd of Belted Galloway cows are being introduced – with the help of invisible fencing. GPS collars are used to alert cows when they reach a boundary, and grazing boundaries can be defined via a simple phone app – making it much easier to manage than using physical fences.
Nightjars are one of many rare species to benefit from this project. These migratory birds, arrive from sub-Saharan Africa in spring and require open, heathy areas to nest on the ground. To find out if the nocturnal and well-camouflaged nightjar is about, is to listen out for its distinctive ‘churring’ call at dusk.
Ruth Larkin
Find out more about this and other Partnerships for Nature projects at
