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This sort of attack on nature conservation is disingenuous and dishonest. You know perfectly well that bullfinch is much commoner than species restricted to Mendip ancient grassland, it is hedge destruction on farms, and lack of scrub on farms which is the issue. https://twitter.com/rebirding1/status/1323186845954527232
You should go and do some bloody work on the Mendips scrub cutting and talk less crap. You owe some volunteers an apology, and I bet you like large blue, and adonis blue, Duke of burgundy fritillary, orchids well enough.
Much of Mendip is ploughed, sprayed, improved, or gone through succession to secondary woodland (many acres on Mendip) to save a few acres of species rich habitat is back breaking work. I know did it on those slopes myself.
You are basically bullying conservation volunteers from your soapbox, go and find a better target, it is a sad thing to do and you know the Trust can not answer back so it bigs you up and damages vital conservation work, really shoddy.
Context
A former limestone hill now cement for building throughout UK
A former limestone hill now cement for building throughout UK
Ancient grassland and scrub near Cheddar Gorge
Many national range restricted rare species
Many national range restricted rare species
Same species rich site in the local improved farmland landscape
Crooks Peak & Wayfaring Down, species rich grassland and scrub
Crooks Peak and Wayfaring Down an island in a midst of improved farmland, which could have thick hedges and scrub, and in fact in places does as bullfinch still has decent populations in West Country.
Let's make a cheap point out of hard graft of volunteers working hard to save some of the richest habitat in UK, not say an entire hill gone to make concrete for all of our homes.
https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/PDFsForWeb/Citation/1001656.pdf
This is not a full list of species which includes many other scarce species.
This is not a full list of species which includes many other scarce species.
Spot the small nature reserve in landscape of intensive farmland
Some good hedges and scrub on farms to NE, reserve is small
https://sac.jncc.gov.uk/site/UK0030203
Draycott Sleights
Home to rare insects, flowers, lichens, fungi
Draycott Sleights
Home to rare insects, flowers, lichens, fungi
After myxomatosis and loss of traditional grazing many Mendip grasslands became secondary woodland and scrub, a few examples.
Sand Point, no scrub at all in aerial photos 1946
Sand Point, no scrub at all in aerial photos 1946
One of 3 UK sites for white rockrose, few sites for Somerset hair-grass, homework, open grassland ringed by scrub
Brean Down, one of 3 sites for white rock rose UK, Somerset hair grass, honewort (last two also sand point) very rare lichens on ground, white horehound and much more, scrub now abundant compared to 1940s
Weston Woods and 1840 plantation on limestone grassland, many rare plants and insects lost
A site I used to visit many rare plants such as spring cinquefoil, private, unmanaged now much smaller as most scrubbed over.
Extent of scrub and secondary woodland Crook's Peak
Crook's Peak not lacking in scrub
Crook's Peak
Crook's Peak and Cheddar, that slope by village was open now secondary woodland
Mendips are not Northern Uplands, even with grazing scrub grows. Black Rock Cheddar
Black Rock was open, you have to work hard to keep any open ground, it is very different to upland, always has had a mosaic of scrub, wood, grassland, which makes it so rich.
My last visit to Black Rock redstart still breeds, good sites for dormouse.
and bullfinch
