Birdhouse meadow is a species rich water meadow, well known locally for its wild flowers. It is located at the North end of Windermere. The old hedge, very much a feature of Birdhouse Meadow, is in the process of being laid. The lake periodically floods this area which has sometimes made working on the hedge, for the Trust Rangers….difficult!
Apart from their obvious use as stock proof boundary markers, laid hedges provide an excellent habitat for birds, small mammals, and a wide variety of insects.
Animals also use hedges as corridors to cross fields or commute between woodlands, in comparative safety!
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| The old hedge before work started....... |
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| .......and after! |
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| A newly laid stretch of the hedge being woven in. |
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| Hedge laying, especially an old hedge, creates a lot of brash! |
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| Burning up the brash on site. |
Any fire wood is taken away to be seasoned, ready for use in the NT Footprint Building's wood burner.
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| An example of a pleach. |
This is an angled cut that makes the stem flexible enough to be laid. In this instance a chainsaw was used; this method is much quicker than using an axe or a billhook on a stem this big.
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| A view of work in progress. |
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| Ash tree standards. |
Ash tree standards are often to be found in local hedges; sadly they face an uncertain future owing to the potential spread of Ash die back disease.
Another section of hedge due to be laid in 2013.
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