Leader : Colin Howes

Attendees : 8 Nats members and two guests

Melton Wood survives as a colourful island of buzzing, babbling, interacting nature,
adrift in an ocean of arable crops made necessary by our clamouring hoards.

Assembled in the car park 10:30am.

After discussing the failures and … well … more failures of observing the convergence of Jupiter and Venus near the eastern horizon at 5am that morning, we were cautioned about the prevalence of dog dirt in the vicinity of the car park, the tripping hazards of tree stumps, fallen branches and bramble briars on the networks of woodland paths, and were advised to examine, sketch or photograph the notice board showing the map of the woodland rides so as to navigate our way back to the cars.  The hearty group was then introduced to our guest (who had walked to the venue from Sprotborough) David Carroll, author of the book on the natural history of Melton Wood, which he reminded us, had been published by the DDOS exactly 40 years ago! (see references).

The group proceeded via the winding paths along the wood’s eastern perimeter, visiting the small, now overgrown, limestone quarry (not on the OS map) and proceeded to the northern portal of the main north/south ‘green lane’. Here we stopped for lunch and looked out over the arable monoculture due north towards the village of Marr, to the northeast to the wooded artificial uplands of the newly landscaped Brodsworth colliery tip (now re-branded Brodsworth Community Woodland) and due east to the chaos of traffic on the A1(M). Then looking to the west we could see at close quarters the array of wind turbines and distant views of the hedges and treescapes in the vicinity of Hickleton Park. Looking north towards Brodsworth Park, the now extensive arable landscape between Marr and Hickleton, appears on the 1^st edition OS map as a huge area of deciduous woodland known as ‘Marr Thick’ … sadly now all gone.

After lunch we proceeded south along the length of the ‘green lane’, encountering the fascinatingly incongruous (on the limestone) peaty marsh and Rhododendron area. Some of us ventured west to list species in the 1km square SE5003, then on to the southern portal of ‘green lane’ with its gloomy grove of about 50 venerable Yews, the origins of countless sapling yews throughout the wood. The portal looked south out over yet more arable and to the tower of Melton Church and the roofs and tree tops of High Melton village.  

The day had been a joy of carpets of colour, of yellow (of Lesser Celandine), white and pink (of Wood Anenome) and blue (of Bluebells), and a lofty architecture of mature tree trunks of Ash, Beech and Sycamore, Poplar, Pine and Yew.

Returned to car park 2:45pm

References

Carroll, D. (1980) Melton Wood pp. 1-2. In Limbert, M. (ed) Ornithological Sites around Doncaster. 
Lapwing Special Series No. 1. Doncaster and District Ornithological Society.
Carroll, D. (1982) Melton Wood. Lapwing Special Series No. 2. Doncaster and District Ornithological Society.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leader :  Joyce & Paul Simmons.

 

 

Leader : Colin Howes

 

 

Leader : Nora Boyle

Seven members of the Nats and ten members from Friends of Denaby Crags 

Doncaster Naturalists’ Society & Friends of Denaby Crags Preliminary visit to Denaby Crags, Good Friday 15 April 2022

The group met at the Crags Road entrance, split into two groups, one walking east to the Lady’s Valley quarry then west to the allotments, the other walking west along the crags then back to the allotments where both groups met for a very generous and enjoyable picnic lunch provided by the friends.

Although the Crags extend into at least three Ordnance Survey 1km squares, during this preliminary visit we mainly recorded in the 1km square SK5099. However, in future we need to name specific target sections of the Crags complex and record them separately.

Flowering Plants

Botanical Name	Vernacular Name
Acer pseudoplatanus	Sycamore
Aesculus hippocastanum	Horse Chestnut
Ajuga reptans	Bugle
Alliaria petiolata	Jack-by-the-hedge
Alliaria petiolata	Garlic Mustard
Allium ursinum	Wild Garlic (Ramsons)
Allium oleraceum	Field Garlic Abundant beside path edges (SK 50367 99186)
Alnus glutinosa	Alder
Anemone nemorosa	Wood Anenome (in Flower) (SK49957 98914)
Angelica sylvestris	Wild Angelica
Anthriscus sylvestris	Cow Parsley
Arctium minus	Lesser Burdock
Artemisia vulgaris	Mugwort
Arum maculatum	Arum
Bellis perennis	Daisy (in flower)
Betula pendula	Silver Birch
Borago officinalis	Borage (Allotments)
Brachypodium sylvaticum	False Brome
Brachypodium pinnatum	Tor Grass
Cardamine flexuosa	Wavy Bittercress
Centaurea nigra	Common Knapweed
Centaurea scabiosa	Greater Knapweed
Chamaenerion angustifolium	Rosebay
Cirsium arvense	Creeping Thistle
Cirsium vulgare	Spear Thistle
Cornus sanguinea	Dogwood
Corylus avellana	Hazel
Cotoneaster horizontalis	Rockspray Cotoneaster (Cultivated plant disbursed in bird droppings) (SK 50305 99080)
Crataegus monogyna	Hawthorn
Cytisus scoparius	Broom (SK49995 98921)
Dactylis glomerata	Cock’s-foot
Epilobium hirsutum	Hairy Willowherb
Euonymus europaeus	Spindle
Euphorbia helioscopia	Sun Spurge
Fagus sylaticus	Beech
Ficaria verna	Lesser Celandine (in flower) (SK 50151 99014)
Filipendula ulmaria	Meadowsweet
Fraxinus excelsior	Ash
Galium aparine	Cleavers
Geranium robertianum	Herb Robert
Geum urbanum	Wood Avens
Glechoma hederacea	Ground Ivy (in flower)
Hedera helix	Ivy
Heracleum sphondylium	Hogweed
Hyacinthoides non-scripta	Bluebell (in flower) (SK50518 99318)
Hypericum hirsutum	Hairy St John’s-wort (SK50305 99076)
Ilex aquifolium	Holly
Lamium album	White Dead Nettle (in flower)
Lamium purpureum	Red Dead Nettle (in flower)
Lathyrus pratensis	Meadow Vetchling
Lonicera periclymenum	Honeysuckle
Luzula camestris	Field Woodrush [Good Friday Grass] (in flower)
Malus x domestica	Apple (in flower)
Mercurialis perennis	Dog’s Mercury (in flower) (SK50305 99076)
Narcissus pseudonarcissus	Cultivated Daffodil (in flower)
Oxalis articulata	Pink Sorrel (in flower) (Allotments)
Phalaris arundinacea  ‘picta’	Reed Canary Grass or Ribbon Grass [Varigated in allotments]
Plantago lanceolata	Ribwort Plantain
Plantago major	Broad-leaved Plantain
Populus sp.	Poplar sp. possibly Balsam Poplar
Potentilla reptans	Creeping Cinquefoil
Prunus avium	Wild Cherry (in flower)
Prunus spinosa	Blackthorn (in flower)
Pteridium aquilinum	Bracken
Quercus ilex	Holm Oak (SK50154 99010) (Introduced from the eastern Mediterranean in the 1500s)
Quercus petraea	Sessile Oak
Quercus robur	Pedunculate Oak
Ranunculus acris	Meadow Buttercup
Ranunculus auricomus	Wood Goldilocks (in flower) Abundant beside path edges (SK50428 99248)
Ranunculus repens	Creeping Buttercup
Reynoutria japonica	Japanese Knotweed [a notifiable pest!] (SK49909 99107)
Rosa canina	Dog Rose
Rubus fruticosus	Bramble
Rubus-idaeus	Raspberry
Rumex obtusifolius	Broad Dock
Salix caprea	Goat Willow (in flower)
Sambucus nigra	Elder
Senecio vulgaris	Groundsel (in flower)
Sorbus aucuparia	Rowan
Stachis sylvatica	Hedge Woundwort
Stellaria holostea	Great Stitchwort (in flower)
Stellaria media	Common Chickweed (in flower)
Taraxacum officinale agg	Dandelion sp.
Taxus baccata	Yew
Teucreum scorodonia	Wood Sage
Tilia sp	Lime sp.
Tussilago farfara	Colt’s foot (in flower) (SK50393 99225)
Ulex europaeus	Gorse (SK50017 98937 & SK49995 98921)
Urtica dioica	Stinging Nettle
Veronica chamaedrys	Germander of Birds-eye Speedwell (in flower)
Veronica hederifolia	Ivy-leaved Speedwell  (in flower)
Veronica persica	Field Speedwell (in flower)
Viburnum lantana	Wayfaring Tree (SK50327 99124 & SK50305 99076)
Viburnum opulus	Guelder Rose
Vicia sepium	Bush Vetch
Viola odorata	Sweet Violet (SK50305 99076)
Viola riviniana

 

 

 

 

Leader : Colin Howes

7 members in attendance.

Prelude:

“… it is indeed a very attractive place to visit. In early spring the Wood Anenomies, Bluebells, Violets, Primroses and Cowslips are a pleasure to see whilst later, as the trees burst into leaf, Ramsons form a white covering on the ground interspersed with Yellow Archangel and Red Campion” (Dorothy Bramley 1993).

Aims: The aims of the excursion were to record in most of the 1km squares covered by the mosaic of woodland habitats of Wadworth Wood, enjoy the flush of spring flowers, estimate the number of Spurge Laurel clumps, attempt to locate the population of Lily of the Valley and record the dominant ground flora colonising the curious Sink Holes. The wood is recognised as a DMBC Local Wildlife Site, was surveyed by the Doncaster Nats in 1992 & 93, and was the subject of a Nats publication edited by Dorothy Bramley (Bramley, 1993).

A Catalogue of Errors

Two days before the advertised event I prospected the assembly point, the track to the venue and walked around the networks of paths and routes through the larger part of the wood as far as the M18 underpass and back. All seemed well for both natural history and health and safety.   

Being in denial of the advertised 10am start time, I drifted through the morning expecting to emerge at 10.30. This was despite frantic, but unheard, phone calls and tappings on doors and windows by our reliable and dutiful president … so I apologise for my late arrival at the Short Lane venue.

All went well during the morning until we passed through the underpass to reach the sections of woodland to the north of the M18. Here, despite the absence of significant rain, the rides were like the Somme, churned and deeply rutted by trail and quad bikes. This required us to enter the woodland, attempting to make progress parallel to the paths. However, this brought us into direct and exhausting conflict with brambles, dangerously abundant dead wood and the debris of tree felling, all making scratching, stabbing, tripping and falling a likely outcome.

Being unable to use the defined paths also presented us with the problems of how to traverse the normally dry gullies running down to the series of ‘sink holes’ which we’d come to inspect and which to the south of the M18 had presented no problems. This day the gullies, which had been used as water hazards by the ‘off roaders’, were impassable leading to lengthy and strenuous detours, again though thick undergrowth with perils underfoot.

Although nobody actually died and after several confirmatory phone calls we had all got home, Nora and Louise had indeed suffered falls. Painful knees and hips were further inflamed by the strenuous and unremitting exercise and Louise who slipped and fell headlong into one of the flooded ruts had been covered in what potters would describe as ‘clay slip’.

In retrospect, as leader I should have prospected the entire woodland complex and abandoned the visit to the areas to the north of the motorway.

Key : *

Indicates 1km squares South of the M18 while + Indicates the 1km squares North of the M18

Wadworth Wood

Botanical Name	Vernacular Name	SK5596*	SK5597*	SK5696*	SK5597+	SK5598+	SK5698+
Acer pseudoplatanus	Sycamore	*	*		*
Alliaria petiolata	Jack-by-the-hedge	*	*	*	*	*	*
Allium ursinum	Wild Garlic (Ramsons)	*	*		*	*	*
Alnus glutinosa	Alder		*				*
Anemone nemorosa	Wood Anenome (in Flower)	*	*		*	*	*
Angelica sylvestris	Wild Angelica		*	*	*
Arctium minus	Lesser Burdock			*
Arum maculatum	Arum	*	*		*	*	*
Bellis perennis	Daisy (in flower)
Betula pendula	Silver Birch	*	*		*	*
Brachypodium sylvaticum	False Brome	*	*		*	*
Brassica napus	Rape			*
Centaurea nigra	Common Knapweed	*	*	*	*
Cirsium arvense	Creeping Thistle			*
Conopodium majus	Pignut	*
Cornus sanguinea	Dogwood	*	*		*
Corylus avellana	Hazel	*	*		*	*	*
Crataegus monogyna	Hawthorn	*	*	*	*	*	*
Dactylis glomerata	Cock’s-foot	*	*	*	*	*	*
Daphne laureola	Spurge Laurel (in flower & fruit)	*
Deschampsia flexuosa	Wavy Hair-grass	*	*		*
Epilbium hirsutum	Hairy Willowherb	*	*			*
Euonymus europaeus	Spindle	*	*		*	*
Fagus sylaticus	Beech				*	*
Ficaria verna	Lesser Celandine (in flower)	*	*	*	*	*	*
Filipendula ulmaria	Meadowsweet	*	*		*	*
Fraxinus excelsior	Ash	*	*
Galium aparine	Cleavers	*	*	*	*	*	*
Geranium robertianum	Herb Robert	*	*
Geum rivale	Water Avens	*	*		*
Glechoma hederacea	Ground Ivy (in flower)	*	*	*	*	*	*
Hedera helix	Ivy	*	*		*	*	*
Heracleum sphondylium	Hogweed	*	*	*
Hyacinthoides non-scripta	Bluebell (in flower)	*	*		*	*	*
Hypericum hirsutum	Hairy St John’s-wort	*
Ilex aquifolium	Holly	*	*		*	*
Lamium album	White Dead Nettle (in flower)	*	*	*	*	*
Lamium purpureum	Red Dead Nettle (in flower)			*
Ligustrum vulgare	Wild Privet	*	*		*	*	*
Lonicera periclymenum	Honeysuckle	*	*		*	*	*
Lysimachia nemorum	Yellow Pimpernel	*
Mercurialis perennis	Dog’s Mercury (in flower)	*	*	*	*	*	*
Narcissus pseudonarcissus	Cultivated Daffodil (in flower)				*
Phyllitis scolopendrium	Hart’s–tongue Fern	*	*
Pinus nigra	Corsican Pine	*	*		*
Pinus sylvestris	Scots Pine	*	*		*
Plantago lanceolata	Ribwort Plantain	*	*		*	*
Plantago major	Broad-leaved Plantain	*		*	*
Potentilla reptans	Creeping Cinquefoil	*	*	*
Primula veris	Cowslip (in flower)	*	*	*
Primula vulgaris	Primrose (in flower)	*		*
Prunus avium	Wild Cherry (in flower)	*	*		*
Prunus spinosa	Blackthorn (in flower)	*		*
Pteridium aquilinum	Bracken	*	*		*	*
Quercus robur	Pedunculate Oak	*	*		*	*
Ranunculus repens	Creeping Buttercup	*	*	*	*
Rosa campestris	Field Rose	*	*
Rosa canina	Dog Rose		*	*	*
Rosa spinosissima	Burnet Rose	*
Rubus caesius	Dewberry	*
Rubus fruticosus	Bramble	*	*	*	*	*	*
Rumex obtusifolius	Broad Dock	*	*	*	*	*	*
Salix caprea	Goat Willow (in flower)	*	*		*	*
Sambucus nigra	Elder	*	*	*	*	*
Senecio vulgaris	Groundsel	*	*	*
Stachis sylvatica	Hedge Woundwort		*		*
Stellaria holostea	Great Stitchwort	*	*		*	*
Stellaria media	Common Chickweed (in flower)			*	*
Taraxacum officinale agg	Dandelion sp.	*	*	*	*	*
Taxus baccata	Yew	*	*		*
Sinapis arvensis	Charlock (in flower)			*
Teucreum scorodonia	Wood Sage		*		*
Tilia cordata	Small-leaved Lime		*
Ulmus glabra	Wych Elm	*	*
Urtica dioica	Stinging Nettle	*	*	*	*	*	*
Veronica beccabunga	Brooklime	*
Veronica persica	Field Speedwell (in flower)	*	*		*	*
Viola richenbachiana	Early Dog Violet	*
Viola riviniana	Common Dog Violet (in flower)	*	*		*	*	*