A day in the life of a seasonal warden

I’m Hannah, one of the new seasonal wardens for the Thames Basin Heaths Partnership. I’ve been wardening for just over a month now and thought I’d share my recent visit to Caesar’s Camp in Bracknell. As a local, I’ve walked past Caesar’s Camp many times whilst walking or cycling in Swinley Forest, but until now I’ve never really explored this little gem.

Caesar’s Camp is actually the remains of an Iron Age hillfort, built between 2,500 and 2,700 years ago. As you walk around the area you will notice the mounds, walls and ditches – a truly impressive feat when you consider that it would have been constructed entirely using hand tools!

After chatting to a few walkers on the main track through the heathland, I took a path that meandered through the woodland. There were lots of holly trees alongside the path and I always take a closer look at the leaves. Most trees will have leaves with yellowish-purple blotches and channels on their upper surface, created by the tunnelling larvae of a leaf mining fly. Fortunately, these tiny insects have little impact on the growth of the tree. Once the larvae have finished their feeding they will pupate inside the leaf before emerging as adults. Despite the tough, spiky leaves providing the larvae with great protection from predators, they won’t all successfully emerge as adults. Some parasitic wasps will lay their eggs through the leaf and into the larvae. The wasp’s young will then eat the leaf miner larvae. Birds, such as blue tits, can use their beaks to peck through the leaf to get to the larvae inside.

I was also fascinated by the big beech trees, especially in an area that is dominated by scots pine. These trees are so majestic, with their sprawling branches reaching up to the sky.

At this time of year beech trees can be identified by their distinctive long, pointy buds. It helped that this twig still had the spiky beech nut case from autumn hanging on! It won’t be long until the beech is in full leaf and next month you will see the tree in flower.

As beech trees live to an old age (up to an impressive 350 years), they provide habitats for many different species. Look out for gnarly patches and holes within the trunk. These can be home to hole-nesting birds and once I was startled by a squirrel that unexpectedly emerged from one!

Keep an eye out for more blogs from me as I explore more of the Thames Basin Heaths throughout the spring and summer!

Hannah

Thames Basin Heaths Partnership