Withybed Wood is a small, yet important patch of

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

located in the lee of Warren Hill, part of

Hengistbury Head Hengistbury Head (), formerly also called Christchurch Head, is a headland jutting into the English Channel between Bournemouth and Mudeford in the English county of Dorset. It is a site of international importance in terms of its archaeology ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

. It is not to be confused with an area of the

Wyre Forest __NOTOC__ Wyre Forest is a large, semi-natural (partially unmanaged) woodland and forest measuring which straddles the borders of Worcestershire and Shropshire, England. Knowles Mill, a former corn mill owned by the National Trust, lies wi ...

in Shropshire, which also has the same name.

Description

Part of Hengistbury Head Local Nature Reserve and the

Christchurch Harbour Christchurch Harbour is a natural harbour in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England named after the nearby town of Christchurch. Two rivers, the Avon and the Stour, flow into the Harbour at its northwest corner. The harbour is g ...

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

, the wood has developed immediately north of the archaeologically and environmentallyBournemouth Borough Council, Hengistbury Head Action plan, 2005
/ref> significant Warren Hill, sheltered from the sea breezes coming from the south and west over

Poole Bay Poole Bay is a bay in the English Channel, on the coast of Dorset in southern England, which stretches 16km from Sandbanks at the mouth of Poole Harbour in the west, to Hengistbury Head in the east. Poole Bay is a relatively shallow embayment a ...

. Despite its relatively small size; Withybed is of historic and natural interest; it is the only woodland area shown on an 1811

Ordnance Survey , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Ordnance Survey 2015 Logo.svg , logo_width = 240px , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = , picture_width = , picture_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , di ...

map of the Bournemouth/Christchurch region (the wildlife community also suggests that the woodland could be classified as "ancient semi-natural"), and because of its unique location, lying at the landfall and departure point for birds and other flying animals using the important

Cherbourg Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 Feb ...

- Avon valley migration route.Bournemouth Council Hengistbury Head Management plan, 2011(draft)
/ref>

Flora and fauna

Withybed Wood is home to a variety of tree species including

downy birch ''Betula pubescens'' (syn. ''Betula alba''), commonly known as downy birch and also as moor birch, white birch, European white birch or hairy birch, is a species of deciduous tree, native and abundant throughout northern Europe and northern Asia ...

English oak ''Quercus robur'', commonly known as common oak, pedunculate oak, European oak or English oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. It is a large tree, native to most of Europe west of the Caucasus. It is widely ...

and

white poplar White poplar is a common name used to refer to several trees in the genus ''Populus'', including: * ''Populus alba'', native to Eurasia * ''Populus grandidentata'', bigtooth aspen * ''Populus tremuloides ''Populus tremuloides'' is a deciduous ...

. Bluebells carpet the western fringe of the wood;

foxglove ''Digitalis'' ( or ) is a genus of about 20 species of herbaceous plant, herbaceous perennial plants, shrubs, and Biennial plant, biennials, commonly called foxgloves. ''Digitalis'' is native to Europe, western Asia, and northwestern Afric ...

and

violets Violet identifies various plant taxa, particularly species in the genus ''Viola'', within which the common violet is the best known member in Eurasia and the common blue violet and common purple violet are the best known members in North America ...

can be seen in the sunnier parts.Woodland of Hengistbury Head Nature Reserve. Hengistbury Head Supporters Group website.
/ref> The trees at Withybed support various

invertebrates Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

, most visibly the butterflies, like the

purple Purple is any of a variety of colors with hue between red and blue. In the RGB color model used in computer and television screens, purples are produced by mixing red and blue light. In the RYB color model historically used by painters, pu ...

and

green hairstreak The green hairstreak (''Callophrys rubi'') is a small butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. Etymology The genus name '' Callophrys'' is a Greek word meaning "beautiful eyebrows", while the species Latin name ''rubi'' derives from ''Rubus'' (bramb ...

or the speckled wood. A recent bird

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

showed that the

tawny owl The tawny owl (''Strix aluco''), also called the brown owl, is commonly found in woodlands across Europe to western Siberia, and has seven recognized subspecies. It is a stocky, medium-sized owl, whose underparts are pale with dark streaks, an ...

green woodpecker There are four species of bird named green woodpecker: * European green woodpecker, ''Picus viridis'' * Iberian green woodpecker The Iberian green woodpecker (''Picus sharpei'') is a medium-sized woodpecker endemic to the Iberian peninsula. It wa ...

and

sparrowhawk Sparrowhawk (sometimes sparrow hawk) may refer to several species of small hawk in the genus ''Accipiter''. "Sparrow-hawk" or sparhawk originally referred to ''Eurasian sparrowhawk, Accipiter nisus'', now called "Eurasian" or "northern" sparrowha ...

breed here either regularly or occasionally. Withybed is also home to, or visited by, the

goldcrest The goldcrest (''Regulus regulus'') is a very small passerine bird in the kinglet family. Its colourful golden crest feathers, as well as being called the "king of the birds" in European folklore, gives rise to its English and scientific na ...

Website of the Christchurch Harbour Ornithological Group
/ref> the chiffchaff and

blackcap The Eurasian blackcap (''Sylvia atricapilla''), usually known simply as the blackcap, is a common and widespread typical warbler. It has mainly olive-grey upperparts and pale grey underparts, and differences between the five subspecies are sma ...

amongst others.

References

{{Bournemouth Forests and woodlands of Dorset Ancient Woods

Description

Flora and fauna

See also

References