Blundells Copse is a local nature reserve in the suburb of

Tilehurst Tilehurst is a suburb of the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. It lies to the west of the centre of Reading, and extends from the River Thames in the north to the A4 road in the south. The suburb is partly within the boundarie ...

in the town of

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

, UK. The site is in size, and comprises a close growing, ancient woodland with a stream. The nature reserve is under the management of the

Reading Borough Council Reading Borough Council is the local authority for the Borough of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. Berkshire is purely a ceremonia ...

and, along with Lousehill Copse and McIlroy Park, is part of West Reading Woodlands.

History

Blundells Copse was part of an area formerly known as the Moor. In 1992, the site was designated a local nature reserve. In 2005, path widening and improvements were made to the reserve as of funding by Living Spaces and the Environmental Trust for Berkshire.

Fauna

The site has the following fauna:

Mammals

European hedgehog The European hedgehog (''Erinaceus europaeus''), also known as the West European hedgehog or common hedgehog, is a hedgehog species native to Europe from Iberia and Italy northwards into Scandinavia and westwards into the British Isles.Harris, S ...

Muntjac Muntjacs ( ), also known as the barking deer or rib-faced deer, (URL is Google Books) are small deer of the genus ''Muntiacus'' native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. Muntjacs are thought to have begun appearing 15–35 million years ago, ...

Flora

The site has the following flora:

Trees

*''

Alnus glutinosa ''Alnus glutinosa'', the common alder, black alder, European alder, European black alder, or just alder, is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae, native to most of Europe, southwest Asia and northern Africa. It thrives in wet locations wh ...

'' *''

Prunus avium ''Prunus avium'', commonly called wild cherry, sweet cherry, gean, or bird cherryWorld Economic Plants: A Standard Reference, Second Edition'. CRC Press; 19 April 2016. . p. 833–. is a species of cherry, a flowering plant in the rose family, ...

'' *''

Quercus robur ''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 widel ...

'' *'' Fraxinus'' * Hazel

Plants

*'' Hyacinthoides non-scripta'' *'' Chrysosplenium oppositifolium'' *'' Caltha palustris'' *''

Lamium galeobdolon ''Lamium galeobdolon'', commonly known as yellow archangel, artillery plant, aluminium plant, or yellow weasel-snout, is a widespread wildflower in Europe, and has been introduced elsewhere as a garden plant. It displays the zygomorphic flower mo ...

'' *'' Apium nodiflorum'' *'' Allium triquetrum'' *''

Adoxa moschatellina ''Adoxa moschatellina'', the moschatel, five-faced bishop, hollowroot, muskroot, townhall clock, tuberous crowfoot or Good Friday plant, is a species of flowering plant in the family Adoxaceae. This herbaceous perennial has a holarctic distribut ...

'' *''

Zantedeschia ''Zantedeschia'' is a genus of eight species of herbaceous, perennial, flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to southern Africa from South Africa north to Malawi. The genus has been introduced on all continents except Antarctica. Com ...

References

{{Local Nature Reserves in Berkshire Local Nature Reserves in Berkshire