Midger () is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest straddling the border of

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

and

South Gloucestershire South Gloucestershire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, South West England. Towns in the area include Yate, Chipping Sodbury, Thornbury, Filton, Patchway and Bradley Stoke, the latter three forming part ...

, notified in 1966 and renotified in 1984. Since the last revision in 1974, the size has been reduced to a site.Natural England SSSI information on the Midger units
/ref> It lies east of

Hillesley Hillesley is a village in Gloucestershire, England. It was transferred from the county of Avon (county), Avon in 1991 and is now in Stroud District. The village forms part of the civil parish of Hillesley and Tresham. It is close to the Cotswol ...

, Gloucestershire and north of

Hawkesbury Upton Hawkesbury Upton is a village in South Gloucestershire, England, east of the much smaller Hawkesbury. It lies north of Horton, east of Dunkirk and south of Alderley and Hillesley. Hawkesbury Upton is close to the A46 road. The village lies on ...

, South Gloucestershire. It is at the head of the Kilcott Valley. There are six units of assessment. Part of the site () is part owned (and managed) by the

Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust The Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust is the Gloucestershire local partner in a conservation network of 46 Wildlife Trusts. The Wildlife Trusts are local charities with the specific aim of protecting the United Kingdom's natural heritage. The Gl ...

The Wildlife Trust reserve

Fuller information is available from the Wildlife Trust reserves handbook, the Midger reserve publication and the Nature Reserves Guide for 2011. The reserve comprises Midger Wood which was purchased by the trust in 1965, Back Common, Whitewell Wood, Twizzle Well Piece, Wedgewood and Saddlewood Roughs, which is part of the Badminton Estate.

Woodland

This is ancient woodland and has a canopy comprising mainly

ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

(including coppiced stools), pedunculate oak and field maple, and some

crab apple ''Malus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 30–55 species of small deciduous trees or shrubs in the family Rosaceae, including the domesticated orchard apple, crab apples, wild apples, and rainberries. The genus is native to the temperate zone of th ...

and holly. There has been some interplanting with

beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...

, Scots pine,

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfami ...

and larch. The understorey is dominated by

hazel The hazel (''Corylus'') is a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K. (1999). ...

. This also contains goat willow and

dogwood ''Cornus'' is a genus of about 30–60 species of woody plants in the family Cornaceae, commonly known as dogwoods, which can generally be distinguished by their blossoms, berries, and distinctive bark. Most are deciduous trees or shrub ...

Plants

The ground layer includes

herb paris ''Paris quadrifolia'', the herb Paris or true lover's knot, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. It occurs in temperate and cool areas throughout Eurasia, from Spain to Yakutia, and from Iceland to Mongolia. It prefers ...

green hellebore ''Helleborus viridis'', commonly called green hellebore, is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, native to Central and Western Europe, including southern England. All parts of the plant are poisonous. It was one of ...

and

lily-of-the-valley Lily of the valley (''Convallaria majalis'' (), sometimes written lily-of-the-valley, is a woodland flowering plant with sweetly scented, pendent, bell-shaped white flowers borne in sprays in spring. It is native throughout the cool temperate No ...

which grow amongst bluebell,

yellow archangel ''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 ...

wood anemone The phrase wood anemone is used in common names for several closely related species of flowering plants in genus ''Anemonoides'', including: * ''Anemonoides nemorosa ''Anemonoides nemorosa'' (syn. ''Anemone nemorosa''), the wood anemone, is an e ...

ramsons ''Allium ursinum'', known as wild garlic, ramsons, cowleekes, cows's leek, cowleek, buckrams, broad-leaved garlic, wood garlic, bear leek, Eurasian wild garlic or bear's garlic, is a bulbous perennial flowering plant in the amaryllis family Amary ...

(wood garlic),

wood-sorrel ''Oxalis'' ( (American English) or (British English)) is a large genus of flowering plants in the wood-sorrel family Oxalidaceae, comprising over 550 species. The genus occurs throughout most of the world, except for the polar areas; species di ...

and many ferns. The stream (Kilcott Brook). which is one of the features of the reserve, is edged by opposite-leaved golden-saxifrage and

pendulous sedge ''Carex pendula'' (pendulous sedge, also known as hanging, drooping or weeping sedge) is a large sedge of the genus ''Carex''. It occurs in woodland, scrubland, hedges and beside streams, preferring damp, heavy clay soils. It is sometimes grown ...

. It has small waterfalls. Some of them are petrified with calcareous tufa deposits. The damp valley bottom below Saddlewood Roughs supports butterbur in the spring and

meadow saffron ''Colchicum autumnale'', commonly known as autumn crocus, meadow saffron, or naked ladies, is a toxic autumn-blooming flowering plant that resembles the true crocuses, but is a member of the plant family Colchicaceae, unlike the true crocuses, whi ...

in the autumn. There are small glades in the

hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

and blackthorn thickets in Back Common which indicates this area's past use as common grazing land. The rough banks in the north of the reserve have a typical limestone grassland flora including wild thyme,

common rock-rose ''Helianthemum nummularium'' (known as common rock-rose) is a species of rock-rose (Cistaceae), native to most of Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical si ...

and early-purple orchid.

Other species

There are good populations of butterflies including chalkhill blue, marbled white,

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 ...

and the

Duke of Burgundy fritillary ''Hamearis lucina'', the Duke of Burgundy, the only member of the genus ''Hamearis'', is a European butterfly in the family Riodinidae. For many years, it was known as the "Duke of Burgundy fritillary", because the adult's chequered pattern is s ...

. The bird life is supported by the diverse habitat. In the woods treecreeper,

little owl The little owl (''Athene noctua''), also known as the owl of Athena or owl of Minerva, is a bird that inhabits much of the temperate and warmer parts of Europe, the Palearctic east to Korea, and North Africa. It was introduced into Britain at ...

, lesser spotted woodpecker, nuthatch, marsh tit, wood warbler and goldcrest have been recorded. In the stream area dipper and grey wagtail have been recorded. In the rough grassland areas meadow pipit and yellowhammer have been recorded. Other notable species are yellow-necked field mouse,

common dormouse The hazel dormouse or common dormouse (''Muscardinus avellanarius'') is a small mammal and the only living species in the genus ''Muscardinus''. Distribution and habitat The hazel dormouse is native to northern Europe and Asia Minor. It is the ...

and fallow deer. Nest boxes support the dormouse population.

Conservation

Conservation work in the reserve includes coppicing of hazel, thinning of young ash, and clearing of invasive scrub such as hawthorn, blackthorn and

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

in areas designated as open grassland.

Items of interest

In March 1995 the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

visited the Midger SSSI reserve, being one of the protected woodland reserves in the county. The guided walk included a demonstration of the production of barbecue

charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, cal ...

from coppiced and fallen timber, a new Wildlife Trust venture at that time.'HRH Prince of Wales Visit', ''Wildlife News'' (Summer 1995 edition)

Publications

* Kelham, A, Sanderson, J, Doe, J, Edgeley-Smith, M, et al., 1979, 1990, 2002 editions, 'Nature Reserves of the Gloucestershire Trust for Nature Conservation/Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust' * (undated), mid-late 1980s, 'Midger Reserve Kilcot', Gloucestershire Trust for Nature Conservation * 'Midger Nature Reserve – Wonderful ancient woodland in a hidden valley', (undated), Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust

References

SSSI Source

Natural England SSSI information on the citation

Natural England SSSI information on the Midger units

External links

Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust

Natural England
(SSSI information) {{SSSIs Gloucs biological Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Avon Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1966 Nature reserves in Gloucestershire Forests and woodlands of Gloucestershire