Baddesley Common and Emer Bog features
Habitats
- The valley bog is an extensive lowland mire
- Open heathland covered with heather
- Grassland provides an important home for reptiles and invertebrates
- The wood pasture has a rich variety of ground flora with ancient oaks providing shade
- Wet woodland dominated by an alder carr and willow trees
Things to look out for
- New boardwalk through the bog
- Cattle and ponies graze the site throughout the year
- Two 1930's flight ponds
Wildlife Highlights
- Bog species including reed, white sedge, bottle sedge, star sedge, marsh cinquefoil, bog bean and marsh violet
- Acid grassland species including: purple moor grass, petty whin, dwarf gorse, meadow thistle and cross-leaved heather
- Roe deer, brown hares, water voles and harvest mice
- Stonechats and meadow pipits
- Adders, grass snakes, common lizards, slow worms and smooth newts
- 132 species of spiders have been recorded
Seasonal Information
Spring:
- Birds: skylark, long tailed tit, song thrush, green woodpecker
- Butterflies: brimstone, orange tip, red admiral, peacock
- Plants: heath spotted orchid, golden saxifrage
Summer:
- Birds: reed warbler, sedge warbler, night jar, tree pipit, hobby
- Butterflies: white admiral, purple emperor, silver wash fritillary
- Moths: dotted fanfoot, devon carpet, obscure wainscot
- Plants: tormentil, flag iris, sneezewort, marsh gentian, southern marsh orchid
- Fungi: stinkhorn, parasol
Autumn:
- Birds: reed bunting, water rail, snipe, woodlark
- Butterflies: purple hairstreak, gatekeeper, speckled wood
- Moths: double kidney, brown veined wainscot
- Plants: cotton grass, autumn hawkbit, autumn ladies tresses
- Fungi: alder milkcap, alder bracket, jelly ear, stinkhorn
Winter:
- Birds: great grey shrike, dartford warbler, jack snipe, siskin, redpoll, fieldfare, redwing, teal, mandarin
- Fungi: jelly ear
