Local Wildlife Site

Wildlife

Pot Kiln Wood is owned by the Woodland Trust and forms part of the Thames Chase Community Forest. It comprises a mosaic of scrub and grassland that has developed since ploughing during the First World War. The rather species-poor sward is dominated by creeping bent and Yorkshire fog with abundant buttercups, creeping cinquefoil and white clover. There is a spreading drain with poached margins that support common fleabane, great willowherb and fool's watercress. Scrub of blackthorn, hawthorn and dog rose, with bramble margins, is present as old hedges and random clumps, providing habitat for nesting birds. There are a few mature oaks and an area of tree planting in the north-east corner. Sickle Wood is an area of scrub with a partial woodland canopy. Where present, the canopy comprises oak, ash, field maple and includes a single crab apple. Hawthorn is almost continuous throughout and forms much of the lower scrubby canopy, which also includes cherry-plum and elder. The ground flora is dominated by ivy with a range of woodland flowers such as red campion, hedge woundwort, cow parsley, Italian lords-and-ladies and stinking iris, the latter two probably garden escapees. Some of the commoner woodland grasses are also present. The site as a whole provides suitable habitat for foraging and breeding birds and a variety of invertebrates.

Facilities

No information available