BBC Wildlife - UK (2020-04)

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GREENFINCH

Carduelis chloris

Pretty greenfinches are found

in loose colonies in twiggy

nests in the hedgerow,

well above ground

level.

BBC Wildlife 71

LIALEENDERTZistheauthorof

TheAlmanac:a SeasonalGuideto

2020 , outnow.

FINDOUTMORE Ourguidetohedgerows:

discoverwildlife.com/hedgerowspecies

greenery, not to mention the bees and

the butterflies that make use of all of

the pollen-laden flowers.

Being uprooted

Clearly hedgerows are wonderfullyrich

and diverse habitats, but despite this,

there is massive pressure on them,

and they are being grubbed up allthe

time. As agriculture has intensified,

monocultures have become thenorm

and farm machinery has grown

larger. Fields have increased

in size, and that has meant

removing hedgerows.

Pressure on land for

development hasalso

seen many hedgerows

lost. Last spring,

there was an

outcry against

the practiceof

developers

‘netting’

Shapingnature

A hedgerowismaintainedby‘laying’

• a highlyskilledbutbrutallooking
  processthatinvolvescuttingthe
  stemsalmostallthewaythrough
  andthenlayingthemclosetothe
  horizontal.Thisspurssideshoots
  intosprouting,andsothickensup
  thehedge.Thisisthebasicpremise
  but,throughoutthecountry,thereare
  manydifferentstylesandtechniques.
  InDevonandDorset,thehedgeismost
  oftenlaidonthetopofa bankofearth;
  intheMidlands,theyarelaidwithall
  thebrushygrowthleftonandlaidon
  onesidewitha binderofhazelwoven
  alongthetop;meanwhile,inSomerset,
  allbushygrowthiscutawayandthe
  growthiswovenarounda seriesof
  uprightspushedintothesoil.

Lia: Kirstie Young

Hedge laying tends

to be carried out

in winter, when the

plants are dormant.

hedgerows to prevent birds from nesting

in them and to allow them to be legally

grubbed up.

Some hedgerows are protected by law

but, despite this, it has been estimated that

nearly 13,000km are lost every year and, in

addition, many are managed badly. Some

are left uncared for and become overgrown,

and so turn slowly into a row of trees with

no bushy sheltering undergrowth. And far

more are cut with flail cutters, too close or

at the wrong time of year, so that plants are

ripped up by the root, and flowers don’t

have a chance to set seed.

Our hedgerows are such a precious

part of our natural and cultural heritage

that we must treasure and protect them.

Considering they’re often thought of as

‘just boundaries and edges’ – something

to hold things in and keep things out –

they are really pretty special.

migratory birds such as redwings, fieldfares

and song thrushes. And it is not just the

berries that keep them well fed. Hedgerows

are full of insects, ladybirds overwintering

in nooks and crannies, aphids smothered

over new growth, moths cocooning,

and leaf miners tunnelling through the

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HAZEL

DORMOUSE

Muscardinus avellanarius

Nests high in the hedgerow

in summer, and moves down

to the base in winter

to hibernate.