Hemingbrough Hagg Lane Green

Conservation, Heritage & Educational Project

The ponds are surrounded by woodland, which includes ash, willow, hawthorn and mature oak trees.  The dense willow scrub supports a number of birds including Willow Warblers and if you listen quietly, the Greater Spotted Woodpecker can sometimes be heard high up in the oak trees. In the undergrowth you may catch a glimpse of the long thin reddish brown weasel as it darts across the path in search of voles and mice to eat.  The climbing hop also grows in abundance here, with its distinctive 3-lobed serrated leaf and yellow green cones, which are used as a flavouring for beer.

The meadow areas support a range of butterflies including the brightly coloured peacock and red admiral, which feed on the nectar of the thistle-like purple lesser knapweed, and the creamy white fragrant flowers of the meadowsweet.

Fungi to look out for in the woodland include the large rounded puffball mushroom and the hard black rounded fungi which look like burnt cakes.

Wildlife

There are three species on newt in the Uk, the smooth, palmate, and legally protected great crested newt. The great crested newt is Britiain’s most stricktly protected amphibian and can be found at the Hagg Lane Green Site.  The Great Crested newt have a jagged crest on their backs, during the breeding season, and orange spotted underside.

Great Crested Newt

About blackbird sized and striking black and white.  It has a very distinctive bouncing flight and spends most of its time clinging to tree trunks and branches, often trying to hide on the side away from the observer. Its presence is often announced by its loud call or its distinctive spring drumming display.

Greater Spotted Woodpecker

This beautiful and perhaps best known butterfly shares its name with the equally colourful Peacock bird. Mainly burnt orange on its upper wings, large blue centred eyespots are apparent. The wing tips are a dusky beige in colour. Females are usually larger than the males. Speckles of white may be seen on the almost black spiny caterpillar

Peacock Butterfly

Hedgehogs bodies are rounded, rather short and covered with spines, which are dark with cream tips.  The face and undersides are covered with coarse hairs. They have longish legs, and each foot has five pointed toes.  Its nose is pointed and the ears and eyes are small.  It runs quite swiftly, can climb banks and can also swim.  Foxes and badgers often eat them.  Cars, lawn mowers and poisoning by chemicals, such as slug pellets, are the main causes of death.  Hibernation begins in October and ends in March or April.

Hedgehog

The body of the grey squirrel is 23-30 cm long; tail measures 19-24cm.  The grey fur is variably tinged with red and yellow.  Some individuals can be  noticeably red in summer.  The rounded ears are never tufted.  The squirrel is active during the day, with peak activity occurring four of five hours after dawn.  In summer, foraging takes place mainly in trees, but it will also search on the ground for fungi, bulbs, roots and cached acorns and other nuts. 

Grey Squirrel

Moorhen

32-35cm long.  With its slaty plumage, very dark brown wings, white under tail, coverts, yellow-tipped red bill and green legs the moorhen is unmistakable.  It flicks its tail as it walks with a careful tread.  When swimming, its head jerks forward and its tail points upwards, giving the body a triangular appearance.  Young birds are brown.

Coot

All black and larger than its cousin the moorhen it has a distinctive white beak and shield above the beak which earns it the title ‘bald’.  Its feet have distinctive lobed flaps of skin on the toes which act instead of webs when swimming.  It patters noisily over the water before taking off and can be very aggressive towards others.

Fieldfare

The Fieldfare is a large thrush - just a little smaller than the Mistle Thrush - with very bold plumage. They are winter visitors from Scandinavia. Adult male and female Fieldfares are similar in appearance, except that the female is generally duller and browner. The male has blue-grey crown, nape, and rump; chestnut brown back; black tail; and a buff breast with black streaks that also extends to the flanks. The under wing, especially the "armpit", is white, and it is this and the pale grey rump that are most noticeable when in flight.

The juveniles lack the grey head and are duller.

Waxwing

Waxwings are about the size of a Starling and in flight they look very similar with their short, triangular wings. The Waxwing is mostly pink-beige with a characteristic crest. They have a black mask and bib. The tail is tipped with yellow and there are yellow and white markings on the wings; specifically, yellow along the length of the primaries and white at the base of the primary coverts. The secondary wing feathers have red waxy "fingers". The rump is grey and the vent is red. The legs and bill are black. Juveniles have smaller crests, no black bib and no waxy red "fingers".

Redwing

The Redwing is most commonly encountered as a winter bird and is the UK’s smallest true thrush.  Its creamy strip above the eye and orange-red flank patches make it distinctive.  They roam across the countryside feeding in fields and hedgerows rarely visiting gardens except in the coldest weather when snow covers the fields.

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The work of the Hagg Lane Green Conservation Group has been kindly sponsored by the following organisations;