It's hardly something to be proud of. But the conservation industry has managed, perhaps unintentionally, to make out that one of our most beautiful trees is something undesirable. It is one of the most elegant sights in the countryside as the branches wave in the wind and it has a fascinating and varied bark. It is also home to hundreds of associated species. Its crime is that it is a successful coloniser of exploited landscapes and is hounded as 'scrub' for being so when managers want the landscape to stay looking exploited.
Birch woodland may not have the cachet of ancient woodland because the trees tends to be shorter lived than oak. But it has a special light and airy character much loved by birds. The pictures here, apart from the top one, show quite tightly spaced woods yet the bird song can be excellent here.
Those who say that birds prefer the open spaces should have been in the secondary birch woodland this morning.
Sound files below.
https://soundcloud.com/pastandpresent/new_01_24_t052
https://soundcloud.com/pastandpresent/new_01_24_t055
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