Willsbridge Mill: An early spring walk

Today I went for a walk in a woodland tucked away in East Bristol. A place filled with wildlife. Its name is Willsbridge Mill https://willsbridgemill.com/, it has a cafe, wildlife garden and ponds as well as a circular walking route through some lovely woodland. I often go birding there, but also enjoy seeing what plants are present at a given time of year.

When I arrived the sun was shining yet it was still cold. Ice topped the many small wildlife ponds and the air felt crisp at 9 am in the morning as I started to walk along the path into the woodland.

Left: Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris) in the middle of one of the small ponds, right: Ivy (Hedera helix), the berries have been picked off, perhaps by a wood pigeon?

I didn’t have to walk far to see examples of stunning native plants. Some trees were just starting to sprout their first leaves with that fresh spring green that is so characteristic of the season. The mixed woodland next to the path at the entrance was dappled with morning light, Cuckoo Pint, Garlic Mustard and young deciduous trees such as Hazel soaked up the light.

Left: Young Hazel (Corylus avellana) plant right: Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) on the woodland floor.

A commotion in the large Elder tree to the left caught my attention, I scanned the twiggy bush fresh with new Elder leaves until my eyes fell on a male Blackbird. It looked at me as I focussed my camera, looking curious but calm.

Left: Blackbird (Turdus merula) in an Elder (Sambucus nigra) tree, right: Common Wood Pigeon (Columba palumbus) on bird feeder (credit: https://www.instagram.com/kee.nystrom/).

Eventually, the blackbird flew off with its characteristic alarm call. I continued to walk and turned right into the wildlife garden. Amidst the Robin and Blackbird song I could hear a high-pitched

pii pii pii pii pii

I looked up onto the roof of an old brick barn topped with terracotta-coloured tiles to find a grey wagtail wondering happily around. This was shortly joined by a second Grey Wagtail, the pair is common in this area due to the river running through the woods nearby.

Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea) on top of barn roof.

The Wagtail flew to the river so I followed, crossing the wildlife garden with it’s many ponds and thoughtfully planted wildlife-friendly plants. I looked down to where the garden fell way to an emerging river below. I watched as the Wagtail flew from one rock to another, bobbing it’s tail rhythmically.

On my right, just the other side of a small fence covered in Ivy, I saw some movement from the corner of my eye. I watched as a small brown, inquisitive face emerged from the undergrowth and darted along the earthy ground to the shelter of the Ivy covered fence. I waited patiently until the small brown face emerged again, but this time on the same side of the fence as myself. For the next 5 minutes, I stayed very still and observed as two brown rats ran back and forth between the fence and a bird feeding table.

Brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) investigating the wood chippings.

After the brown rats disappeared, I walked back through the wildlife garden and noticed what I thought was a Garlic Mustard plant but with more pointed leaves, I then noticed striking pink flowers. With a little research later I realised it was the plant Honesty. I wasn’t surprised to also find out that Honesty and Garlic Mustard are in the same family: Brassicaceae, perhaps explaining why the leaves looked so similar.

Honesty (Lunaria annua), I believe a non-native garden escapee, but beautiful nonetheless.

Amazed at what I had seen in such a short time and this early in Spring, I headed back for a well-deserved coffee and some brunch. If you haven’t already, I would recommend Willsbridge Mill as a great place to visit to connect with nature.

Best,

Robbie