A walk across Graffham Common (Sussex Wildlife Trust)

Leader David Bridger (Ranger for SWT)

This site is one of many in the western Weald where old conifer plantations are being reduced to encourage the recovery of heathland, and the current management strategy was explained to the 13 members attending by the site ranger, David Bridger. We soon saw one of the conservation measures in action: a small herd of cattle, working hard to keep vegetation down.

The Common was a pleasant patchwork of trees and heath with boggy areas and a pond. The pond water level was low, but Emperor and Common Darter dragonflies could be seen with binoculars. The unique disc-shaped leaves of Marsh Pennywort adorned the boggy pond margins. In heathy areas with scattered trees, Linnets were seen plus a group of Crossbills in the top of a pine. Trying to get a good view of these revealed another bird: a Spotted Flycatcher.

A boggy area with Cross-leaved Heath (Erica tetralix) had some pare peat patches with both Round-leaved Sundew and Oblong-leaved Sundew, each with numerous trapped small flies. On adjacent vegetation a strikingly dark grasshopper with a bright red abdomen proved to be a Woodland Grasshopper (Omocestus rufipes), which is not at all common away from its stronghold in the New Forest.

The return route alerted us to the issues with invasive plants: our leader described the difficulties involved in eradicating Gaultheria, and Rhododendron is also a problem.