A little more information on the trees that we have planted at Hirst Meadow
Hazel (Corylus avelana)
Strong growing trees which are often coppiced as ours probably will be. Coppicing makes good cover for ground nesting birds such as nightingales. The catkins are a precious source of pollen for bees and the nuts are eaten by many animals especially dormice. Nuthatches feed on the nuts in winter and they will hide surplus hazelnuts in gaps in tree bark for later.
Walnut (Juglans regia)
35 metres. Good for lots of micromoths and nuts are eaten by mice, rooks and
squirrels.
Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)
15 metres. Shield bugs and yellow hammers like the berries which are very rich so good for birds about to migrate. Hawthorns can sustain 300 species of insect. Flowers are eaten by dormice.
Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia)
8-15 metres. Quite spindly so don’t take up much of the light. The leaves are eaten by several moths, the Flo Crab aguejunidog and whitwers are very good for pollinators and the fruit eaten by all thrush type birds.
Female Holly (Ilex aquifolium)
Very slow growing to 15 metres. Has berries only if a male tree is nearby. The berries are good for thrush type birds and the leaves provide shelter as well as food for holly blue butterfly caterpillars. It’s deep dry leaf litter is good for toads, hedgehogs and small mammals in winter
Guelder Rose (Viburnham opulus)
4 metres. It has white flowers loved by hoverflies and red berries loved by mistle thrush and bullfinches.
Juniper (Juniperus communis)
5 metres is good for wildlife as well as gin, small but it forms a bush. Loves dry chalk slopes. Fruit eaten by thrush types and several moths feed on it. Also now a rare species in the wild.
Dog Rose (Rosa canina)
5 metres flowers have summer nectar for pollinators. Hips are eaten by small mammals such as bank voles. Leaves are a food plant for several moth and butterfly caterpillars and the leaf cutter bee uses circles cut out of the leaves to make a door for their overwintering eggs.
Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa)
6-7 metres has precious early nectar and can make good thickets for nesting. Its foliage is a food plant for the caterpillars of many moths, including the lackey, magpie, swallow-tailed and yellow-tailed. It is also used by the black and brown hairstreak butterflies. It’s early flowers are a valuable source of nectar and pollen for bees in spring.
Spindle (Euonymus europa)
6 metres. The leaves are eaten by caterpillars of moths, including the magpie, spindle ermine and scorched, as well as the holly blue butterfly. The leaves also attract aphids and their predators, including hoverflies, ladybirds and lacewings, as well as the house sparrow and other species of bird.The bright orange berries in pink pods provide food for all kinds of creatures, including mice, birds and even foxes.
Whitebeam (Sorbus aria)
15 metres The leaves are white underneath and are food for several moth caterpillars and the bright red fruit are called pomes and are greedily eaten by birds.
Silver Birch (betula pendula)
30 metres but not severely light excluding. It is one of the most valuable trees for wildlife supporting 230 species of insect including buff tip moths and sawflies. The leaves attract aphids which then attract ladybirds. The catkins are eaten by shield bugs and the seeds by siskins, greenfinches and redpolls. Many caterpillars eat the leaves and several fungi like to live under birches.
