Over the past few months, there have been some significant changes happening at Lyscombe National Nature Reserve. 

Not least in the weather. The summer heat and drought conditions are almost a distant memory now. It has been amazing to see how quickly the parched, brown fields returned to their luscious green once we had some rain. Interestingly, it was noticeable during the heatwaves that the SSSI downland, which is by far the most species-rich grassland on the nature reserve, maintained a slight green hue throughout, especially when compared to the improved pasture fields, which were starting to resemble a desert.

The change in seasons brings with it an end to many of the surveys we do at Lyscombe and across our other nature reserves. This year, the butterfly surveys have been memorable, has there ever been so many clouded yellows in Dorset?! At Lyscombe, clouded yellows were not the only highlight. For the first time since Dorset Wildlife Trust acquired Lyscombe, we had sightings of Adonis blues. This chalk grassland specialist butterfly needs areas of very short grassland with an abundance of the caterpillars’ food plant, horseshoe vetch. After just over a year of grazing, the downland slopes at Lyscombe were back in the right condition for this charismatic pollinator, which is on the GB red list of butterflies, and is considered vulnerable to extinction in Great Britain. A late summer sighting of a dark green fritillary, nectaring on some thistles, brought the total number of butterfly species I have seen at Lyscombe up to 32. A very respectable total.

The change in seasons brings with it an end to many of the surveys we do at Lyscombe and across our other nature reserves. This year, the butterfly surveys have been memorable. Has there ever been so many clouded yellows in Dorset?! At Lyscombe, clouded yellows were not the only highlight. For the first time since Dorset Wildlife Trust acquired Lyscombe, we had sightings of Adonis blues. This chalk grassland specialist butterfly needs areas of very short grassland with an abundance of the caterpillars’ food plant, horseshoe vetch. After just over a year of grazing, the downland slopes at Lyscombe were back in the right condition for this charismatic pollinator, which is on the GB Red List of butterflies and is considered vulnerable to extinction in Great Britain. A late summer sighting of a dark green fritillary, nectaring on some thistles, brought the total number of butterfly species I have seen at Lyscombe up to 32. A very respectable total.

It’s becoming clear that the nature reserve is an attractive place for migrating birds to spend a few days resting and feeding before they continue their journeys. During both the spring and autumn, I have seen several wheatears, as well as redstarts and black redstarts, and there was even a nightjar seen one evening in July. All positive signs that there are good insect numbers at Lyscombe for them to feed on.

Elsewhere on the nature reserve, new fencing was installed in August, allowing us to expand the area available to livestock and get some much-needed grazing on new parts of the reserve. One of these fields, known as Hog Hill, is also due to be resown with wildflower seeds this autumn. The wildflower seeds were brush-harvested from fields within Lyscombe this summer. The cattle and ponies have been doing the important job of keeping the grass down and opening the sward up to help prepare the ground for reseeding. Hog Hill is perfectly placed between two existing areas of SSSI species-rich chalk grassland, which, once the wildflowers are established, will be connected, encouraging species like marsh fritillaries to colonise new areas of the nature reserve.

Further exciting habitat improvements have been completed recently along the Little Piddle stream. During the first two weeks of October, staff from the Westcountry Rivers Trust worked hard along the southern stretch of the stream. With help from some Dorset Wildlife Trust staff, over 100 leaky dams have been installed.

These simple structures, sometimes known as woody debris dams, will help create new wetland habitats by slowing the flow of water and forcing some of it out of its man-made channel and into the floodplain. A complex system of braided channels and small pools will hopefully develop, providing countless microhabitats for aquatic plants and invertebrates.

Over time, the dams will prompt the level of the riverbed to rise, gradually raising the water table within the valley floor and helping to keep the ground wet and create over two hectares of calcareous fen or marsh floodplain habitat. If hot, dry summers like the one we just experienced are to become the norm, then keeping water within the landscape for longer and creating wetlands where we can are increasingly important actions to take. 

 Alongside these habitat interventions we have been improving access to the nature reserve, making it easier for people to explore this incredible place. The car park at the main entrance to the reserve often became a mud bath in winter, meaning space was limited and there was a risk of cars getting stuck. A new hard surface has now been installed using recycled materials offering reliable parking all year round. 

New information boards have been installed at the entrance, providing information about Lyscombe and a map of the nature reserve. Way marker signs have also been installed, guiding visitors along three trails which take in some of Lyscombe’s most interesting and picturesque areas.

A wonderful oak bridge is now also in place near the chapel, allowing safe passage across the Little Piddle stream.

The chapel itself, as well as the neighbouring ruin of the 16th-century priest’s house and the old flint and mortar walls which straddle the stream, have all had restoration work done. A team of stonemasons has been busy repointing and replacing sections of crumbled wall which were in danger of falling down. This skilled work has helped to maintain these beautiful Grade II listed structures and ensure they remain as important historical features for many years to come.

These access improvements and habitat interventions are all vital stages in preparing Lyscombe for a more hands-off approach. Initial interventions like wildflower reseeding, leaky dams, installing new fences and even removing old redundant fences will all help to set the scene for natural processes to take the reins.

Once patches of wildflowers are established within some of the large fields, the livestock will then naturally spread seeds further, their hooves creating disturbed ground for them to germinate in. With old fences removed and new perimeter fencing installed, Lyscombe will become one vast landscape for the livestock to roam. That’s when it gets really exciting. This more natural way of grazing allows the cattle and ponies to choose where they graze and when. They will favour some areas and rarely visit others. Species-rich grasslands will develop, and brambles and thorny scrub will begin to grow. As they do, they will protect saplings from the hungry mouths of rabbits, cattle, ponies and deer. Over time, a much wilder, biodiverse, inspiring and rejuvenating landscape will evolve.

Seeing these first few changes happening at Lyscombe is extremely exciting, knowing that these are the first steps on the nature reserve’s journey to becoming a wildlife-rich landscape where both nature and people can thrive.

Would you like to Help Nature Take the Lead? 

Help us take the techniques and lessons learned at Lyscombe and apply them across Dorset, so that nature can recover at a landscape scale and wildlife can thrive.

Help Nature Take the Lead