Today was the second of our three “bracken pulling Wednesdays” on Adel Moor led by Barbara. It coincided with a “bracken bashing” and sapling removal event by the Meanwood Valley Volunteer Rangers led by David Preston.
We all met at the Slabbering Baby entrance to Adel Woods on Buckstone Road at 10 am. There was a little confusion at the start as people didn’t realise there were two groups. However, the confusion was soon dispelled as the Volunteer Rangers had orange Hi-Vis jackets, while the Friends of Adel Woods had yellow ones.
Friends of Adel Woods pulling bracken on Adel Moor
The Friends of Adel Woods took up where we finished last Wednesday at the North Eastern end of the Moor, while the Volunteer Rangers worked a little way round to the East. It was a much cooler day than last Wednesday, but fine weather until about 11.30 when there was a brief but heavy shower.
There was a good turn out for both groups (twelve for FOAW) and soon large quantities of bracken were being transported to compost heaps in the woods to the sound of happy conversation.
Meanwood Valley Volunteer Rangers working on Adel Moor with piles of bracken in the foreground
The Volunteer Rangers were also clearing small saplings using a tree popper.
The Volunteer Rangers stopping for a brief cuppa
The Friends of Adel Woods worked until 12 and were able to clear a large patch of heather to reveal heather and a large amount of bilberries. There are before and after photos below. The Volunteer Rangers were to continue till 3 pm and had the misfortune to be caught by two torrential downpours!
Friends of Adel Woods surveying the completed job.Before……and afterAdel Moor: 12 noon on Wednesday the 12th July 2023
If you would like to know more about why we clear bracken from Adel Moor, have a look at our blog post for 5 July 2023
Today was the first of our three “Bracken Pulling Wednesdays” led by Barbara. The bracken in question is on Adel Moor.
It was a lovely morning and eleven of us met in Buckstone Road at 10 am. On reaching Adel Moor, we were rewarded by the site of a kestrel hovering over the moor. Surely, a good omen!
In case you are wondering why we pull up bracken, it is because, if left to its own devices, it will out-compete other plants and create a mono-culture – as can be seen from the photographs. Adel Moor is a habitat worth preserving: it is the last bit of heathland in Leeds and home to plants like heather and bilberry and a population of lizards (of which we know there have been three sightings this year).
Last August Barbara led three bracken pulling Wednesdays and it is gratifying to see that the area we focused on last year is still largely clear of bracken.
We had a good morning and the eleven of us were able to clear a large area of bracken as can be seen in the photographs.
A big thank you to all the volunteers who helped today!
Five Friends of Adel Woods relaxing after a hard morning’s work!
A beautiful June morning and another great turn out of twelve Friends of Adel Woods, including four new volunteers.
Most of us met with David Preston, our local ranger, at 10 am in Buckstone Road.
Four of us set off litterpicking, starting at the Village Green and the main road near Tesco’s, and then heading along Crag Lane to the picnic area. We had another regular Friend doing some freelance litterpicking too.
The rest of us joined David in working on Adel Moor – pulling up bracken, rosebay willowherb, brambles and saplings.
The reason we do this is to preserve what is the last piece of moorland in Leeds which is also home to a precious colony of viviparous lizards. We haven’t seen any for a couple of years, but I am pleased – and excited – to say that today we had two separate sitings!! We didn’t get a photograph – as they are very quick and secretive creatures, but the photo below is one we took in April 2014.
Viviparous or common lizard found on Adel moor in April 2014
You may notice that the lizard in the photo has a truncated tail. This is because, if threatened by a predator, a viviparous lizard can shed its still-moving tail to distract the predator and escape. This is called “autotomy”, which is Greek for “self-cut off”.. I am pleased to say that in this instance the autotomy was due to some previous encounter, not the result of FOAW’s intervention, and the lizard can grow a new tail. No lizards were harmed in the taking of the photograph!
These lizards are called “viviparous”, which means giving birth to live young, because the females do not lay eggs: they incubate the eggs inside their bodies and give birth to between three and eleven live young in July.
Friends of Adel Woods with David Preston: 4th June 2023
Getting back to our morning’s work, we were lucky that David was able to bring two “tree poppers” which are excellent tools for rapidly pulling up small saplings up to about a metre tall.
A large and medium sized tree popper
We were able to pull up a large amount of bracken, brambles, rosebay willow herb and many small saplings and we had a very enjoyable – though warm! – morning.
Friends of Adel Woods: tidying up at the end of the morning: 4th June 2023
All except one of our current committee members attended. In addition, David Preston, ranger with Leeds City Council, and three “Friends” attended.
1. Three Friends sent apologies.
2. The minutes of the last AGM on 26th May 2022 were approved subject to minor amendments.
3. The Chair gave a report on activities since the last Annual General Meeting. This is printed in full below.
4. The Treasurer gave a report on the accounts for the last year. In fact, there had been only one item of expenditure in the last year.
5. Rob Hall was elected auditor for the coming year.
6. The following officers were elected unopposed:
Roger Gilbert: chair
Judith White: treasurer
Stephanie Clark: secretary
The existing members of the committee who were present all confirmed that they are willing to continue as members. In addition, another Friend had a rush of blood to the head and agreed to join the committee. The committee members are therefore: R Gilbert; J White; S Clark; R Hall; D Hampshire; S Chambers; S Joul; T Wragg; D Smith.
7. A vote of thanks was given to David Preston for the work he has done with the Friends of Adel Woods in the last year.
8. The meeting concluded with a wide-ranging discussion of other business including:
opportunities to apply for grants from Love Leeds Parks for footpath work;
the tree thinning work around Adel Crag is to continue this year;
the program of works for the coming year;
Steve Joul’s regular work on the one patch of Japanese knotweed over the last many years seems to have paid off as Steve could not find any remaining shoots this year;
how to deal with the problem of dog poo on Adel Moor.
The Chair’s Report
Star of Bethlehem in Adel Woods: 21 May 2023
We are very lucky to live near Adel Woods. Steve Joul did a walk around the woods on 16th April this year when he recorded: 23 bird species; 17 plants in flower; 4 species of insects; 7 species of fungi; and 20 grey squirrels. You can find the details in the blog post for 16th April.
The last year has been our first complete year of activities uninterrupted by Covid 19 since 2018-19. It was a bumper year.
We have two types of activities: work parties, and educational walks and talks.
WORK PARTIES
We had 18 work parties when we carried out the following work (NB the total number of activities adds up to more than 18 because each work party involves both litterpicking and some other work such as path clearing):
13 mornings of litterpicking;
4 mornings working on Adel Moor – removing bracken, brambles and saplings;
2 mornings on Adel Pond and ditches (and Judith cleaning the Slabbering Baby);
3 mornings on Adel Bog;
6 mornings of path clearing;
A day and a half of surveying and cleaning nest boxes
1 morning of working on the hospice woodland (plus a morning in October when Judith cleaned the monument at the entrance on Stairfoot Lane).
Litterpicking and path clearing in Adel Woods 21st January 2023
Of the eighteen work parties most were led by our chair, but three were led by David Preston; the nest box cleaning and surveying was led by Steve Joul; three of the mornings on Adel Moor were led by Barbara Wakefield; two litterpicking and path clearing events were led by Judith; and one by Rob. It is good that we have a range of people who are able and willing to lead a morning in the woods.
Working on Adel Bog with David Prestonon 30th November 2023
The mornings led by Barbara were a new venture – on a Wednesday morning and focussing on one task which did not need tools, pulling up bracken on the moor. These were very successful, attracting some new volunteers and achieving a great deal. We are going to repeat this in July this year.
Friends of Adel Woods pulling up bracken on Adel Moor: August 2023
EDUCATIONAL EVENTS
We had two educational events in the last year.
The first was a fungal foray with Steve Joul on the 12th November.. It was a beautiful afternoon and we had something like 45-50 attendees.
Steve Joul describing a fungus to a rapt audience on 12th November 2022
The second was our our annual birdsong walk on Sunday 14th May, again led by Steve Joul. We had about a dozen attendees. It was a very successful morning: we saw or heard 19 species of bird, and we saw woodpeckers entering and leaving a hole in a tree; a pair of jays on their nest; a woodpigeon sitting on its nest; tits using a Friends of Adel Woods nest box; and treecreepers entering a nesting hole in a tree near the entrance to Old Leo’s car park.
Steve Joul leading our birdsong walkon 14th May 2023
If you would like to know more about our activities, please have a look at our blog entries. They are written by someone I know well and love and respect, and they have some really good pictures!
There are a couple of other things worth noting during the year.
Firstly, in August last year, Steve single handedly scythed and raked the orchid meadow and made a brilliant job of it.
Secondly, in February of this year, David Preston and the Meanwood Valley Volunteer Rangers thinned trees, scrub and holly in front of Adel Crag and they have really improved the crag as a feature of the woods.
A view of Adel Crag (middle left) in February 2023 after clearance of scrub, trees and holly
Finally, at this time of year it is worth popping into Adel Woods to have a look at a beautiful, fragrant yellow azalea near the Stairfoot Lane carpark. If you go down the steps towards the stream, turn left onto the path after about the fifth step down, the azalea is about 25 yards along. It blooms in May and it has beautiful yellow flowers and a wonderful fragrance.
Yellow azalea in Adel Woods
On the same theme, in the next month, a large lime tree in the Stairfoot Lane car park will be coming into blossom in June, exuding a beautiful fragrance across the area. Make a note to enjoy it!
THANK YOUS
So as usual, I would like to thank our brilliant committee for all the work they have done: likewise all our wonderful volunteers. FOAW would not exist without the committee and volunteers. And I am looking forward to another year of fun, laughter and friendship with you all.
Thank you to Steve Joul for leading two wonderful educational walks over the last year – and for letting use his ladder for the nest box survey.
Thank you to David Preston for leading the events over the last year and we are looking forward to working with you again this coming year.
Finally, thank you to Old Leo’s for allowing us to use their carpark over the last year.
Alwoodley Plantation: Adel Woods; 12th November 2022
A gloriously misty morning for our annual birdsong walk with Steve Joul. Today, we saw or heard 19 species of bird – a full list is given at the end of this post.
We met at 6.55 am in Old Leo’s car park, and had a couple of good sightings straight away – a male greater spotted woodpecker and a blackcap. The blackcap was warbling merrily in a nearby tree and we had good views.
From the car park we made our way down to the cricket club. On the way we heard plenty of robins and wrens singing and were lucky enough to see a pair of woodpeckers entering and leaving a hole in a tree where they were clearly nesting. This was a first for our annual birdsong walks.
We also paused to look at various points of interest including Lords and Ladies in flower, wild garlic and the cobwebs on trees made very visible and beautiful by the mist.
Lords and Ladies or “cuckoo pint” in floweradjacent to the track down to the cricket club
We crossed the stream behind the cricket club and were excited to have clear views of a pair of jays on a nest at the top of a tree by the kissing gate. Another first for our birdsong walks.
We made our way down the path towards the Slabbering Baby on the right we had clear views of a wood pigeon sitting on its nest. Yet another first!
We then made our way up to Adel Moor. By now the day was beginning to warm up and the mist to burn off.
Steve Joul talks about some of the bird species seen on Adel Moor
The moor looked magnificent in the mist. The heather and bilberries were bedecked with spiders’ webs which were transformed into strings of pearls by the morning dew.
A spider’s web on Adel Moor, glistening with morning dew
From the moor we made our way to Copper’s Field (so named because a horse called Copper used to be kept on it).
Apple blossom on Copper’s field, Adel WoodsBird watching in Adel Woods. Where is that bird?
From Copper’s Field we made our way past the Buck Stone (after which the Buckstone estate is named) and then walked down to the Seven Arches.
A view upstream from the Seven Arches, Adel Woods, Leeds
On a previous birdsong walk we have seen a dipper in the vicinity of the Seven Arches. Steve has also seen a kingfisher here, but no such luck today.
From the Seven Arches we walked up the Meanwood Valley Trail towards the Slabbering Baby. On the way we saw a pair of blue tits or great tits entering and leaving one of our nest boxes.
From the Slabbering Baby we made a quick detour to have a look at Adel Pond, and then made our way back up to Old Leo’s.
Inspecting Adel Pond
As we approached Old Leo’s car park we saw a pair of treecreepers making their way into a hole in the rotten trunk of a silver birch where they were clearly nesting. Another first for our birdsong walks! This was also the fourth set of nesting birds we saw this morning (the others being the jays, the woodpigeon, and the blue or great tits).
All in all it was a great morning’s birdwatching.
List of all the species of bird we saw or heard this morning
Today was our third and final bracken pulling morning on Adel Moor.
Despite rain as we got up – and an unpromising weather forecast – it turned out yet again to be a lovely morning. Again we had a lovely group of seven enthusiastic and hardworking Friends.
We set ourselves the target of clearing a triangular area of bracken adjacent to the area we cleared last Wednesday. And we more or less achieved our aim! The first photograph below shows the area at 10.11 am, and the second photograph shows the same area two hours later at 12.15 pm, after we had finished carrying all the pulled bracken to a compost heap in the woods.
Before pulling bracken……and after.
If you think that bracken looks good and are wondering why we pull it up , the brown patches in the photo above give an indication: where bracken has been established for a while, all other plants die off and we are left with a monoculture of bracken. Fortunately, quite a lot of heather and bilberries were hanging on under the bracken we pulled up. Bilberries and heather are both typical and desirable moorland plants. In the photo above, the bilberries are the green plants in the middle right.
At this time of year the moor looks fantastic – as you can see from the next two photographs.
Heather on Adel Moor, 24th August 2022
The post and brown tube you can see in the foreground of the photograph above is used by mason bees and leaf cutter bees and is part of a study by Leeds University to understand more about bee biodiversity in urban areas.
Heather on Adel MoorThree tired but happy Friends of Adel Woods
For more information about bracken pulling on Adel Moor, see our blog posts for the 10th August and 17th August.
This was our second Wednesday “work party” during August in which we focused on pulling bracken on Adel Moor. Again we had a very good turn out of nine “Friends” and it was another lovely morning. We have one more bracken pulling session this year – next Wednesday, the 24th.
If you are wondering why we pull up bracken, it is because it eventually smothers all other plants and diminishes bio-diversity. This was very evident in some parts of the area we worked on today where there no other plants living under the bracken. However, in other parts, we found lots of heather and bilberries still managing to carry on – as can be seen in the “before and after” photographs below.
Before……and after!
Today we focused on a triangular area to the east of the main path crossing the moor from North to South. Again you can see from the photographs below that there was still a lot of heather growing under the bracken and it was very satisfying to bring it to light. In the area beyond and to the left of the area shown in the photographs, there was little growing as can be seen in the last photograph in this post.
Before...After
As we pulled the bracken, we had a lovely surprise when one of our party found a bird’s nest suspended in the top of some bracken fronds. There were empty egg shells in the nest which we identified as a robin’s nest. The fact that the egg shells were still in the nest is probably not a good sign as birds usually remove shells from the nest once the chicks have hatched.
A bird’s nest found in the bracken fronds on Adel MoorThreeFriends of Adel Woods on Adel Moor: 17th August 2022
Another lovely morning. In the foreground, you can see how bare the ground can be once the bracken has been removed. Hopefully, other plants will now have a chance to repopulate the moor.
Fortunately, you can also see lots of heather and gorse in the background.
Today was the first ever Friends of Adel Woods event to take place on a weekday.
It was Barbara’s idea to have three midweek events during August focusing solely on removing bracken from Adel Moor. We have two more coming up – on Wednesday the 17th and Wednesday the 24th.
For those of you reading this in a few weeks, months or years time, we are currently in the middle of a heatwave, the second in less than a month, and it was already very warm by the time we met at 9.55 am on Buckstone Road. Despite the heat, we had a fantastic turn out of ten Friends, including three new volunteers.
Bracken pulling on Adel Moor: Getting started
Friends of Adel Woods and the council have done a lot of work on the moor over the last thirteen years and it is looking fantastic. However, it is a constant battle to remove bracken, brambles and saplings. Bracken is particularly invasive and will eventually smother other plants which we wish to see on the moor.
Bracken pulling on Adel Moor: an hour and a half later!
In an hour and a half of diligent activity we were able to clear an area which I would estimate as similar in size to a 25 metre swimming pool – a fantastic achievement. You can see from the photo above, that where the bracken has overrun an area, there is very little other vegetation underneath it. However, heather and bilberries were still hanging on. [By the way, the two photographs above were taken from the same spot, but I didn’t point the camera in quite the right direction for the second].
Unfortunately, it takes a determined and regular effort to remove bracken from an area. However, we are hopeful that as bracken pulling work continues, the heather and bilberries will be renewed.
Adel Moor: looking towards the south.
Adel Moor has a population of viviparous lizards, though we did not see any today. In the last three years, green hairstreak butterflies have also been found here.
We are continuing the work of bracken pulling next Wednesday, the 17th August, and on Wednesday the 24th August. All are welcome – see our home page for more information.
Our agenda today was litterpicking through the woods, and removing bracken, brambles and saplings from Adel Moor. As can be seen from the photos we were blessed with lovely weather.
Two of us chose to litterpick and gathered about three bags of rubbish during the morning.
Our intrepid litterpickers!
The rest of us, eight in all, spent a warm morning working on the moor, focusing mainly on pulling up bracken. If you are wondering why we do this, it is because bracken is extremely prolific and eventually smothers and kills off all other plants. In the photo below, you can clearly see, just beyond our Friends, the dividing line between the heather (which we are trying to encourage) and the lighter green bracken.
Adel Moor is special as the last remaining piece of heathland in Leeds and it is also host to a population of common lizards, though we didn’t see any today.
In the last three Springs, green hairstreak butterflies have been found on the moor. They are not a rare species nationally but until 2020 they were only found in the Leeds area on Otley Chevin.
Fortunately, bracken is usually pretty easy to pull up, though the main part of the root is left in the ground and it takes several years of “bracken bashing” to kill bracken off.
It was heartening to find plenty of heather still hanging on beneath the fronds of bracken.
Two piles of bracken and four of our bracken bashers.
At the end of the morning’s work, the bracken is carried into the surrounding woodland for composting
At the end of the morning’s work, the bracken is carried into the surrounding woodland for composting.Time for lunch!
The chair delivered a report on the last twelve months’ activities – see below.
In the treasurer’s absence, the secretary delivered the treasurer’s report. As at 31st March 2022, FOAW held funds of £475, of which approximately £157 will be spent on insurance in July. The chair said that a further £70 or so will be spent on mini-mattocks which members have found very useful when working on Adel Moor.
After the chair’s and treasurer’s reports, appointment of the officers and committee took place.
All the committee members and officers stood for re-election and were duly re-appointed. In addition, two more people, Steve Joul and Sue Chambers, agreed to join the committee, bringing the number on the committee up to eight out of a possible ten.
Roger Gilbert was re-appointed chair; Judith White was re-appointed treasurer; and Stephanie Clarke was re-appointed secretary. Rob Hall agreed to act as auditor.
The committee members are now: Roger Gilbert; Judith White; Stephanie Clarke; Rob Hall; David Hampshire; David Smith; Steve Joul; and Sue Chambers.
A vote of thanks was passed for the work of Steve Joul, who retired from Leeds City Council in March, and David Preston, who was Meanwood Valley Ranger for three years, and has been appointed full time ranger as Steve’s replacement.
David has been assigned to work with Friends of Adel Woods four days a year and will probably work with us on tasks which FOAW can’t do on their own – eg tasks which need machinery rather than hand tools. He said that he will also be doing a lot of work with corporate groups. We discussed plans for work on Adel Moor, Adel Pond and Adel Bog and Adel Crag. David will also be able to assist with applications for grants for tools and the like.
The Chair’s report
Our last AGM was on the 26th May 2021 in the middle of a covid 19 lockdown. At that time, we hadn’t had any FOAW events since 13th December 2020. So our first event in 2021 was on the 25th July, shortly after what was dubbed at the time “Freedom Day”, the 19th July!
Working on the Stairfoot Lane steps on 25th July 2021
On the 25th July we litterpicked; repaired the Stairfoot Lane steps; removed a fallen tree from the path by the stream and created some drainage channels; and Steve Joul and Roderic cleared the drainage channel by the picnic area.
Since July we have had a further fourteen events – thirteen “work parties” and one birdsong walk. I have adopted the term “work parties” since David H used it to describe what we do: it sounds better than “task”, or “chain gang”! Our work parties have included the following:
seven mornings of litterpicking
two mornings of raking mowings off the orchid meadow (after it had been mown by Steve Joul)
three mornings working on Adel Moor – removing bracken, brambles and saplings
one morning on Adel Pond
one morning on Adel Bog
three mornings of path clearing
a day and a half of surveying and cleaning nest boxes
one morning of working on the hospice woodland, including removing a large tree which had fallen across the footpath
The birdsong walk took place on the 8th May. It was led by Steve Joul, and attended by twenty four people, raising £53.50 for FOAW funds. We saw or heard 19 species of birds. You can find out more about all these events by reading the entries on this blog.
Birdsong walk in Adel Woods on the 8th May 2022
Nature notes during the year
Azalea in Adel WoodsThe lime tree in Stairfoot lane carpark
The blog entry for July 2021 asked: Is Stairfoot Lane carpark the most fragrant part of Adel Woods? This was not a ridiculous question. There is a beautiful, fragrant, yellow azalea just below the carpark. It blooms in May and was still in bloom last Saturday and it casts a wonderful fragrance around the area. To find it, start down the steps leading down to the stream; after the fifth step, turn onto the path on the left, and the azalea is about 25 yards along. There is also a large lime tree in the Stairfoot Lane carpark and it will be coming into bloom and exuding a sweet fragrance in the next few weeks.
Green Hairstreak butterfly photographed on Adel Moor on 17th April 2022 by Joseph Worrilow
I am also pleased to be able to say that Green Hairstreak butterflies were spotted on Adel Moor again last month – the third April in a row. They are not a rare butterfly nationally, but locally they were previously only known in this area on Otley Chevin.
Steve Joul
In March 2022, Steve Joul retired from Leeds City Council and we wish him a very long and happy retirement – and a retirement where he continues to be involved with Friends of Adel Woods!
Steve has worked with Friends of Adel Woods since the group was formed in July 2009 and his first event was to lead a walk around the woods on 4th August 2009 to establish the kinds of tasks which FOAW can usefully carry out.
Making nest boxes in January 2010
Since then he has been a regular mentor, leading us on many work parties, in particular:
making nest and bat boxes in 2009 and 2010, and helping us to put them up
teaching us how to make Christmas wreaths which we made each year until lockdown
helping us to survey and clean the nest boxes each year
improving the Stairfoot Lane steps
guiding us and helping us with work on Adel Moor, Adel pond and Adel Bog
working on the orchid meadow.
A fungal foray: 27 October 2013
He has also led numerous walks and talks over the years including:
birdsong walks
bat walks
nature walks
newt safaris
tree walks
wildflower walks
a small mammal safari
fungal forays
how to carry out a habitat assessment
Inspecting a nest box in January 2020
So, on behalf of all at Friends of Adel Woods, I want to say a big thank you to Steve for all he has done for us over the years.
But all is not lost! He has continued to work with FOAW as a volunteer since he retired – and this evening he has joined our committee!
David Preston
Another reason that all is not lost is that Leeds City Council has appointed David Preston as a full time ranger to replace Steve, and he has been assigned four days a year to work with us.
Completing installation of one of our interpretation boards: March 2021
You may well know that David was Ranger for the Meanwood Valley for three years, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, when he did a lot of fantastic work up and down the Meanwood Valley, including Adel Woods.
We are delighted that David will now be working with us, and already has a list of “work parties” lined up for later in the year. We are looking forward to working with him.
So finally…
All that remains is to thank our committee for all the work they have done over the past year. Likewise to all our amazing volunteers. Friends of Adel Woods would not exist with out the committee and volunteers.
Thank you too for Old Leo’s Rugby Club for letting us use their car park over the last year.
Let’s look forward to another year of fun, laughter and friendship.
Friends of Adel Woods 