Post One

In front of you is a very old oak tree. They can live for many hundreds of years, and this one was probably alive when Queen Elizabeth I visited Scadbury in 1597.

In spring and summer birds called chiff-chaffs visit Scadbury to breed. They can easily be recognised by their distinctive call, from which they get their name. You can learn more about the Chiff-chaff here.

As you walk downhill to the pond look for red and orange staining on the bark of trees such as ash. It is caused by two different species of a simple plant called Trentepohlia: a green alga which contains an orange or a reddish pigment. if you want to find out more about algae, look here...

The pond provides good habitat for amphibians including common, palmate and great-crested newts. These animals spend most of their lives on land, hunting and hibernating in the surrounding woodland and scrub, only returning to the water to breed. In the summer look for broad-leaved pondweed floating on the pond surface and dragonflies and damselflies darting around the edge.