Four acres for wildlife?

[blades]

I have 4 acres of land that are currently split into 4 paddocks. Due to work commitments I cannot keep any livestock as I am kept busy mon – fri during daylights hours.

I have considered letting the land to perhaps a horse owner but I think I would prefer to tailor the land to benefit the wildlife more.

The area is surrounded by woodland and I have some large ponds in place already. Any ideas of how to best manage these 4 acres (currently in grass) with wildlife in mind and also to avoid cutting grass all summer?

 

Cake and eat it springs to mind… but I thought I would at least get some opinions?

 

Thanks in advance

[Daniël Bos]

leave it alone, whatever wants to or can grow/live there eventually will.

[coppiceer]

leave it alone, whatever wants to or can grow/live there eventually will.

 

Absolutely.

 

You could try mowing annually and creating big heaps of grass. If you have grass snakes that will give them somewhere to lay their eggs. Leaving your grass long will encourage voles and, hence, ketrels, owls, etc.

[difflock]

Benign neglect, I have an area that was bare peat, it has regenerated wonderfully in the past 8 or 10 years, the beauty is that only the stuff that wants to grow there which colonised, therefore vigerous growth.

I would need to thin out the goat willow mind.

Far too much of it for a natural balance:lol:

[Pete Tattam]

Don't just leave it to it's own devices. It will progress through long grasses to scrub to emergent woodland. Mow late summer after wildflowers have seeded to encourage a wildflower meadow. Leave longer around field margins and plant hedgerows (if you don't already have them). A few habitat piles of sticks and/or logs will give overwintering sites for inverterbrates etc. Leave some bare earth areas and create a few banked areas. Plant some trees to supplement any you already have. Diverse habitats will produce diverse wildlife.

[MikeTM150]

If its registered with the RPA then u can probably enter into a wildlife scheme with them, such as HLS, if they will agree to it on only 4acres, probably earn u £1000/year for doing what ur already planning on doing!

 

Good luck!

[corylus]

Find out whats already there, or likely to be there, as that MAY dictate you future management.

 

I would imagine there is a lot more there than 'grass'.

 

Have fun with it!

[blades]

Thank you for the tips.... I've attached a pic of part of the area.

[slasherscot]

build some houses and retire:sneaky2:

[Treecreeper1961]

Cricket pitch!