Fauna

General

The diverse vegetation and habitats on Bramcote Ridge (as detailed on the Flora page create a myriad of 'micro habitats' that provide a wealth of wildlife with the specific conditions required for food shelter and breeding sites.

A casual visit to the Ridge will reveal birds as the most conspicuous wildlife in the area, due to their continual movement and/or song. They can be observed throughout the site, sometimes at quite close quarters especially in the wooded areas. Over 50 species have been recorded in the area over recent years, but due to their migratory nature not all will be present at any one time.

But looking a little closer will also reveal an even greater wealth of invertebrates. Butterflies can be seen in the open grassland areas, dragonflies and damselflies flit about near the scrub and woodland edges and many other flying insects can be observed feeding on the open flowers.

Looking more closely amongst the vegetation will reveal ants, beetles, molluscs, spiders and caterpillars, all busy hunting or feeding.

Even under the leaf litter, in the soil and under fallen or dead branches these is a wealth of different species of small invertebrates to be observed.

More difficult to sight are the mammals that inhabit the area, although there are plenty of signs of their presence. 'Tell-tales' such as noises in the undergrowth, droppings, nibbled food or piles of feathers all denote the presence of specific species.

Grey Squirrels are the most noticeable as they are active throughout the year and can be frequently observed in the woodland performing acrobatics between the trees.

Many of the other mammals that are present on the Ridge, such as Fox, Hedgehog and visiting Badger, are predominately nocturnal and are seldom seen. Although foxes can sometimes be spotted during the day and late evening in summer - which is also the best time to bats flitting across the darkening sky.

Although the sandy soils make the site very dry, amphibians such as Common Frog and Toad are also present throughout the site, usually deep within the undergrowth searching for invertebrates. We assume that they migrate onto the site from ponds in the surrounding gardens, as there is no other wetland habitats in the general area.

Usually the best opportunity to see them is by helping with the Friend's habitat management.

Management of wildlife is extremely difficult to implement successfully as individual species form complex inter-relationships with both vegetation and other faunal species (predator/prey). The deliberate intervention in the population size of one species (however 'insignificant' it may seem) may seriously affect the viability of other dependent species in the complex food web.

A Simplified Woodland Food Web

Since all animal life is ultimately dependant on the vegetation within an area, the best management practice is always to ensure that the widest possible diversity of vegetation and habitats are available for wildlife to exploit. This can only be achieved by continual sensitive management.

For a listings of animals recorded on the site to-date use the links above

Vertebrate Species List

This page lists all the Mammal, Bird and Amphibian species identified on the entire open space. Each species is categorised with both its common and scientific name, along with a 'frequency' intended to give some indication as to how widespread each species is on the site - i.e. common or scarce resident, summer or winter visitor.

If the Common Name is GREEN, this signifies that there is a photograph of that species in our library: click the link to view the relevant photo and click anywhere image to close it.

Mammals
Common Name	Scientific Name	Frequency
Field (Wood) Mouse	Apodemus sylvaticus	common resident
Field Vole	Microtus agrestis	scarce resident
Brown Rat	Rattus norvegious	scarce resident
Common Shrew	Sorex araneus	scarce resident
Mole	Talpa europaea	common resident
Hedgehog	Erinaceus europaeus	scarce resident
Grey Squirrel	Sciurus carolinensis	abundant resident
Badger	Meles meles	non resident
Red Fox	Vulpes vulpes	scarce resident

Birds
Common Name	Scientific Name	Frequency
Mallard ²	Anas platyrhynchos	scarce resident
Buzzard	Buteo buteo	scarce resident
Sparrowhawk	Accipiter nisus	fairly common resident
Kestrel ²	Falco tinnunculus	scarce resident
Pheasant	Phasianus colchicus	scarce resident
Woodcock ¹	Scolopax rusticola	scarce resident
Black-Headed Gull ²	Chroicocephalus ridibundas	scarce resident
Stock Dove ²	Columba oenas	scarce resident
Woodpigeon	Columba palumbus	abundant resident
Collared Dove	Streptopelia decaocto	common resident
Tawny Owl ²	Strix aluco	scarce resident
Swift ²	Apus apus	common summer visitor
Rose Ringed Parakeet	Psittacula krameri	rare visitor
Green Woodpecker	Picus viridis	fairly common resident
Great Spotted Woodpecker	Dendrocopos major	fairly common resident
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker ¹	Dendrocopos minor	rare resident
Swallow	Hirundo rustica	fairly common summer visitor
House Martin ²	Delichon urbica	fairly common summer visitor
Pied Wagtail	Motcilla alba	scarce resident
Waxwing	Bombycilla garrulus	scarce winter visitor
Dunnock ²	Prunella modularis	common resident
Whitethroat	Sylvia communis	scarce summer visitor
Lesser Whitethroat	Sylvia curruca	scarce summer visitor
Blackcap ³	Sylvia atricapilla	common summer/winter visitor
Willow Warbler ²	Phylloscopus trochilus	scarce summer visitor
Chiffchaff	Phylloscopus collybita	fairly common summer visitor
Wood Warbler ¹	Phylloscopus sibilatrix	scarce summer visitor
Garden Warbler	Silvia borin	scarce summer visitor
Goldcrest	Regulus regulus	scarce resident
Robin	Erithacus rubecula	common resident
Blackbird	Turdus merula	abundant resident
Fieldfare ¹	Turdus pilaris	fairly common winter visitor
Redwing ¹	Turdus iliacus	fairly common winter visitor
Song Thrush ¹	Turdus philomelos	scarce resident
Mistle Thrush ¹	Turdus viscivorus	scarce resident
Long-tailed Tit	Aegithalos caudatus	common resident
Coal Tit	Parus ater	fairly common resident
Great Tit	Parus major	common resident
Blue Tit	Parus caeruleus	common resident
Nuthatch	Sitta europaea	fairly common resident
Treecreeper	Certhia familiaris	scarce resident
Wren	Troglodytes troglodytes	common resident
Chaffinch	Fringilla coelebus	common resident
Goldfinch	Carduelis carduelis	common resident
Siskin	Carduelis spinus	scarce winter visitor
Greenfinch	Carduelis chloris	common resident
Bullfinch ²	Pyrrhula pyrrhula	fairly common resident
Common Redpoll ²	Carduelis flammea	scarce winter visitor
House Sparrow ¹	Passer domesticus	scarce resident
Starling ¹	Sturnus vulgaris	scarce resident
Jay	Garrulus glandarius	fairly common resident
Magpie	Pica pica	abundant resident
Carrion Crow	Corvus corone corone	common resident
Jackdaw	Corvus monedula	fairly common resident
¹ Species on the BTO/RSPB/JNCC Red List (of HIGH Conservation Concern) updated in 2015
² Species on the BTO/RSPB/JNCC Amber List (of MODERATE Conservation Concern) updated in 2015
³ The Blackcap is not considered as a resident: Those seen during summer migrate further south in winter, and those seen during winter were living further north during the summer months.

Amphibians
Common Name	Scientific Name	Frequency
Common Toad	Buffo buffo	scarce resident
Common Frog	Rana temporaria	scarce resident

Invertebrate Species List

This page lists all the Bee, Butterfly, Damselfly and Dragonfly species identified on the entire open space. Hopefully this list will grow over time as other species are recorded.

It is also hoped that more invertebrates species will be included on these pages at some point in the future. Unfortunately these call for specialist survey techniques, and so, may take some time to organise and implement.

Each species is categorised with both its common and scientific name, along with a 'frequency' intended to give some indication as to how widespread each species is on the site - i.e. common or scarce resident, summer or winter visitor.

If the Common Name is GREEN, this signifies that there is a photograph of that species in our library: click the link to view the relevant photo and click anywhere image to close it.

Bees
Common Name	Scientific Name	Frequency
Red -Tailed Bumblebee	Bombus lapidarius	occasional
Buff-Tailed Bumblebee	Bombus terrestris	occasional
White-Tailed Bumblebee	Bombus Iucorum	frequent
Common Carder Bumblebee	Bombus pascuorum	frequent
Tree Bumblebee	Bombus hypnorum	frequent
Ashy Mining-Bee	Andrena cineraria	rare

Butterflies
Common Name	Scientific Name	Frequency
Small Skipper	Thymelicus sylvestris	frequent (resident)
Essex Skipper	Thymelicus lineola	rare (resident)
Large Skipper	Ochlodes venata	frequent (resident)
Clouded Yellow	Colias crocous	rare (migrant)
Brimstone	Gonepteryx rhamni	frequent (visitor)
Large White	Pieris brassicae	frequent (resident)
Small White	Pieris rapae	frequent (resident)
Green-veined White	Pieris napi	frequent (resident)
Orange-tip	Anthocharis cardamines	frequent (visitor)
Small Copper	Lycaena phlaeas	occasional (resident)
White Letter Hairstreak	Satyrium w-album	rare (resident)
Common Blue	Polyommatus icarus	occasional (resident)
Holly Blue	Celastrina argiolus	frequent (resident)
Red Admiral	Vanessa atalanta	frequent (visitor)
Painted Lady	Cynthia cardui	occasional (migrant)
Small Tortoiseshell	Aglais urticae	occasional (resident)
Peacock	Inachis io	occasional (resident)
Comma	Polygonia c-album	frequent (visitor)
Speckled Wood	Pararge aegeria	abundant (resident)
Gatekeeper	Pyronia tithonus	frequent (visitor)
Meadow Brown	Maniola jurtina	frequent (resident)
Ringlet	Aphantopus hyperantus	frequent (visitor)
Small Heath	Coenonympha pamphilus	rare (resident)

Dragonflies & Damselflies
Common Name	Scientific Name	Frequency
Common Blue Damselfly	Enallagma cyathigerum	common
Large Red Damselfly	Pyrrhosoma nymphula	rare
Blue Tailed Damselfly	Ischaura elegens	scarce
Common Hawker	Aeshna juncea	rare
Southern Hawker	Aeshna cyanea	fairly common
Brown Hawker	Aeshna grandis	fairly common
Migrant Hawker	Aeshna mixta latrielle	rare
Four Spotted Chaser	Libellula quadrimaculata	scarce
Broad- bodied Chaser	Libellula depressa	scarce visitor
Ruddy Darter	Sympetrum sanguineum	scarce visitor
Common Darter	Sympetrum striolatum	scarce
Banded Demoisselle	Calopteryx splendens	rare

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Fauna

General

Vertebrate Species List

Mammals

Birds

Amphibians

Invertebrate Species List

Bees

Butterflies

Dragonflies & Damselflies