Posts Tagged ‘pudsham’
Batty about Bats
Devon is home to 15 species of bats, including the Greater and Lesser Horseshoe, Whiskered, Natterer’s, Daubenton’s, Noctule, Leisler’s, Common and Soprano Pipistrelle, Barbastelle and Brown Long-eared. Bats are an excellent indicator of a diverse, well-connected and insect rich habitat and we have the latter part of this year surveying their activity on our land…
Read MoreTraditional Scything at DPA Hay Meadows
The time of year has come for the annual bracken cut at Pudsham Meadows, and our Conservation Volunteers turned out in force to clear the fields of this fast growing plant. We’re keen to retain some bracken at Pudsham Meadows, as it is important for the brreding cycle of Fritillary butterflies, but our aim is…
Read More2026 Orchid Count: Record Numbers Indicate a Thriving Meadow
On Wednesday the 10th of June we held our annual orchid count at Pudsham Meadows, as part of our long term monitoring of biodiversity and health of the site. DPA Conservation Volunteers were joined by a skilled and enthusiastic team of Devon Wildlife Trust volunteers, who helped us make an efficient and thorough survey of…
Read MoreGuest Blog: Trees of Pudsham
Blackthorn and Hedgecraft – an ancient relationship between man and nature ‘A well-laid and tended blackthorn hedge is all but impenetrable and will last for centuries…Anglo –Saxon charters mention black and hag-thorn rows and twenty-four very old hedges which must have been very old indeed, including six roe-hedges, two wolf hedges and one hart hedge.’Oliver…
Read MoreMeadow Improvement at Pudsham
The DPA are proud to offer a broad variety of volunteering opportunities, with workdays happening across our land holdings on both weekdays and weekends. Our most recent conservation workday at Pudsham Meadows was on Sunday the 8th of February and we had an excellent turnout. The weather was also much kinder than it has been…
Read MoreGuest Blog: Trees, Bushes and Berries of Pudsham Meadows
My love of four meadows and fascination with those people in the past who scythed and stooked here has led me to seek a sense of our ancestors’ relationship with the trees, bushes and berries of Pudsham as well as to learn some useful knowledge about trees. Again I find help from the old books…
Read MorePreparing for Ponies at Pudsham
During autumn, we host Dartmoor ponies on our DPA owned meadows at Pudsham. These native ponies assist our conservation efforts, as part of our Land Management Plan, through trampling and grazing activity. They help with bracken control by trampling and weakening younger fronds, which maintains open bracken stands, the favoured breeding ground of rare fritillary…
Read MoreDrystone Walling at Pudsham
The drystone wall which encloses our land at Pudsham has been in need of attention, as movement of stones has meant that sheep are able to get in on occasion. Although the herb rich meadows are probably a tasty treat, we have a management plan in place which means that short term grazing, by Dartmoor…
Read MoreGuest Blog: Orchid Spells and Bee Tales
Poet and contemporary songwriter, Roz Brady, visited DPA owned Pudsham Meadows on Sunday the 8th of June as part of Open Meadows 2025. This open day was part of a broader program of open meadows, organised by Moor Meadows, and running between May and September. We have welcomed visitors to our hay meadows at Pudsham…
Read MoreAbundance of Orchids at Pudsham Count
This week DPA Conservation Volunteers were joined by Devon Wildlife Trust volunteers for our annual orchid count at Pudsham Meadows. We were looking for four varieties of orchid across our four fields at the site, splitting each field into transects to ensure a systematic survey. Around 25 volunteers spent the morning and early afternoon diligently…
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