Haines Meadows
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Cooks Hill, Wick
Grid reference SO969 469 Purchased in five lots, February & March 2013, March 2015, June 2016 & October 2017 Access: No public access but the site can be viewed from Lower Moor permissive path. |
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Purple Loostrife on the banks of the Avon at Haines Meadows
Haines Meadows is situated in the Avon floodplain at Wick, on the opposite side of the river to VLHT’s Lower Moor River Meadows. The site comprises a large area of agriculturally improved grassland with a series of ditches creating shallow wetland areas to attract wading birds. Curlew have bred here in the past but regularly failed due to early hay or silage cutting. Traditional late hay cutting with aftermath grazing has been reintroduced since being purchased by VLHT and it is hoped that Curlew will return to breed once again. Lapwings are regularly seen at the site but their attempts to breed were unsuccessful due to the large numbers of gulls that roosted here before heading out to the local landfill site to feed. However, much of the waste is now processed and incinerated and the gull population has fallen as landfill operations have been reduced and one or two pars of Lapwing now breed on site. Various waders have been noted on passage including Redshank, Little Ringed Plover and Oystercatcher as well as the occasional rarity including Glossy Ibis. Red-legged Partridges are released nearby and Grey Partridges are occasionally seen here.
The site’s location adjacent to Lower Moor is ideal as it means that roosting birds can move from Lower Moor to Haines Meadows if disturbed. The hedgerows around the site offer nesting and roosting sites for various birds including Whitethroat and Lesser Whitethroat, Chaffinch, Reed Bunting and Yellowhammer. However, the hedges need to be kept cut low to reduce the vantage points for raptors and corvids that would predate ground-nesting birds.
Brown Hairstreak eggs at Haines Meadows
The grassland is generally species-poor grazing pasture (grazed by cattle through the summer) but the field around the main wetland has been reseeded and contains wildflowers including Oxeye Daisy and Meadow Buttercup.
Two fields purchased in 2016 are managed as hay meadows, specifically to provide habitat suitable for breeding Curlew. A smaller field purchased at the same time consists of developing scrub where Reed Bunting and Linnet breed, also a single Common Spotted Orchid has been recorded here. As well as being important for migrating birds on passage, the site forms part of a corridor for other wildlife, especially insects, some of which have spread into the county in recent years and include Long-winged Conehead and Roesel’s Bush-cricket.
In 2019 eggs of Brown Hairstreak butterflies were found on Blackthorn along one of the hedges.
Dragonflies are the most noticeable insects with several river species breeding locally in the Avon and feeding along the banks at Haines Meadows. These include Banded Demoiselle, White-legged Damselfly and Scarce Chaser, along with Red-eyed Damselfly.
Banded Demoiselle
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White-legged Damselfly
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Red-eyed Damselfly
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Roe, Muntjac and Fallow Deer have all been noted at Haines Meadows and Brown Hares are occasionally seen.
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Further information
Brown Hairstreak
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Worcestershire's Dragonflies
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