Furzebrook Estate

A perfect evening for a Nightjar recce on the heath here on the estate. One male has already started churring, accompanied by a cuckoo calling somewhere in the distance. Guided Nightjar walk dates coming soon.

Winter has come to The Blue Pool

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A massive find on the heath here on the Furzebrook Estate… the Marsh Gentian! 21 flowering plants have been counted in one small area. These blue late blooming flowers are nationally rare and only found growing in areas of wet heathland. Unfortunately their numbers are declining due to loss of habitat due to improved drainage and habitat loss from lack of management leading to succession of the habitat by grass species, however the flowers found on the Heath are just one recent example of the rewards from 3 years of grazing by our wild Dartmoor ponies. The seeds of these flowers can lay dormant for many years so with continued grazing and management the numbers should continue to grow!

Making the most of some scraps of our milled timber, the team made a few homes for the wildlife around the Nature Observation Platform. Hopefully over time the bats will start to use the bat boxes which visitors staying over night will be able to watch them hunting months and bugs from the comfort of the decking on a clear evening or whilst sat around the fire pit, whilst various important bees, beetles and bugs make themselves at home amongst pine cones and bamboo stalks cut from around the estate.

A rare sighting of a Cormorant No doubt a fleeting visit once it realises there’s no fish to be poached from the pool…..

The sunshine today has brought with it this Common Lizard on the heath. Let’s hope we see more of them as the weather warms up. 🤞🏻

Dartmoor Ponies are the perfect choice for our conservation grazing work. Because ponies are grazers (with a small amount of browsing every now and then!) they hold forage in their rumens for longer allowing them to breakdown more fibrous plant material and gain nutrients from what is otherwise some pretty nasty dinner!

One of our ponies here is showing just how tough they are by nibbling and feeding on gorse. Something a browser ,such as deer, wouldn’t due to the low nutrient content.

Gorse. Just a prickly bush that smells of coconut. True. But did you know they are an important part of the lowland Heath ecosystem and that there are three species to be found on the estate?

Traditionally known as ‘Furze’ (there has to be a connection with the estate name!) it was said that kissing was out of season when the furze was out of flower…. Which means you can kiss already around as the two larger species flower through 12 months of the year.

Common Gorse (Ulex europaeus) can grow to 3m tall and it the type you are mostly likely to find on the heath. The spikes are spread apart enough that you can see the stem of the branches and is in flower from January to June.

Western Gorse (Ulex gallii) looks very much like Common Gorse but flowers from June through to December. The spines grow closer together making it difficult to see the stem on the branches. It’s also a little smaller and lighter in colour.

Dwarf Gorse (Ulex minor) grows amongst the heather, almost like a small creeping shrub. The prickles on it are a lot less rigid that the other two species.

Gorse does require managing on heathland sites but a few patches of varied age is essential for wildlife, particularly the Dartford Warbler, which rely on the Lowland heaths of Southern England and the numerous insects and spiders which also call ‘furze’ home. Once on the verge of extinction the Dartford Warbler ( also known as the Furze Wren) has made a come back and can be seen and heard on the heathlands on the estate.

Possibly the most common animal you will see around the estate and particularly at is the Sika deer. Sika deer were first introduced to Poole Harbour in 1895 at Hyde House Park and a small group the following year on Brownsea Island. The deer on Brownsea were seen swimming from Island to the mainland the same night! Due to their high reproduction success rate and low infant mortality and the ability to survive on a low nutrient diet their numbers quickly increase. The females are called Hinds, the young are called calf’s and the male deer are called stags and start developing ‘button’ pedicels from 6 months old and in their second year grow their first set of spikes (at this stage they are referred to as Pricketts). In their third year they will have a small set of 6 points, finally growing into an 8 point set. A common misconception is that you each point means 1 year in age. During the rut the stags can be heard whistling their erie calls though the woods and heathlands.

It official, spring came first to the Furzebrook Estate…. 🏆

Snipe bog, which is located on the heathland which makes up part of the Furzebrook Estate, is certainly living up to its name at the moment…it’s certainly boggy and it’s definitely full of snipe! The Bog is surrounded by both Common and Western Gorse, Scots Pine, Silver Birch and both Ling and Crossed Leaved Heather and the wet area is made up mostly of Purple Moor grass growing in its recognisable clumps and some Sundew dotted around. The Snipe probe the soft soil looking for invertebrates and worms and are nearly impossible to spot due to their incredible camouflage, usually only being seen when they fly off from almost under your feet giving a rasping call as they go. It’s certainly makes you jump!

Our Mangalitza pigs enjoying their Boxing Day treats

Photo Stand-In board at The Blue Pool. Looking amazing with a little 'natural' snow 😊

Glorious day collecting eco Xmas trees for sale

The turn of the white brain 🧠

Blue skies and another exciting project happening around

A young Sika stag enjoy the morning sunshine

A welcome break in the weather to progress one of our projects around .
Yesterday these decking posts and all the timber in sub frame were trees growing a few hundred meters away. You don’t get much more than that!

Mangalitsa pigs are now carrying out important ecological work
on the Furzebrook Estate.

The quintessential soil ecosystem engineers. They plough through woodland leaf litter, upturning clods in their search for tasty tubers and grubs. By breaking up the sward, the seeds of annual wildflowers, shrubs and trees are given space to germinate. Disturbed ground provides warm basking spots for
grasshoppers and burrowing opportunities for myriad species of bees and beetles. By exposing buried seeds, pigs provide access to food for hungry birds during the leanest months.

Invasive Scots Pine trees are annually removed as part of our conservation efforts on the heath.
Milling the felled timber in the woodlands allows the estate team to make use of the unwanted trees and turn them in to…..anything the estate needs!
Some of our projects will be highlighted in future posts.

‘Yellow Brain Fungus’ or ‘Witches Butter’ a parasite fungi that does not feed on decaying wood but on other fungi that do. Spotted on Azalea walk around

The Furzebrook Estate is home to a small herd of Dartmoor ponies.
Their grazing is an important factor in maintaining a balanced ecosystem within the heath.

Top Gun Maverick at The Blue Pool - 20th August 2023 Strap in and get ready for the jaw-dropping Top Gun: Maverick, blazing onto the open-air big screen at The Blue Pool