Friends of Shillingford Wood
Ensuring Nature has a Home
Just because you don't see it doesn't mean its not there!!!
Our Wood and surrounding area is home to a wide variety of wildlife including fallow and roe deer, doormouse, badger, fox, stoat, hedgehog, polecat, slow worm, grass snake, green woodpecker, great spotted woodpecker, bullfinch, cirl bunting, tree creeper, nuthatch, goldcrest, blackcap, whitethroat, stonechat, buzzard, kestrel, barn owl, tawny owl, little owl, song thrush, skylark and chiffchaff to name just a few species. The wide range of invertebrates form the building blocks for all our wildlife.
Cirl Buntings
You won't see cirl buntings within the wood but there is a good chance you may see them as you walk along the paths to the wood.
Once an abundant little bird they reduced to just 100 pairs in the UK by the end of the 1980s. Since then, mainly through intensive conservation work, it has held on, mainly in Devon and Cornwall. We are lucky to have several breeding pairs here in Shillingford. Cirl buntings remain a red listed species and a bird of conservation concern therefore specially protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
For more information about the Cirl Buntings in Shillingford see our short video in the media page.
What might you see during your visit?
Butterflies
Butterflies are some of the UK's most diverse insects. They come in all shapes, colours and sizes. See how many different species you can find.
Insects
Britiain is home to 27,000 species of insect. This includes bugs, beetles, butterflies, moths, bees and much much more.
Black fallow deer
Fallow deer are generally pale in colour but some of the fallow deer in the wood have the less common melanistic coat, which is almost entirely deep brown or black.
Roe deer
Roe deer are one of the smaller deer species in England, they have a black nose with a white chin, and small and simple antlers.
Fox
A born survivor with a bushy tail. The fox sits at the top of the woodland food chain with a diet that takes in everything from birds and beetles to rabbits and rats.
Badger
The black-and-white striped badger is unmistakeable. However, unless you are about very early in the morning or late at night you are unlikely to see one.
Treecreeper
Treecreepers are active during the day. They creep up trees, exploring bark and crevices, using their long, sharp beaks to pick out insects such as earwigs.
jay
Although jays are colourful they are quite difficult to see. Their screaming call usually lets you know they're nearby.
Nuthatch
The nuthatch is a distinctive bird with an orange breast and blue-grey wings. It has a long, powerful beak and a black streak running across its eye.
long-tailed tit
Living up to its name, the long-tailed tit can be easily recognised by its long tail. It is a small, pretty, pink, black and white bird.
coal tit
Coal tits are active feeders, hunting out insects and spiders among the smaller branches and leaves of trees in woodlands.
greenfinch
Greenfinches are large, chunky finches that are mostly olive-green, but with a yellow patch on the wings and tail. Females are grey-green with less yellow.
Buzzard
Soaring buzzards are a common sight above the wood. They are large birds with broad rounded wings and a short tail.
Kestrel
A hovering hunter that strikes from above. The kestrel is a common sight along the woodland edges, using its razor-sharp vision to catch unsuspecting prey.
Red kite
An impressive but infrequent visitor. Look out for them wheeling high in the air. They are the only UK raptor with a 'V' shaped tail.