Birds, mammals, insects and plants of Ashford Hangers

What to look out for, when and where

This information is not comprehensive and is intended to give guidance only. We suggest you carry an illustrated guide to flora and fauna to help identify the species listed. For more information tel 023 9247 6411

Species	When	Where	Notes
Raven	Year round	Overhead	Listen out for deep ‘cronking’ call, long - diamond shaped tail
Buzzard	Year round	Overhead/in trees	Usually two or more circling and calling together.
Little Egret	Autumn / winter	Lutcombe Stream/Pond	Pure white Heron like, hunts small fish and invertebrates in the stream, will fly off when disturbed
Red Kite	Year round	Overhead	Infrequent visitor with unmistakable forked tail
Sparrowhawk	Year round	Overhead hunting through woods	On clear sunny days will circle high up with distinctive ‘’flap flap – glide’ flight action on rounded wings
Kestrel	Year round	Overhead mainly over the grasslands	Can hunt from hover but will hunt from a high perch
Tawny Owl	Year round	In trees	Heard more often than seen with classic owl call
Bullfinch	Year round	Woodland/hedgerow	Usually in mixed pairs, white patch on rump apparent as they fly away
Hobby	Late summer / autumn	Trig point/Jacks Meadow	Large flocks of migrating Martins hunt insects over these grasslands which are in turn harried by the hobby
Kingfisher	Winter	Lutcombe stream/pond	Resident all year but more apparent in winter when leaves have fallen
Pied Flycatcher	Late summer / autumn	Tops of small trees	Flits from top of tree to catch insects then returns to original perch.
Spotted Flycatcher	Late summer / autumn	Tops of small trees	Flits from top of tree to catch insects then returns to original perch.
Hawfinch	Winter	Top of mature Beech trees	Large chestnut, buff and white coloured finch.

Species	When	Where	Notes
Deer	Year round	All of the reserve and surrounding property	Muntjack, Fallow and Roe deer have all been recorded at the reserve
Badger	Year round	Various locations on the reserve	Badgers are rarely seen out in the open, look for signs, tracks and sets
Bats	Spring Summer and Autumn	Over Lutcombe Pond and along track ways	Currently 9 species of bat have been recorded at the reserve and monitoring is on-going, if you visit the site before dusk during the summer months many can be seen over head.

In the summer months Butterflies are the most apparent insects on the wing.

Species	When	Where	Notes
Purple Emperor	July and August	Little Shoulder of Mutton	Females mainly around Willows, males rarely spotted on site
Silver Washed Fritillary	July and August	In glades throughout the wood, along paths	Largest of the fritillaries on site Caterpillars rely on violets as food plant
White Admiral	July	Within the woodland	Sometimes seen on bramble flowers
White Letter Hairstreak	June	Throughout the reserve, wherever Elm is growing	Very elusive, you’ll need binoculars - and patience
Ringlet	June	Woodland glades and along rides	Not uncommon but welcome change from the usual browns.
Marbled White	July into August	Jacks meadow, Shoulder of Mutton	True grassland loving species
Essex and Small Skipper	Essex early July, small late June	In the grasslands, Shoulder of Mutton, Juniper	Very difficult to distinguish between species
Chalkhill Blue	June and July	Shoulder of Mutton, Juniper, Jacks meadow	Grassland loving, iridescent blue, iconic butterfly of the South Downs

Species	When (*Flowering)	Where	Notes
Narrow- leaved Helleborine	Throughout May	Little Shoulder of mutton	Over 300 plants constitute the second largest population in Britain of this rare Orchid.
White Helleborine	Late May through June	Various trackside locations throughout the reserve	Locally far more common than the above with broader leaves
Greater Butterfly Orchid	Late May through June	Shoulder of Mutton, Juniper and other open grasslands	Beautiful Orchid, mainly in the grassland
Fly Orchid	Spring/early summer	Woodland edge and coppiced areas	Tall but hard to spot in woodland, dark purple with iridescent blue spot
Birds Nest Orchid	From April through June	In Beech/Yew woods	straw coloured, doesn’t Photosynthesise, relies on rotting leaves to survive.
Common Spotted Orchid	From mid may through into July	Mainly the open grasslands	One of Ashford Hangers most common orchids
Herb Paris	Throughout May and June	Bridleway along Lutcombe stream	4 leaves in a single whorl halfway up the stem
Stinking Hellebore	January through to May	Halfway up the main hill on The Hangers Way	Unpleasant smelling, all parts of this plant are poisonous
Ramsons (wild Garlic)	April/June	At the top of Weatham Hill various places	Pleasant (in moderation) Garlic scented plant with white globe of flowers
Vipers Bugloss	April/September	Juniper	Bright blue flower
Cowslip	April/May	Jacks Meadow and other grasslands	Usually an excellent display at Jacks Meadow
Primrose	April/May	Jacks Meadow and other grasslands	Usually an excellent display at Jacks Meadow
False Oxlip	April/May	Jacks Meadow and other grasslands	A hybrid of the above 2 species which, as the name suggests can be confused with Oxlip.

* All flowering times are approximate and it is worth checking before paying a visit.