Month: January 2015

Unusual visitors to Brandwood End.

For some time now the calls of Green Parakeets have been heard in the cemetery but no major sightings reported. This morning I can report that a flock of over a dozen of these colourful and noisy birds flew through the cemetery. They paid a visit to the trees surrounding the nearby Brandwood Pool and then returned to the area of the main drive before heading off towards the canal!_40353637_twoparakeets203 Whilst they make a colourful sight it is to be hoped that they don’t intimidate the other birds that regularly use Brandwood End, especially the Spotted and Green Woodpeckers!

More mature trees lost in Brandwood End

We are sure regular visitors to the Cemetery will have heard and seen the tree work that has been going on. A number of mature trees have had to be removed as they were either damaged or diseased and represented a risk to the public.

20150123_144748 (800x600)It is so sad to see such majestic trees felled but many of them are at least as old as the Cemetery- so 120 years and some were part of the original hedgerows in the farmers fields. Nothing lasts for ever and fungi are often a sign of a trees demise.

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The Friends are keen to help with the maintenance of tree stock numbers and species in Brandwood End but any introduction of trees into the cemetery needs to be carefully planned with Bereavement Services and the local Tree Officer to maintain its original design.

Season for Fungi

This is the time of year where the damp weather means its fungi season in the Cemetery. You can always find lots of ground fungi but Carola??????????????????????????????????????, a member of our committee, spotted and photographed this specimen of tree fungi!

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Next time you are in Brandwood End try looking up……you would be amazed what you can find.

 

As well as varied birds sitting quietly in the trees you can also see the remnants of their nests and several squirrel dray’s. Views across the cemetery are very different when the trees are devoid of leaves but our many evergreen trees mean that there is always a splash of colour.

Those of us that are lucky enough to live close to the cemetery can recommend a walk there in any season and any weather as nature always provides something to see.