Boar's Well Urban Wildlife Reserve

Boars Well pond clearance in Oct 2005Boars Well pond clearance in Oct 2005Boars Well Urban Wildlife Reserve sits on the hillside above Canal Road. It is council land and the responsibility of the Countryside and Rights of Way team. . Our key tasks involve keeping the pathways accessible. BEES have been involved in the management of the Reserve for the past 8 years, controlling the spread of Japanese Knotweed and Himalayan Balsam, management of the wildflower meadow and the pond.

The Reserve is on a south facing slope and is a popular site for butterflies and birds. Kestrels nest on or near the site each year and can often be seen hunting over the hillside.

Geolocation

53.807309, -1.752372

Conservation Work

Friday 10th June 2011: Boars Well Urban Wildlife Reserve, King’s Road, Bradford, BD2

finding Japanese Knotweed in the section near Coleman Streetfinding Japanese Knotweed in the section near Coleman StreetThis was our first visit of the year and 19 volunteers were involved in access and biodiversity management. 

We cut and cleared overhanging branches along the main path and the footpath connecting Bolton Road and King's Road. We also continued our programme of invasive species control - cutting and pulling Himalayan balsam and Japanese knotweed in order to give the diversy range of native species a better chance to thrive. The areas of Japanese knotweed continue to be challenging to work in - the terrain is steep and uneven and the nettles are abundant. The remaining knotweed is on the whole fairly feeble but is still clinging on.

However, we were certainly taken aback by the quantity of balsam - a massive reduction in the numbers from last year. Very encouraging. We wondered whether the severe weather during the winter could have affected the seed bank (although the plant is from the himalayas) - I have had a quick internet search to see if other sites have found a similar reduction this year but there are not a lot of reports. We will be able to compare with other sites in Bradford that we are familiar with but at this stage I think it looks like the persistence and thorough work that we have undertaken in recent years should be congratulated.

The yellow rattle that was sown two years ago in the meadow area is doing very well indeed.

Friday 16th Sept 2011: Boars Well Urban Wildlife Reserve, King’s Road, Bradford, BD2

clearing the nettles and bindweedclearing the nettles and bindweedToday we worked with 10 volunteers to start the autumn management tasks. The last cut of the Japanese Knotweed at the three sites towards Coleman Street were completed. We pulled some Himalayan Balsam - it is disappointing how much has come into flower since our early season excitement about getting on top of it. The plants that were removed had some seed pods but we felt that if they ripened once pulled at least we limited the area over which they would spread.

We also made a start on meadow cutting, concentrating on the area outside the site on King's Road which was cut with scythes and raked to ensure the fertility does not build up which will benefit the grasses at the expense of the wildflowers. The main meadow will be tackled in October. We cut a significant pathway between Spink Well and the pylon to remove nettles and bindweed, as well as clearing around the well head.  Although valuable plants for wildlife these species are dominating others and reducing the number of flowers along the pathway. There are plenty more nettles and bindweed on the banking.

Two years ago we seeded some yellow rattle and the initial clumps are establishing well. To aid the spread of the plant we collected seed from the dry pods and introduced these into new areas where we had scraped away the vegetation.

In addition we cut along the entire path, removed overhanging branches and collected a significant amount of litter.

We were kept company today by a noisy gang of jays and few speckled wood butterflies.

Have you ever seen common blue butterflies at Boar's Well? If you have we would like to hear from you.