A pleasant half-day's birdwatching can be enjoyed at this site throughout the year. With hardly a mention in the book 'Birds in Leicestershire & Rutland' and the closer proximity to Leicester of places such as Swithland Wood and Bradgate Park, it has, perhaps, been somewhat neglected by many county birdwatchers. This has not been helped by the irregular reporting of records to the LROS by local members - I'm as guilty as anyone else is on that score!

As there is full public access to the area, sunny weekends can be quite crowded - choose a weekday if possible. Ample parking is provided to the north and south sides of the site, access to both being signposted. To the south, turn into Smithy Lane off the B4669 (the old A5070) between Sapcote and Burbage and go past the first, private wood (Aston Firs) on the right. Burbage Wood is reached on the left and you can park on any of the hardcore areas as far as the 'no entry' sign. To the north, there are two car parks on Burbage Common Road, reached via the layby off the B4668 (the old A47) between Earl Shilton and Hinckley. The Visitor Centre is located in the first of these but is only open for a few hours at the weekend and, occasionally, on weekdays during the summer. A hide has been erected in Burbage Wood with a small, cleared area in front of it. There are a few logs and tree stumps provided to place food to attract the birds close to the hide.

There are also a number of footpaths in the area, which link the site with the surrounding land, adding to the variety of habitats - farmland, horse paddocks, golf course and school playing fields. The Birmingham to Leicester railway line cuts the site in two but the overgrown embankments are good for birds, too. There are two bridges under the line to link each side of the area. The whole site can get very muddy in wet weather apart from the main paths in the woods.

Because of the numbers of visitors to the area the wildlife has to tolerate a certain amount of disturbance and some shy species such as Jays are as easy to see here as anywhere. Nuthatches are common in both Burbage and Sheepy Woods as are Great Spotted Woodpeckers. Green Woodpeckers do tend to move around more and are best detected, firstly, by call. Lesser Spotted is much the rarest of the three and is only reported occasionally - where do they go for the rest of the time? Treecreepers occur in both woods.

Six species of tit occur throughout the year including a few Coal Tits during the breeding season. One or two of the over-wintering Goldcrests also occasionally stay into the summer. Woodcock occur in most winters - often reported by dog-walkers whose pet has put them up from the undergrowth in either wood. The numbers of winter visitors are, of course, controlled by food supply - Redwings and Fieldfares have been particularly scarce this year. Lesser Redpolls and Siskins turn up in most winters - there are several stands of Silver Birch to check and Alders have been planted on the Common Extension. Tree Sparrows move around the area from time to time but the best site for them is around the car park for the Common Extension. Linnets are usually seen from spring to autumn but Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting and Skylark can be found, in small numbers, somewhere in the area at any time.

There is usually a pair of Tawny Owls in one of the woods in most years and Little Owls occur either near to the Common Extension or just away from the site at Burbage Outwoods. This interesting area is seen from a public footpath running along the south side of the railway - this is the route that I take to walk to the Woods but there is no vehicular access here. The shelter from winds from a northerly quarter provided by the trees and the embankment of the railway along this track is quite noticeable. There is often more insect activity here providing food for the Swallows, for instance,

that breed in the buildings on the adjacent horse paddocks. Most of my own sightings of migrant Spotted Flycatchers and my one record of Pied Flycatcher have been along here. Wheatear is more likely in the paddocks or the school fields on the north side of the railway, than on the Common.

The railway line often hosts the year's first (and last) Chiffchaffs and holds the best numbers of Lesser Whitethroats - the large Blackthorn hedge on the Common is also good for this species. Whitethroat, Willow Warbler and Blackcap occur in good numbers but Garden Warblers are less common.

Sparrowhawk and Kestrel are the commonest raptors throughout the year. Hobbies occur from time to time in most summers and there has been an increasing number of sightings of Buzzards over the last few years. Grey and Red-legged Partridge are most likely to be seen on the farmland adjacent to the Common Extension. There is a small stream with a couple of little pools on the Extension but there are no large areas of water to attract water-side birds so waders and such birds as Sedge or Reed Warblers are largely absent.

There is the usual range of common birds including good numbers of Mistle Thrushes and Bullfinches. The unusual one-offs include: Bewick's Swan, Cormorant, Common Tern, Redstart, Whinchat and a singing Wood Warbler in Sheepy Woods a few years ago. However, I've never been able to track down the source of a rumoured Hoopoe a few years ago nor, indeed, a couple of more recent reports of Firecrest in both woods - I spent many, fruitless, hours trying to confirm sightings of those little gems! Has anyone else any knowledge of them?

For those interested in other forms of wildlife there is a good range on offer. There is a wide range of fungi - the Visitor Centre is the best place for advice on this particular subject. Wild flowers include a number of old woodland and grassland species including: Bluebell (many are hybrids with Spanish Bluebell), Wood Anemone, Yellow Archangel, Dog's Mercury, Water Avens (which hybridizes with Herb Bennet), Moschatel, Enchanter's Nightshade, Rest Harrow, Sneezewort, Devilsbit Scabious, Ladies' Bedstraw, Yellow Rattle and Adder's Tongue Fern. As for orchids, Broad-

leaved Helleborine occurs in both woods but for Early Purple, Butterfly and Common Twayblade you will have to search in Elmesthorpe Plantation. This is at the northern end of Aston Firs, accessed by a public footpath. Any visitors interested in trees will have noted that the woods are mainly Oak and Ash standards with Hazel coppice. However, there are several other species including Holly, Maple, Rowan, Elm, Cherry and in Elmesthorpe Plantation, Horse Chestnut and Beech. Presumably, these were introduced and I assume the same applies to the Black Poplars on the edge of Sheepy Wood. All of the trees and many of the flowers around the pools and stream on the Common Extension were, of course, planted as this area was agricultural land until a few years ago.

Of particular interest are the Water Voles that still occur around these pools despite the presence of Stoats and Weasels. I have, on two or three occasions, seen Grass Snakes on the Common but I only have second-hand records of Adders - the best place, apparently, being the Smenell Field, on Smithy Lane.

A number of common dragonfly species occur, including Emperor, which is normally seen over the Extension pools. There is a good variety of butterfly species including good numbers of Purple Hairstreaks and a few White Letter Hairstreaks in both woods although I did not see any of the latter myself last year. There have been a couple of records of Silver-washed Fritillaries in recent years but the species that many are hoping for is White Admiral for which conditions seem ideal. The nearest colonies are less than twenty miles away and this species can spread out in favourable years. It would prove ample justification for the coppicing routine that has been re-instated. A pair of Nightingales in each wood would also not go amiss!

Adey Baker

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