The long, hot summer has come to an end. The skies have opened, and the earth is showered with rain from time to time. Within days, the burnt-brown landscape in Finemere Wood, and beyond, miraculously turns green again. A quiet testament to the resilience of the natural world.

The woodland workers are benefitting from the cooler weather.  As the temperature drops over the coming months, they will speed up. Tea breaks and lunch breaks will become shorter as the increasingly chilly days encourage more physical effort to keep warm. This is no bad thing, as there is plenty of hard labour planned for the winter months ahead.

But for now, there is scything to be done, and the volunteers make their way to their special place: the ancient drovers’ track. Cleared of thick scrub at the beginning of their journey in Finemere Wood 13 years ago, it is cut at the end of every summer to keep scrub and dominant plants in check. The annual ritual is one they relish.

A few butterflies are on the wing, among them the seldom-seen brown hairstreak. And to my delight we encountered one, my first ever, down low on some bramble. A rare sight indeed.

The brown hairstreak (Thecla betulae) has a deep brown upperside, with the female distinguished by bright orange patches on the forewings. The underside is orange, marked with two delicate white streaks, while two small tails can be seen on the hindwings. It is stunning, and one of the most threatened butterflies in the UK, localised populations found in southern England and Wales.

The adults spend most of their time high in the treetops, favouring ash, where they mate and feed on aphid honeydew. The females descend closer to the ground to lay their eggs on young blackthorn along the woodland edge. The eggs remain there through the winter, hatching in late spring as the blackthorn buds begin to open. 

The loss of hedgerows, together with repeated flailing, has been a significant factor in the species’ decline. In Finemere, the blackthorn is carefully managed, cutting and laying sections in rotation, allowing the life cycle of this butterfly to be completed.

The elusive butterfly was not the only wild creature to reveal itself that day. A trail of droppings amongst the tall grass of the drovers’ track hinted at larger beasts nearby. And as the volunteers serenely scythed, a small flock of sheep came thundering out of the wood, escapees from a nearby farm. 

The woodland workers rose to the challenge, herding their unexpected visitors into a place of containment—although not the one originally intended, as the sheep had other ideas. From there, they could finally be rescued.

The day ends with a feeling of contentment. Our drovers’ track has been beautifully scythed, giving it space to thrive and provide a valuable habitat for the wild creatures of Finemere Wood.

More than 1,700 volunteers help us towards our vision of more nature everywhere, on our nature reserves, at our visitor and education centres, in our offices and more.

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