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Overview
Maulden Wood in Bedfordshire is a large mixed woodland with conifer plantations with a few patches of relict semi-natural woodland and heath, a part of the larger Ampthill Forest. This Forestry Commission property has a nature trail through the various habitats and there is a picnic site.
Birds
Notable Species
Maulden Wood is known primarily as one of the few reliable sites in Britain for Lady Amherst's Pheasant, a species introduced from China and now precariously established in this country. There is a very small population here and this is one of the most secretive and difficult to see of all British birds so a sighting cannot be guaranteed. Winter is the best time to see them as during the summer they rarely venture out of the dense undergrowth.
However, there is a good range of woodland birds that are easier to find including woodpeckers, Eurasian Nuthatch and Common Treecreeper, six species of tit, warblers and finches. Woodcock, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Nightingale and Hawfinch are among the scarcer birds to be seen here.
Common Kestrel and Little Owl can be found on the surrounding farmland and the younger plantations have Tree Pipit and Grasshopper Warbler.
Check-list
Birds you can see here include:
Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Kestrel, Common Pheasant, Lady Amherst's Pheasant, Eurasian Woodcock, Stock Dove, Common Woodpigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, European Turtle Dove, Common Cuckoo, Little Owl, Tawny Owl, Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Tree Pipit, Common Wren, Dunnock, Common Nightingale, Eurasian Robin, Eurasian Blackbird, Fieldfare, Song Thrush, Redwing, Mistle Thrush, Common Grasshopper Warbler, Common Whitethroat, Garden Warbler, Blackcap, Common Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Goldcrest, Spotted Flycatcher, Long-tailed Tit, Marsh Tit, Willow Tit, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Eurasian Nuthatch, Common Treecreeper, Common Jay, Common Magpie, Eurasian Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Common Starling, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Brambling, European Greenfinch, European Goldfinch, Eurasian Linnet, Lesser Redpoll, Common Crossbill, Common Bullfinch, Hawfinch, Yellowhammer
Other Wildlife
The wood is also of interest for entomologists with a wide variety of bugs, beetles and butterflies recorded. Regular monitoring of moths has resulted in more than 300 species being recorded for the area.
Plants of interest found in these woods include Wild Service Tree Sorbus torminalis and Green-flowered Helleborine Epipactis phyllanthes.
Site Information
History and Use
To do
Areas of Interest
The pheasants tend to prefer the north and west of the wood and can sometimes be seen on the tracks at near dawn or dusk.
Access and Facilities
Situated near Ampthill, Maulden Wood lies on the west side of the A6 about 2km north of Clophill, park at the picnic site at the top of Deadman's Hill.
Grid Reference: TL 075390
Contact Details
Tel: 01780 444920
External Links
Content and images originally posted by Steve
