“In late spring bluebells carpet the floor; the song of the nightingale is the sweetest of all the birds.”

Reydon Wood is a typical Suffolk ancient woodland with features characteristic of medieval coppice wood. The southern boundary consists of an impressive bank and ditch. In the wood itself there are many large coppice stools, some hundreds of years old.

Centuries of coppicing – the traditional way of havesting wood – have allowed sunlight to regularly flood the woodland floor resulting in a unique ground flora. To encourage this spectacular show of spring flowers the Trust is continuing coppice management and gradually removing planted conifers. Look out for early-purple orchid, violet, twayblade, primrose and yellow archangel that flourish in the newly cut areas.

The wood is enriched by a network of rides that have been widened to create sun-drenched, grassy glades enjoyed by butterflies such as ringlet, gatekeeper, orange tip, speckled wood and painted Common lady. These open tracks are particularly rich in wildflowers with common spotted orchid, ragged-robin and fleabane in abundance.

Birds to look out for include tawny owl, sparrowhawk, long-tailed tit, woodcock and treecreeper. In spring, listen for blackcap and nightingale singing in the more recently coppiced areas.

Other Trust reserves nearby: Hen Reedbed, Wenhaston Commons

Sparrowhawk are agile woodland predators

STAR SPECIES
Bluebell
Common spotted & Early-purple orchid