Wildlife at Brandy Hole Copse
(This webpage was updated on 3rd October 2024; first published on 18th July 2023.) Still under development
Updates include ChiNats 1999-2006 report.
Please record your wildlife sightings.
- If you are certain of what you have seen, iRecord gets your sighting "collated, checked by experts and made available to support research and decision-making at local and national levels".
- The Friends of Brandy Hole Copse is working on creating a project using iNaturalist, which will allow the observations recorded at Brandy Hole Copse to be analysed more easily by Chichester District Council (as Copse managers) and the Friends.
If you're curious about wildlife recording but looking to improve your knowledge, use Seek by iNaturalist to understand better what you're seeing. Merlin, the birdsong app, helps you identify birds you can hear but cannot see.
All are available as an app to use on a smartphone whilst visiting the Copse. iRecord and iNaturalist can be used online (photograph, or sound recording, needs to be uploaded to evidence your submission).
Some of the efforts of past volunteers are recorded in a list of observed species entitled "The Flora and Fauna of Brandy Hole Copse Local Nature Reserve, Chichester 1999 - 2006". Whether volunteers became members of Chichester Natural History Society because of their interest in the Copse, or ChiNats members were encouraged to take an interest in the Copse, is unclear but we owe a huge debt of thanks to the Society for the compilation of this record. Its historic data from the period when the Copse was being established as a Local Nature Reserve inspires us to learn more about the biodiversity to be found in the Copse and to find out how it is faring today.
Download the report from the button below. We aim to transcribe the record onto this website under its category headings so we can start to understand the organisms named and whether they, or others, live in the Copse now. (Those of us who find many, or most, of the species names a mystery, may find the lure of learning too strong to resist! If you find yourself fascinated by the creatures named, and the people who had the skills to identify them, or you're an expert willing to share your knowledge, please do let us know.)
Context for the habitats of the Copse are included in the 2001 publication: Chichester's green secret, The Story of Brandy Hole Copse, which we have transcribed and you can read here.
Read more about the biodiversity of the Copse below. (And please do let fobhc@treesinchi.org know what you notice.)
List will be updated to correspond with the Flora and Fauna report headings 1999-2006.
- Beetles (land)
- Birds
- Butterflies
- Fungi
- Mammals
- Moths
- Plants (land)
- Reptiles
- Trees
- Water wildlife (incl. amphibians)
Beetles at the Copse
Content to be added - please bear with us and/or send us your photographs, articles, observations that we may like to include. This page is very much a work in progress! The email to use is fobhc@treesinchi.org.
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Birds at the Copse
Content to be added - please bear with us and/or send us your photographs, articles, observations that we may like to include. This page is very much a work in progress! The email to use is fobhc@treesinchi.org.
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Butterflies at the Copse
Which White?
"One of the hardest common butterfly species to identify accurately are white butterflies, especially when first starting out. It can be awkward to compare distinguishing features of butterflies using guide books, where each butterfly species usually has its own separate dedicated section. This article uses side-by-side “real-life” comparison photos of “confusion” species taken from similar angles, including images of faded individuals, to help “get your eye in” and identify which white butterfly you saw."
Content to be added - please bear with us and/or send us your photographs, articles, observations that we may like to include. This page is very much a work in progress! The email to use is fobhc@treesinchi.org.
Back to List.
Fungi at the Copse
Content to be added - please bear with us and/or send us your photographs, articles, observations that we may like to include. This page is very much a work in progress! The email to use is fobhc@treesinchi.org.
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Mammals at the Copse
Content to be added - please bear with us and/or send us your photographs, articles, observations that we may like to include. This page is very much a work in progress! The email to use is fobhc@treesinchi.org.
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Moths at the Copse
Content to be added - please bear with us and/or send us your photographs, articles, observations that we may like to include. This page is very much a work in progress! The email to use is fobhc@treesinchi.org.
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Plants at the Copse
Content to be added - please bear with us and/or send us your photographs, articles, observations that we may like to include. This page is very much a work in progress! The email to use is fobhc@treesinchi.org.
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Reptiles at the Copse
Content to be added - please bear with us and/or send us your photographs, articles, observations that we may like to include. This page is very much a work in progress! The email to use is fobhc@treesinchi.org.
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Trees at the Copse
Information has started to be added - see progress here. Please bear with us and/or send us your photographs, articles, observations that we may like to include. This page is very much a work in progress! The email to use is fobhc@treesinchi.org.
Back to List.
Water wildlife at the Copse (incl. amphibians)
Content to be added - please bear with us and/or send us your photographs, articles, observations that we may like to include. This page is very much a work in progress! The email to use is fobhc@treesinchi.org.
Back to List.