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Conservation at Johnsons of Old Hurst
Conservation Strategy
As part of our conservation strategy and efforts, the Johnsons Zoological Garden maintains and manages a 13 acre patch of woodland that runs alongside the main animal collection allowing visitors to enter and explore.
Woodland Habitat
The woodland consists of a mix of deciduous habitats containing several tree species including; Oak, Ash, Cherry, Hawthorn, Elder, Wych Elm and Huntingdon Elm. There is a diverse seasonal understory of mixed evergreen, deciduous and herbaceous vegetation providing a wide variety of nectar sources and feeding opportunities for invertebrates, birds, small mammals and other woodland species.
Our Conservation Aims
We aim to monitor the vegetation and wildlife throughout the season and look at ways to enhance the habitat for the various species within the woodland.
As well as visually identifying the species present, we are using the Merlin App to identify bird calls to establish bird species present throughout the season.
We are looking at installing next boxes for a range of avian species, bat boxes, bug hotels and log piles to provide breeding and feeding sites for a broad range of species.
Creating bird feeding stations with visitor viewing opportunities will create an engaging element to the woodland trail and encourage visitors to observe the species we are looking to provide the woodland habitat for.
Join us
You can join us in our conservation efforts of identifying various bird species in our woodland walk via the Merlin App. It's easy to do, download the app onto a smartphone, press the sound ID button and let the app identify the birds flying around you.
If you identify a bird currently NOT on the list below, email us at zoo@johnsonsofoldhurst.co.uk and let us know!
BIRDS IDENTIFIED IN THE WOODLAND WALK
Blackbird (Turdus merula)
Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla)
Blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus)
Buzzard (Buteo buteo)
Carrion crow (Corvus corone)
Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs)
Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita)
Collared dove (Streptopelia decaocto)
Dunnock (Prunella modularis)
Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis)
Great spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos major)
Great tit (Parus major)
Greenfinch (Chloris chloris)
House sparrow (Passer domesticus)
Jackdaw (Coloeus monedula)
Jay (Garrulus glandarius)
Nuthatch (Sitta europaea)
Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus)
Red kite (Milvus milvus)
Robin (Erithacus rubecula)
Rook (Corvus frugilegus)
Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos)
Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
Tree creeper (Certhia familiarise)
Willow warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus)
Wood pigeon (Columba palumbus)
Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes)
Our Woodland Walk Sponsor:
ReOvum
ReOvum embodies our mission of putting science to the service of communities, aiming to repurpose waste- in particular waste eggshells- in a sustainable manner. Eggshells have recently become a source of interest for the manufacturing industry for their applicability as plastic fillers but, at ReOvum, we are focusing on exploiting the properties and potential of the eggshell membrane to manufacture greener alternatives for the healthcare and packaging industries as well as potentially exemplifying a viable case of a circular economy which can be used as a template for sustainability in the future.
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