"Get into woodlands (as a career choice)", said the former Duke. If only he cared about the kingfisher. The Duchy's Head Forester says that walking in woodlands is good for mental health, but his strategy for old Cornish woods removes the trees that sustain bird diversity.
The Duchy of Cornwall acquired a big old woodland near Polbathic in 2019, and a clear-felling of some big sections was completed by October: bit.ly/perocto . Parts which aren't now devoid of all trees, are thinned to a level where no deer can feel secure. (That pleasant sense of concealment is gone for a human too.) There was an immediate cull of the indigenous Roe deer after the Wood changed hands. Three sharpshooters, who also work with the county Council, took turns to visit in the late afternoons. (Staff have since been closing the wood for weekend 'hunts', going after the solitary survivors.) For generations, the biodiversity at Perdredda Wood was a nature-lover's best-kept secret, but now the place is fast becoming as depleted as anywhere else. In the western half on Saturday 9 Aug 2025 (further from the A374) there wasn't a single Jay or Woodpecker calling. It had never been like that in over a hundred years. June 2020: Broadleaf trees are near the middle o...