Calves Park, Skomer Island, Augustust 1989

Description

A view looking West from the trig point over Calve's Park.

Calves Park is the large field on the north eastern edge of the Skomer field system. In 1983 rabbits were excluded, the field was completely covered with grassland which contained only occasional sparse clumps of wood sage. Since that time the field has not been managed and rabbits have returned.
The vegetation was mapped in 2017, and shows that, 34 years later, barely any grassland survives. Bracken has invaded most of the field, and most of the remainder is a dense cover of wood sage. An ephemeral ragwort invasion occupies areas which would otherwise be covered mainly in wood sage or bracken.
The overwhelming dominance of unpalatable species is entirely the consequence of rabbit grazing.

[Ref.: https://www.welshwildlife.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/High-resolution-low-level-aerial-photography-on-Skomer-May-and-September-2017.pdf ]