Muttersmoor



Mutter's Moor (also referred to as Muttersmoor) is a significant natural area in the Sid Valley, recognised for its lowland heath habitat and diverse wildlife. It is a County Wildlife Site covering 54 hectares.


Here's a detailed overview of Mutter's Moor:

Location and Geology

  • Mutter's Moor is located above the Sid Valley, on a hilltop plateau.
  • It is described as a relatively small block of heathland compared to the core Pebblebed Heaths.
  • Geologically, it comprises eastward-dipping Cretaceous Upper Greensand and is capped by Clay-with-flints and Chert.
  • The soil on heathland, including Mutter's Moor, is often sandy, acidic, and has distinct layers due to leaching, forming a 'podsol'.

Habitat and History

  • Mutter's Moor supports good quality lowland dry heath. This habitat is considered rarer than rainforest in Britain, with 85% of it having been lost since 1800.
  • Historically, this type of heathland was formed around 2000 BC through woodland clearance and livestock grazing, which kept vegetation low and allowed specialist plants to establish.
  • The vegetation was traditionally cut for livestock feed and fuel.
  • Much of the original heathland was later converted to coniferous plantations.
  • Mutter's Moor is managed as a nature reserve by Clinton Devon Estates.
  • It holds historical significance as a former site of a prehistoric Stone Circle, from which standing stones were removed in the Victorian era, and also features cairns and barrows.
  • The site is part of a "mosaic of habitats" in the Sid Valley.

Biodiversity 

Mutter's Moor is home to a variety of specialist species adapted to its acidic, nutrient-poor conditions.

Plants:  

  • Common heathland dwarf-shrubs present include heather (ling), bell heather, cross-leaved heath, and gorse, which provide spectacular colour.
  • Bilberry (whortleberry) is also found in the ground flora.
  • Other acid-loving plants thrive here.
  • Purple Moor-grass (Molinia caerulea) forms large tussocks in parts of the moor.
  • Winter Heliotrope has been found invading damp hedgerows.
  • Marsh Ragwort was common in Victorian times, especially on boggy areas of Mutter's Moor, but is much rarer now due to farmland drainage.
  • A non-native invasive species, holm oak, can be found out of place on Mutter's Moor.

Fungi, such as the common earthball fungus, thrive in the acidic soils of birch, oak, and beech woodlands throughout the Sid Valley, including areas on Mutter's Moor. Heath Star-moss, a lichen, is also found on acidic heathland like Mutter's Moor.

Birds:

  • It is a significant site for Nightjars, a nocturnal summer visitor found mostly in southern Britain that favours heathland with surrounding conifer plantation.
  • Yellowhammers are resident birds found all year round.
  • The nationally scarce Dartford warbler is also a breeding bird here, often skulking among low-growing bushes.
  • Stonechats are seen prominently on trees and shrubs.
  • Crossbills, one of the most westerly reaches of their populations, are supported on Fire Beacon Hill.
  • Other birds recorded include northern wheatear, woodcock, dunnock, common linnet, green and greater spotted woodpeckers, and tree and meadow pipits.

Mammals:

  • A colony of the tiny harvest mouse (Mus minutus) lives on Mutter's Moor, building nests in tussocks of Purple Moor Grass. These mice are our smallest rodent and second smallest mammal after the Pygmy Shrew. Their secretive nature makes population estimation difficult.
  • Exmoor ponies and Belted Galloway cattle are grazed in a fenced area as part of the management plan.

Insects:

  • Grayling butterflies breed on the reserve.
  • Heathlands support a wide range of invertebrates, including ants and beetles.
  • Open sandy areas are important for burrowing invertebrates and many species of bees and wasps.
  • Butterflies such as the silver-studded blue are also found here.
  • The caterpillars of the Cinnabar moth depend on Ragwort found in these habitats.

Management and Conservation

  • Mutter's Moor, like other lowland heaths, is a plagioclimax community, meaning its natural succession to woodland is interrupted by human activities such as grazing, cutting, or burning.
  • Management is crucial to prevent it from being overtaken by bracken and gorse, which would eventually lead to scrubby woodland.
  • Grazing by small herds of cattle and Exmoor ponies has been reintroduced on Fire Beacon Hill (which shares similar habitat management challenges) to counteract bracken and scrub encroachment and support rare species.
  • The RSPB Aylesbeare team works in partnership to maintain the heathland.
  • Plant surveys, like the one completed in 2022 and planned for 2024, monitor the impact of grazing.
  • Conservation efforts recognise that heathlands are not intrinsically species-rich but are valued for the specialist species they support.
  • The cultural importance of heathland is also recognised, having evolved through long-term human interaction.
  • While burning is sometimes used for management, it's not recommended in areas with rich floras of mosses, liverworts, and lichens, or on very steep slopes.
  • Maintaining structural variation in the heather (pioneer, building, mature, degenerate phases) is key for biodiversity.
  • The site is open to the public year-round, and dogs are welcome but must be kept under close control.