Calf Hill and Cragg Woods lies at an altitude of 150m, approximately 7km east of Lancaster on the north western side of the Bowland Fells. They occupy the north and south facing slopes of a steep sided valley above the River Conder, a tributary of the River Lune, which has cut into underlying rocks of the Millstone Grit Series. The woods support one of the most extensive stands of upland oak-birch woodland in Lancashire, as well as large stands of valley alder woodland with wet birch woodland. The ground flora ranges from areas of abundant bilberry through grassy areas, to rich moss carpets. Small areas of alder flushes also occur.

Recorders:  Leanna Dixon, Steve Garland, Gary Hedges, Keith Fowler, Russell Hedley, Andy Jennings-Giles, Stephen Palmer, Ben Smart, Jeremy Steeden, Belinda Nixie, Clive Washington, Chris Workman, Rob Zloch

Notable Records:

• Micropygus vagans (Dolichopodidae) – a New Zealand native first found in the UK in 1995, and VC60 in 2017 by Rob Zloch. See Rob’s 2020 blog article.
• Hieroglyphic Ladybird – Coccinella hieroglyphica (Coccinellidae)
• Weevil – Orchestes quercus (Curculionidae) – New to VC60. A leaf miner on Oak. One of the ‘flea’ weevils.

Download Cragg Woods Species List & Raw Data [Excel spreadsheet] last updated 22/06/2021

A key for the ‘Conservation status’ column is available in the above download.