Wildlife at Brandy Hole Copse
(This webpage was last updated on 14th September 2025; first published on 18th July 2023.) Still under development
Updates include ChiNats 1999-2006 report.
Please record your wildlife sightings.
- If you are certain of what you have seen, iRecord gets your sighting "collated, checked by experts and made available to support research and decision-making at local and national levels".
- The Friends of Brandy Hole Copse is working on creating a project using iNaturalist, which will allow the observations recorded at Brandy Hole Copse to be analysed more easily by Chichester District Council (as Copse managers) and the Friends. iNaturalist works well if you're not sure what you've seen but have managed to take a reasonable photo - it can suggest what your photo shows and display it alongside a selection of others' photos of the same thing for you to compare.
If you're curious about wildlife recording but looking to improve your knowledge, use Seek by iNaturalist to understand better what you're seeing. Merlin, the birdsong app, helps you identify birds you can hear but cannot see.
All are available as an app to use on a smartphone whilst visiting the Copse. iRecord and iNaturalist can be used online (photograph, or sound recording, needs to be uploaded to evidence your submission).
Some of the efforts of past volunteers are recorded in a list of observed species entitled "The Flora and Fauna of Brandy Hole Copse Local Nature Reserve, Chichester 1999 - 2006". Whether volunteers became members of Chichester Natural History Society because of their interest in the Copse, or ChiNats members were encouraged to take an interest in the Copse, is unclear but we owe a huge debt of thanks to the Society for the compilation of this record. Its historic data from the period when the Copse was being established as a Local Nature Reserve inspires us to learn more about the biodiversity to be found in the Copse and to find out how it is faring today.
Download the report from the button below. We aim to transcribe the record onto this website under its category headings so we can start to understand the organisms named and whether they, or others, live in the Copse now. (Those of us who find many, or most, of the species names a mystery, may find the lure of learning too strong to resist! If you find yourself fascinated by the creatures named, and the people who had the skills to identify them, or you're an expert willing to share your knowledge, please do let us know.)
Context for the habitats of the Copse are included in the 2001 publication: Chichester's green secret, The Story of Brandy Hole Copse, which we have transcribed and you can read here.
We are grateful to the Sussex Biodiversity Record Centre (SxBRC) and Sussex Wildlife Trust for their Ecological Data Search dated 2nd April 2025 in respect of Brandy Hole Copse Local Nature Reserve. You can read SxBRC's 1-page Summary Report using the button. Visit their website to find out more about their work and be encouraged to make and submit your own records of what you find. Every record matters, whether a random observation, a habit, or the discipline of an intentional survey.
Read more about the biodiversity of the Copse below. (And please do let fobhc@treesinchi.org know what you notice.)
List will be updated to correspond with the Flora and Fauna report headings 1999-2006.
- Amphibians
- Bats
- Beetles (land)
- Birds
- Butterflies
- Fungi
- Mammals
- Moths
- Plants (land)
- Reptiles
- Trees
- Water wildlife (excl. amphibians)
Amphibians
Please send us your photographs, articles, observations that we may like to include. This page is very much a work in progress! The email to use is fobhc@treesinchi.org.
As at 2nd April 2025, the following have been recorded in the Copse:
- Common Frog (Rana temporaria)
- Common Toad (Bufo bufo)
- Palmate Newt (Lissotriton helveticus)
- Smooth Newt (Lisstriton vulgaris).
(Find the Woodland Trust's short Identification Guide to British Newts here.)
The earliest records were April 1987 (Common Frog and Smooth Newt); all 4 species were observed in the 1999-2006 ChiNats surveys. There are no records of Common Toads since 2015 (which is an omission of recording rather than an absence of toads, as they've occasionally been spotted in the Working Parties which commenced June 2023).
Volunteers from Sussex Amphibian and Reptile Group undertook pond surveys on 5th/6th April 2024 and 11th/12th April 2025 (when water levels were already dropping quickly in what turned out to be an unusually dry Spring/Summer). SxARG's 2024 survey recorded 35 palmate newts, almost all in Cops Pond and almost all male (which may relate to behaviour in breeding season). A couple of bats were out foraging at dusk near Cops Pond, and we also saw a frog, some leeches in standing water, and found 2 great diving beetles in one of the bottle traps we set in Brandy Hole Pond. In 2025, the tally was down to 4 male palmate newts in Cops Pond and 3 female smooth newts; 1 male palmate newt in Willow Pond and a load of frog tadpoles (these swim separately whereas toad tadpoles cluster).
If you're curious about amphibians and reptiles, including opportunities for further surveys, find SxARG's website
here.
Land is as important to amphibians as water. An article by a UK pond plant specialist supplier explains "Where do frogs and toads spend the winter in the UK?" and offers tips to support them in our gardens at home.
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Bats at the Copse
Thanks to the April 2025 report by the Sussex Biodiversity Record Centre, we now know that, whilst 9 of the 18 species of bat living in the UK have been spotted in and around Brandy Hole Copse, it holds only 19 records (dating from 1987 through to 2022).
As bats are a useful indicator species of habitat health and connectivity, how to monitor their presence and activity is worthy of investigation. If you are interested in helping, please
let us know.
To review what we know so far, please visit our Bats at
Brandy Hole Copse webpage.
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Beetles at the Copse
Content to be added - please bear with us and/or send us your photographs, articles, observations that we may like to include. This page is very much a work in progress! The email to use is fobhc@treesinchi.org.
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Birds at the Copse
Information has started to be added - see progress here. Please bear with us and/or send us your photographs, articles, observations that we may like to include. This page is very much a work in progress! The email to use is fobhc@treesinchi.org.
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Butterflies at the Copse
Which White?
"One of the hardest common butterfly species to identify accurately are white butterflies, especially when first starting out. It can be awkward to compare distinguishing features of butterflies using guide books, where each butterfly species usually has its own separate dedicated section. This article uses side-by-side “real-life” comparison photos of “confusion” species taken from similar angles, including images of faded individuals, to help “get your eye in” and identify which white butterfly you saw."
Content to be added - please bear with us and/or send us your photographs, articles, observations that we may like to include. This page is very much a work in progress! The email to use is fobhc@treesinchi.org.
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Fungi at the Copse
Content to be added - please bear with us and/or send us your photographs, articles, observations that we may like to include. This page is very much a work in progress! The email to use is fobhc@treesinchi.org.
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Mammals at the Copse
Content to be added - please bear with us and/or send us your photographs, articles, observations that we may like to include. This page is very much a work in progress! The email to use is fobhc@treesinchi.org.
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Moths at the Copse
Information about which moths have been recorded at Brandy Hole Copse is now available on our dedicated
Moths at Brandy Hole Copse webpage.
We would be pleased to receive your photographs/articles/observations that we may like to include. The email to use is fobhc@treesinchi.org.
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Plants at the Copse
Content to be added - please bear with us and/or send us your photographs, articles, observations that we may like to include. This page is very much a work in progress! The email to use is fobhc@treesinchi.org.
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Reptiles at the Copse
Content to be added - please bear with us and/or send us your photographs, articles, observations that we may like to include. This page is very much a work in progress! The email to use is fobhc@treesinchi.org.
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Trees at the Copse
Information has started to be added - see progress here. Please bear with us and/or send us your photographs, articles, observations that we may like to include. This page is very much a work in progress! The email to use is fobhc@treesinchi.org.
Back to List.
Water wildlife at the Copse (incl. amphibians)
Content to be added - please bear with us and/or send us your photographs, articles, observations that we may like to include. This page is very much a work in progress! The email to use is fobhc@treesinchi.org.
Back to List.