I WOULD like to thank Randolph Meech for drawing attention of the removal of the undergrowth in Upton Country Park (‘Woodland woe’, Echo, May 1).

It appears that councils seem to think that all areas should be pristine and tidy.

However nature is not like this, what seems to be an untidy area of growth can often be a first class habitat for birds, mammals and insects.

Councillor Judy Butt has shown that she has very little knowledge of bird life in stating that birds are not nesting in March.

I have seen blackbirds and song thrushes nests in early March and this year owing to the warm March weather there could most probably be young in their nests.

Also, March is a time when most birds are seeking nests sites and having workmen chopping down the undergrowth is likely to disrupt their purpose.

Cllr Butt is also wrong in saying that birds do not use laurels as I have again seen nests of several species built in laurels.

When Harlow New Town was built, the Development Corporation consulted the late Peter Scott for advice on how to protect the bird life in the surviving woodlands.

As Poole Council had £6,000 to spend on the cull of Upton Country park perhaps it would have been better to spend a little of this money consulting naturalists such as Bill Oddie or Kate Humble before starting this work.

JOHN DEWDNEY, Nelson Drive, Christchurch