A Forest Dedicated to Timothy Byford

Timothy John Byford was born in Salisbury, England on the 25^th of July 1941 and died in Belgrade, Serbia on May 5^th, 2014. He was a famed and respected author, film director, translator and educator. He started work for BBC but in 1971 moved to Belgrade, Serbia (former part of Yugoslavia) and worked for TV Belgrade and TV Sarajevo. He is remembered by generations for his exceptional children's programs. While living in Belgrade, he resided in the vicinity of a woodland from which he could hear the enchanting songs of nightingales. Thanks to his persistence and initiative, this woodland was proclaimed a nature reserve, especially intended for birds. The reserve was proclaimed in 1993 under the name of Banjicka Forest (read as Banychka), according to the name of this part of the city. After Timothy Byford died, the forest was renamed in 2015 into Byford's Forest as a dedication to the man who saved it for posterity (more on the life and work of T. Byford available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_John_Byford).

          Byford's Forest is located not far from the center of Belgrade, between Google map coordinates N 44° 46' 45.0"  E 20° 28'  6,35"  and  N 44° 45' 39.80"  E 20° 28' 40,38". Altitude above sea level is from 128 to 180 m. The wood is long about 2 km and wide between 50 to 100 m. The eastern edge of the woodland is bordered by a wide tree-lined boulevard, on the opposite, it is bordered by a fence, the land beyond also partly woodland and belonging to the police. At the southern tip, there is a recreation center with open and closed swimming pools.

Figure 1. Google map of Byford's Forest

The reserve has a surface of 58.66 ha. The number of bird species which are residents is 40, the number of migrating bird species is 16 and passer bye species are 12.

Figure 2. Map of Reserve

Figure 3. Some of the bird species

Figure 4. More birds living in the Reserve

Figure 5. Some of the tree species found in the forest

Figure 6. Forest in winter

Through the forest flows a natural stream, which has unfortunately been paved and the banks covered by rocks and concrete. This has as a result, poor aquatic biodiversity unattractive for most water birds.

Figure7. Forest with stream

The reserve is supplied with wooden picnic tables and a children's playground. Artificial bird houses have been constructed. Dogs are allowed only on leash, although many visitors violate this rule. Recently light posts were constructed along the main path which certainly contributes to light pollution and may have negative effects on birds, especially during the breeding season. Litter is also a problem as everywhere in Serbia. The official guardian of the Reserve is the Public Parks. Let us hope that this Byford's Forest survives in the future and resists all prospective investors as urban land is very precious for lucrative business and corrupt investors.

Dr. Miroslav Demajo

Belgrade, Serbia

January 8^th, 2020.

Source: http://nature-birds.blogspot.com/