Category: Spotlight on...
Spotlight: How they climb
Most of us go up and down steps and slopes without stopping to think about it, unless an injury or advancing age turns it into a conscious effort. Some of us enjoy the physical challenges and rewards of hill walking. A few serious mountaineers get kicks out of trying to get up sheer rock faces. […]
Spotlight on.. Painted Lady butterfly
The story of the Painted Lady Butterfly Vanessa cardui is full of surprises, and some facts about its life have only recently been discovered. We don’t see them every year on the reserve at St Nicholas Fields, but when they do appear, as they did in 2013, 2015 and 2016, they charm us with their […]
Spotlight on.. Skipper butterflies
The month of June heralds the emergence of Skipper butterflies at St Nicks, bringing a welcome gleam of gold on flower heads, especially in the grassy areas. Of the eight British skipper species Small Skipper Thymelicus sylvestris and Large Skipper Ochlodes sylvanus can always be found on the reserve in summer, while a further two […]
Spotlight on.. Goldfinch
Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) is arguably St Nicks’ most colourful bird – although Bullfinch is a close contender! These black, white, brown, yellow and red (yes, count the colours!) finches are present at St Nicks all year round, and they breed on the reserve. They are widespread resident breeding birds throughout most of the UK and […]
Spotlight on.. Lesser Celandine
Wordsworth’s once-famous poem “To the small celandine” is unlikely to hit the spot for most modern readers, but it’s interesting that he’s honest enough to admit that he’d been seeing this pretty little flower for thirty or more years before he realised what it was and finally took a good look at it. Once he […]
Spotlight on… Woodlice
Woodlice are not the most exciting creatures to be found at St Nicholas Fields, but they are an important part of the reserve’s fauna and appropriately are very good recyclers! It is well-known that around the country woodlice are called by many different and sometimes amusing names like Roly-Poly, Billy-button, Pea Bug, Chisel Bob, Chuckywig, […]
Spotlight on.. Water Rail
The Water Rail (Rallus aquaticus) is a skulking, furtive member of the same bird family as Coot and Moorhen. The latter is quite often see on the becks at St Nicks, Coots almost never and the same for Water Rail until.. ..on the 3rd December 2014, a solitary member of the Wildwatch team was standing […]
Spotlight on….Hawthorn
Hawthorn (Crateagus monogyna) is a native species, best known as a thorny hedging plant or large shrub. Left alone and given space, it makes an attractive small tree, growing up to ten metres high. As a bush, it adapts readily to light pruning, close trimming, and traditional hedge-laying. It must have been used like this […]
Spotlight on.. Kingfisher
Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) is probably the most “want-to-see” bird at St Nicks! For those people lucky enough to see them, the usual view is a brilliant flash of iridescent blue as the bird flies up and down Tang Hall and Osbaldwick Becks. But Kingfishers spend a lot of time perched, looking in the water for […]
July 2016: Spotlight on.. Dragonflies
The dragonfly is one of the truly charismatic insects – colourful, darting, elusive, captivating and possessing amazing aerobatic skills. Almost any water body will attract them – ponds, lakes, streams, rivers, rock pools, estuaries, peat bogs, waterfalls, puddles. Their evocative family names beautifully describe their brief lives: skimmers, darters, hawkers, chasers. Most adult dragonflies live […]
