Category: Wildwatch
Wildwatch: June 2017
Highlights More breeding bird evidence, including juvenile Blackcaps.. 10 butterfly and 18 hoverfly species.. meadow now carpeted with colourful flowers (and the flower that looks like a bee!) Weather Temperatures stayed below 20C on all the Wildwatch Wednesdays. Sunny intervals and light breezes for the first two Wednesdays. The final Wildwatch of June – the […]
Wildwatch: May 2017
Highlights Record number of hoverflies (including 4 new to St Nicks); scarce summer bird visitor returns (and two stunning juvenile water birds); the magnificent big yellow “L”! Weather Temperatures ranged from 14C to 19C. Some sun (especially on the 3rd and 10th). We stayed dry! Birds On the 3rd, A Whitethroat sang all morning near […]
Wildwatch: April 2017
Highlights New bumblebee and hoverfly species for St Nicks brighten up a cold month.. bird breeding season underway.. possible new breeding species? .. herbaceous flowers peak mid-April Weather Generally a cool month, around 14 – 15C, but dipping down to a chilly 6 – 7C on the 26th. Some sunshine, breezy at times – but […]
Wildwatch: March 2017
Highlights The flowers that bloom in the spring (tra-la!).. the year’s first butterflies appear, and the Harlequinade begins.. mewing in the air and creeping in the garden! Weather Temperatures started to creep up during the month, starting with a cool 4C on the 1st and reaching 11C later on subsequent Wildwatch Wednesdays. There were some […]
Wildwatch: February 2017
Highlights Winter birds still with us, but signs of Spring.. First hoverfly of the year enjoys the snowdrops, while beetle is one-in-a-thousand Weather Cool (4 – 9C) but with some sunny intervals. The Wildwatch team stayed dry! Birds Winter visitors are, not surprisingly, still with us! Two Redwings flew over on the 8th and there […]
Wildwatch: January 2017
Highlights Long tailed screecher – new bird at St Nicks.. bugs sunbathe while beetles hide in the dark.. brains seen all round the reserve. Weather The first Wildwatch Wednesday of the year was cold but sunny, and we enjoyed some sunshine on all but one of the four Wednesdays. Temperatures ranged from 4o – 8o […]
Wildwatch: December 2016 Sightings
Highlights Over-wintering summer visitor? .. skulking rail still present.. blank on Shieldbugs..return of Water Vole.. Lemon Disco! Weather Not surprisingly, temperatures fell throughout the month. 12C was recorded on 7th December, falling to 2C on the 28th, the latter day being bright, sunny and “nithering”! Birds The long-staying Water Rail was seen on all four […]
Wildwatch: October / November 2016 Sightings
Highlights A secretive bird… even more secretive mammals… Halloween beetles (and bats!)… a new gall for the reserve Commentary For various reasons, we were not able to complete a Wildwatch blog report for October, so this is a combined October / November report. We’ve been looking out for visiting winter birds, and had a few […]
Wildwatch: September 2016 Sightings
Highlights Bumper month for the “Blue Flash”.. Shieldbugs are September’s stars and Harlequin Ladybirds spring a surprise.. fungi starting to flourish. Commentary As Summer moves into Autumn, the flora and fauna at St Nicks changes. Flowering plants are dying back, insects are declining in numbers (although still plenty to see), Autumn colours are appearing as […]
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 […]
