The wildlife of St Nicks buzzed and bloomed in May as always, regardless of human troubles. The regular group of Wildwatch volunteers could not, of course, meet up as usual for their weekly walk around the reserve. But a few of us could enjoy St Nicks during our legally-sanctioned local walks. We recorded what wildlife […]
Hard times for us all. So many pressing concerns. Not least of these, for many of us, is the way in which our access to the natural world has suddenly become so constricted. Absence, it is said, makes the heart grow fonder. How true this seems now, regarding not just family and friends, but also […]
Headline Early spring blossom brings out the queen bees, while some winter bird visitors depart. Plenty to see under logs, too. Weather February 2020 was officially the UK’s wettest February since records began 160 years ago, but happily every Wildwatch Wednesday at St Nicks in February dawned frosty and sunny. Birds 27 bird […]
Nothing quite confirms the arrival of spring like the first bumblebee sighting of the year as they emerge from hibernation. The low hum of their wings as they zoom past is always a comforting sign that nature is buzzing back to life after those quiet winter months. Wind back 6 months or so to the […]
Highlights: new arrival, emerging hibernators, and the flowers that bloom in the spring.. Birds Our resident birding enthusiast was absent for all but one of the Wildwatch walks during March, so it is no surprise that after February’s two broken species records, nothing so exciting happened on the five Wednesdays of March. Our total species […]
Weather: Sunny intervals, light breeze, warm in the sunshine – 15C to 19C Observers: Amanda, Carrie, Declan, Ian, Janetta, Kaye, Paul, Rosemary, Tim, Tracy A good turn-out of ten people today, with four new people joining in the group walk. We split into two parties, with Kaye and Janetta taking Amanda, Paul and Tracy on […]
Weather: Mainly cloudy with sunny intervals. Light breeze. Observers: Hannah, Hazel, Ian, Janetta, Kaj, Lindsay With the heavy rains over the weekend, both becks were flowing fast and furious, Tang Hall Beck in particular. The water level in the latter was just a foot below the top of the culvert. We did a circuit around […]
Weather: Overcast, turning to rain. Strengthening wind. Chilly. Observers: Janetta, Lindsay, Philip, Vicky, Kaye The forecast rain luckily held off until the end of the morning. Tang Hall Beck, which was almost at flood level on Saturday, had dropped considerably but was still higher than usual and running fast between very muddy banks. The paths […]