Tag: catkins
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: February 2014 Sightings
Weather: in a wet and relatively mild month, Wednesday mornings were mainly cold and dry, though very muddy. Water in the becks was high early in the month, but kept below flood level. Observers: numbers have remained high, sometimes running to three groups. Birds: the previous month’s high bird counts continued, with a maximum […]
March 2013: Spotlight on…Hazel
Hazel – Corylus Avellana Hazel is a native species closely related to Birch, Alder and Hornbeam. It can grow into a small tree, but is more often found pruned or coppiced into a bush. At this time of year, it is easy to identify by its male flowers, the “lambs’ tails” catkins which start to […]
Wildwatch: 27th February 2013 – Things warm up!
Weather: Sunny, warm, still! Observers: Doug, Janetta, John, Linda, Steve, Kaye Last week, woolly hats, mitts and frozen fingers. This week, basking in the sun and everything starting to happen. The slightly sad note for an otherwise delightful morning was that some of the most exciting things happened after most of the group had left. […]
Wildwatch: 20 February 2013 – Winter lingers but Spring is arriving!
Weather: Cloudy, light, cool SW breeze, 2 – 5 C Observers: Carrie, Hannah, Ian, John, Katie, Kaj, Kaye, Steve The arrival of John and Katie, two new members of Wildwatch, swelled our numbers to eight observers. We decided, therefore to split into two groups. Carrie, Ian, John and Katie went anti-clockwise round the reserve, with the […]
Wildwatch: 6 February 2013 – Is Spring “just around the corner”?
Weather: Early snow shower cleared to lead to sunny intervals. Cold, Northerly breeze. 2 to 3C. Observers: Ian, Kaye, Kaj Ian went for his usual pre-Wildwatch stroll round Osbaldwick Beck, but was soon driven back to the Environment Centre by a short, heavy snow shower. Then he and Kaye set off early, and covered the North-Eastern […]
Wildwatch: 22 February 2012 – Where are our young Bullfinches?
Weather: Overcast, some drizzle, cool breeze. Observers: Carrie, Ginny, Ian, Kaye, Kaj, Linda A rather damp start to our walk, but not as wet as we thought it might be! Water levels in both becks had dropped over the past week, but there was still a good flow of water through both of them. There […]
