New life sprung forth this March at St Nicks – as always. Despite inevitable difficulties, the Wildwatch team was still able to enjoy some great wildlife sightings. Wildwatch groups met as usual on the Wednesday mornings of the 4th and 11th of March – seventeen of us on the latter date. (What a long time ago this […]
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 […]
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 […]
Highlights Woodpecker sightings increase.. chilly month keeps insect numbers down – where are all the butterflies?.. a strange season for herbaceous plants. Weather Temperatures on Wildwatch Wednesdays remained consistently below 10C, although it was sunny on the 13th and 20th. Birds Great Spotted Woodpeckers, usually an occasional visitor to St Nicks, were seen on […]
Highlights Tiny winter visitor makes a brief appearance.. What’s shiny, rough, smooth and pygmy?.. Spring under way with male and female flowers showing. Weather Temperatures remained seasonally low, between 2C and 7C, but dry and mainly calm on the Wildwatch Wednesdays. The Boxing Day floods continued to ensure high water levels on both the […]
Highlights Late summer, early spring for plants.. several scarce St Nicks birds seen.. edible or deadly poisonous – we didn’t dare test.. Weather Generally mild (10 – 13C) and cloudy, with some sunshine on some days. But on 26th and 27th, the floods came, due to the problems with the Foss Flood Barrier. Large areas of the […]
Goldcrest (Regulus regulus) is one of Europe’s smallest birds, equalled only in size by Firecrest. Weighing in at just 6 – 6.5 grams, the weight of a 10p coin, this tiny bird makes some astonishing journeys. Every winter, many thousands make the journey across the North Sea from Scandinavia to spend the winter in the […]
Highlights More breeding bird evidence, and a bad hair day for a scarce bird by Tang Hall Beck.. Warmer July weather brings out more butterflies and dragonflies, plus two more new hoverflies for the reserve.. “Butterfly bush” now in full bloom, and there’s Bindweed everywhere! Weather July started off hot and sunny, with temperatures reaching […]
Highlights A secretive dweller in the Pond – and CCTV catches a “first” for St Nicks! Weather A dull and drizzly start to the first Wildwatch of the year, but it got colder and clearer later in the month. There was a scattering of snow on the 14th. Birds We searched unsuccessfully for the Water […]
Highlights: A skulking bird was a first for the reserve.. unexpected winter insect sightings, while a world of other creatures are found hiding under logs and stones.. and 15 species of flower still out! Weather: Temperatures ranged from 1C at the beginning and end of the month up to 12C on the 17th. All the Wildwatch […]