Tag: Grey Wagtail
Wildwatch September – December 2019
Highlights Winter birds disappoint, but many new invertebrates found and nine shieldbug species liven up the reserve. Plus a botanical oddity, plenty of fungi and galls. Weather A mixed bag. The wet Autumn’s heaviest rain fell on non-Wildwatch days. September walks were mainly cloudy following overnight rain. October, November and December brought us a […]
Wildwatch autumn 2018 (September-November)
Highlights The year’s butterfly showing continued to disappoint, but lots of bugs and hoverflies brighten up Wildwatch mornings… Unusual bird visitors included a Common Snipe and Water Rail… Two new plant gall records. Weather Wildwatch days in September were disappointingly overcast and often windy, but brightened up for October which gave us a number […]
Wildwatch Winter 2017/18 (Dec – Feb)
Highlights Rare mammal sighting.. visiting Winter geese and an early Summer visitor.. camouflage in the Environment Centre Pond.. and a tiny, tiny new plant! Weather A colder than usual three months (December to February) with many frosty mornings and, especially after Christmas, several snowy ones, meant that wildwatching at St Nicks was a rather chilly […]
Wildwatch: December 2015 Sightings
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 […]
Wildwatch: November 2015 Sightings
Highlights A 2nd bird record for St Nicks – and the 1st to be photographed, and a long-lingering summer visitor.. two new plant finds.. handsome Fungus Beetles delight! Weather A mainly cloudy month on Wildwatch Wednesdays, but also dry, apart from a few showers on the 18th. But there were sunny intervals on the 18th […]
October 2015: Spotlight on … Grey Wagtails
The Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea) is an occasional visitor to St Nicks, seen more often in the Autumn and Winter months (but see below). This attractive grey and yellow bird is nearly always found near running water, so all the St Nicks sightings have been along the Tang Hall and Osbaldwick Becks. Typically it is […]
Wildwatch: February 2015 Sightings
Highlights Snowdrops everywhere.. Water skulker and Tree “mouse” return.. a February shieldbug first, and a semaphoring fly! Weather Snow showers greeted us on the 4th, with a chilly 1C. But during the month, temperatures slowly rose and we had bright days on the 18th and 25th. Birds Last month’s statement that the December Water Rail […]
Wildwatch: November 2014 Sightings
Highlights: Prolific fungi, fox & cubs (!), scarce visitor to the Environment Centre plus a new pair of birds, and lots of little creatures skulking under logs and stones. Weather: Temperatures ranged from a minimum of 7C to a max of 11C. Mainly cloudy on Wildwatch Wednesdays, but a sunny day on the 5th and rain […]
Wildwatch: October 2014 Sightings
Highlights: Late departures and early arrivals of birds.. A new botanist, new species for old, and the start of a moss survey.. Flies still flying in warm October, and at least three new insect records for St Nicks this month. Weather: Nationally, the 10th= warmest October since 1910! At St Nicks, the highest Wildwatch Wednesday temperatures […]
Wildwatch: March 2014 sightings
Weather: A warmer patch mid-month was sandwiched between a cooler start and end to the month. Fortunately, we managed to stay dry on all four of the Wildwatch walks! A fairly dry month, so the water level in both becks started to drop, exposing muddy banks. Observers: Once again, numbers on the walks were in […]
