Most birds will sing to defend a territory and attract a mate. It might therefore seem a bit counterintuitive to learn birdsong in winter outside of the peak breeding season – and it is true that there are fewer birds singing at this time of year – but that makes their individual songs much easier […]
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 […]
Wildlife at St Nicks has been flourishing this spring. Wildwatch volunteers would normally be meeting every week to record – and enjoy – this. Alas, this is impossible right now. However, several Wildwatchers have been able to visit individually and share their sightings with us all. And of course staff members continue to do essential […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Highlights St Nicks bird records broken – twice! 24 months of Shieldbug records. Spring flowers start to emerge. Weather Mainly sunny and calm on Wildwatch Wednesdays, apart from the 17th, with temperatures between 2C and 8C Birds Who says that February is a boring month? This month, the St Nicks Wildwatch bird species record was […]
(European) Robin Erithacus rubecula Perhaps the UK’s favourite bird, the Robin is familiar to most people, with its reddish throat and breast, and confiding manner. Its song is perhaps less familiar than its appearance. You can hear the song by clicking here. It might sound a […]
Weather: Cloudy at first, then sunny. Little wind. 5C to 11C Observers: Eithne, Ian, Kaye, Kaj, Linda Last week, our blog headline was “Has Spring Been Cancelled?”. What a change this week! It felt pleasantly warm, especially when the sun was shining. And there were signs of Spring everywhere. This resulted in several “firsts” for […]