February brought with it a hint of spring and our wonderful Wildwatch team were out to spot all the tell-tale signs. Week on week the changing season was a source of pleasure and delight as our team were able to observe the buds emerging on trees, cherry blossom out in its delicately dazzling display, shoots […]
Despite restrictions, our fantastic Wildwatch team have continued to collect wildlife data for us throughout the pandemic, whether out on their daily exercise or meeting up to do socially distant sessions (when allowed). This has been incredibly useful for us as it means we still have weekly records of the wide range of wildlife found […]
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 […]
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 […]
Highlights An early winter visitor…20 new invertebrate species recorded…a great summer for hoverflies. Weather Except for one warm sunny day in June, indifferent and cloudy (though dry) weather greeted most Wildwatch mornings until mid-July, after which Britain’s long hot summer dominated our Wednesday walks until the last two meetings of August which were duller. […]
Highlights A mouse and a mouse-like bird.. best month ever for hoverflies.. we seek him here, we seek him there – but we didn’t find him! Weather Dry, 16C – 20C with some sun on the first three Wildwatch Wednesdays.. rain on the 26th. Birds Our summer visitors were recorded every Wednesday in July. At […]
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 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 […]