Behind the picnic place at Fiveways, beyond the hedge, is a deep, deep ditch. The Friends have been clearing this ditch, cutting back the old hedges and haloing the oak trees (nos.5503 to 5507) that stand on the far bank. If you look over the bridge where all the paths meet, you will see where they have been working.
Continue reading “Primrose ditch”
Our bluetits are already searching the reserve’s oak trees for nesting sites.
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How many species of earthworm are there in the UK?
Continue reading “Earthworms”
After the traumas of COVID-19 and months of lockdown, the NHS has been at pains to tell us how beneficial a walk in the woods is for our mental health. But there are benefits, too, for our physical wellbeing; here, in no particular order, are some of them.
Continue reading “Walk in the woods”
The first flowers, every year, are the hazel catkins in the copse next to the picnic place. Such a welcome sight.
Header image by DKG
As February begins, at least one of our badger clan’s sows will be either heavily pregnant or nursing up to five newborn cubs.
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A veteran oak tree is usually somewhere between 200 and 400 years old. These are trees that have local historical significance or that play important roles in a particular biosphere or landscape. In the reserve we have many notable and veteran oak trees, numbered and mapped.
Continue reading “Haloing oak trees”
A further dive into the depths of our species lists has dredged up a black snail beetle (Phosphuga atrata).
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This year, consider making room in your garden for native wildflowers. The easiest and most environmentally friendly way to do this is to let the buttercups, dandelions and hawkbits in your lawn grow tall and flower.
Continue reading “Consider wildflowers”
Tardigrades have been found everywhere in Earth’s biosphere, from the highest mountaintops to the deepest sea and from tropical rainforests to the Antarctic. There are sure to be some, somewhere, in the reserve’s ponds, going quietly about their business.
Continue readingNo post today because there is a technical hitch that I don’t seem to be able to fix. Sorry.
Clive Knight has spotted a little egret in Village Green this week. There is a nesting colony in the woods between Trowbridge and Bradford on Avon and egrets regularly visit the reserve, particularly at this time of year as they make their way back from their winter travels for the breeding season.
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There are tawny owls in the park. Here are some tawny owl facts:
click here for tawny owl facts
Of the five species of Britain’s black corvids, four have been seen in Southwick Country Park Nature Reserve: crow (Corvus corone), rook (Corvus frugilegus), jackdaw (Corvus monedula) and raven (Corvus corax).
Continue reading “How to tell corvids apart”
Early though it may be, male blackbirds are already tuning up ready for the spring. These are birds that were hatched last year. Inexperienced and without established territories, they have a lot of songs to sing and battles to win if they are going to breed this year.
Common blackbird song recorded by Beatrix Saadi-Varchmin (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) xeno-canto.org
Winter cress (Barbarea vulgaris) is another of the wildflowers first identified and recorded in the reserve by Country Recorder Richard Aisbitt when he visited last summer. It isn’t a rare species or even particularly unusual; it’s just one of those plants that are so commonplace that nobody bothers to look at it or ask what it is.
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Last week, Frank Lamerton and Pete White, both FoSCP volunteers and parkrunners, dug channels to clear the floodwater from the central path between the decorated bridge and the big pond, the first area to flood every winter and the last to drain.
Continue reading “Drains and consequences”
Cryptic colouration, is another name for camouflage, a defence strategy that creatures use to disguise their appearance, or to mask their location, their identity, or movement. It both allows prey to avoid predators, and predators to sneak up on prey.
Continue reading “Cryptic colouration”
It’s cold! Wrap up warm and stay safe.
by David Feather
Recently, a commercial dog-walker in Surrey was killed by the dogs she was walking. According to The Times, she had eight dogs, including a Leonberger (a large and heavy breed originating from Germany). The story appears to be that one of the large dogs attacked another walker’s small dog. The lady owner picked her dog up and was bitten by the attacker. It looks as though the dog walker tried to control the situation but the large dog went for her and then the other dogs joined in. The details are still emerging.
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By Simon Knight
The weather has certainly been changeable over the past few days! The temperature dropped pretty quickly Monday night and combined with clear skies, it ensured that Tuesday saw the reserve carpeted in frost. It wasn’t a heavy frost, but it was certainly a welcome change after seeing the park flooded just a few days ago.
Continue reading “From flooded to frozen”
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust are reintroducing Eurasian beavers (Castor fiber) to our neighbouring county, Hampshire. A breeding pair of beavers will be released into an enclosure on an estate near Basingstoke, this year.
Continue reading “New neighbours”
The nature reserve’s rabbits are beginning their long and busy breeding season.
Continue reading “Rabbits”
During all that rain, Ian spotted a goldcrest by the wooden footbridge into Village Green. Goldcrests are Britain’s smallest bird; a tiny flash of yellow against the dark green of a pine tree.
Continue reading “Goldcrest”
Southwick Country Park Nature Reserve 