A song thrush singing from its perch right at the top of one of the reserve’s oak trees, photographed by Ian Bushell.
Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos) recorded by David Bisset (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) xeno-canto.org
Song thrush
Dagger Fly
by Ian Bushell
I photographed this fly by the pond on Saturday. It’s Empis tessellata, one of the larger species of Dance or Dagger Flies. It can be seen from April to August.
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Cuckoo flower
Scientific name: Cardamine pratensis
Family: Brassicaceae
Common names: lady’s smock, milkmaids
Habitat: damp grassland
Conservation status: least concern, common and widespread.
Drinker moth caterpillar
While they were tidying up the edge of the big pond last week, the Friends found a drinker moth caterpillar (Euthrix potatoria), so called because it is believed to drink drops of dew on grass stems.
Continue reading “Drinker moth caterpillar”Swallows, swifts and martins
The swallows, house martins and swifts have all returned now and are hunting for winged insects over the reserve. Here is a short video to help you tell the three species apart.
Wood spurge
Scientific name: Euphorbia amygdaloides
Habitat: old woodland
Conservation status: common
Header image and image [1] taken in the reserve by Clive Knight.
“Shed not a clout till may be out…”
It’s not, as many believe, an instruction to keep your coat on until June; it’s telling you to take your cardigan off as soon as the may is in blossom, which has been known to happen as early as April.
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Organised events in the reserve
On Saturday, we heard from several sources that there was a tent pitched in Kestrel Field. As camping is not allowed on Council land, Clive went to take a look and reported:
It looks like there is an organised marked course around the reserve; orienteering? I’ve seen lots of people running round, many said hello as they ran past. All finished now, tent gone. I think it was a recording point.
Continue readingGrey Squirrel
A grey squirrel feasting on the flowers of one of the reserve’s oak trees, photographed by Cheryl Cronnie.
Wild Garlic
Wild garlic is another of those wildflower species that go by many different names: ramsons, cowleek or cowlick, buckrams, broad-leaved garlic, wood garlic, bear leek and bear’s garlic are just a few of them.
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The house martins are back
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Pica pica
The Eurasian magpie (Pica pica) is the only species of bird to have passed the mirror test.
Continue readingLOST
Somebody lost a pair of prescription sunglasses in the reserve today. If you found them, email me at friendsofscp@outlook.com and I will make sure they get back to their owner.
Bluebells
Bluebells photographed in the reserve on Monday by Cheryl Cronnie.
Continue reading “Bluebells”
Ragwort update from Wiltshire Council:
Wiltshire Council is asking the public to avoid using Southwick Country Park on 5th/6th May due to the spraying of Magneto herbicide to control ragwort. The work will take place on Thursday 5 May and possibly extend into Friday 6 May, depending upon the weather. There will be notices posted in the reserve to keep you updated.
Ragwort can cause serious liver damage to livestock if ingested, so landowners/occupiers have a responsibility to prevent it from spreading to neighbouring farmland. For the last few years it has been controlled in the Park by hand pulling, but this year it is clear there will be too much to pull out by hand with the resources we have.
We ask that the public avoid the Park on 5th/6th May while the spraying is taking place, and apologise for the inconvenience that these works cause.
Access to Hope Nature Centre is unaffected by the works.
Long-tailed tit
by Simon Knight
This past weekend I had an amazing afternoon in the park watching a pair of hardworking, caring and protective parents. It was one of the best wildlife moments that I have had this year. As you can see from the pictures, the parents were long-tailed tits who, in my opinion, win the award for ‘cutest bird’.
Continue readingPond skaters
There are pond skaters (Gerris lacustris) on the little pond under the wooden bridge at Lambrok Meadow end of the tributary stream.
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There are cowslips (Primula veris) flowering in the reserve, beside the path through Simpsons, at the top of Village Green and the bottom of Kestrel Field.
ID
Identifying small brown birds
Sun 24/04/2022 09:39 From Suzanne to Ali and Ian
Good morning,
This is another of the pictures sent by Cheryl Cronnie, who is a photographer rather than a ornithologist. Is this a twite?
While we are on the subject…
…here is a list of ragwort’s many common names, some of them downright vulgar:
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Long tailed tit
A long tailed tit (Aegithalos caudatus) photographed in the park a couple of weeks ago by Cheryl Cronnie.
Continue readingCockchafer
The cockchafers, more familiarly known as maybugs, are out and about early this year.
Continue reading “Cockchafer”Grey Heron
Email from Clive Knight – Mon 25/04/2022 21:32
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Bluebell gallery
Southwick Country Park Nature Reserve 