Big Butterfly Count
Yesterday was the first day of the Big Butterfly Count. Here are some of the park’s butterflies to encourage you to sign up.
Southwick Country Park’s BUTTERFLIES 2019 list
big butterfly count
Every year since 2010, Butterfly Conservation has conducted a survey of the country’s butterflies using thousands of volunteer citizen scientists. Last year over 100,000 volunteers took part.
Continue reading “big butterfly count”Growing trees
The climate scientists are finally persuaded that Southwick Country Park’s solution to global warming is the right way to go. They should have asked us sooner.
Continue reading “Growing trees”National Meadows Day
It’s National Meadows Day today, an annual celebration of wildflower meadows across the UK. The event takes place on the first Saturday of July each year.
Continue reading “National Meadows Day”Fantastic Mrs Fox
No, we haven’t seen an arctic fox in the park; that would be silly. Instead, here is the irresistible story of a record-breaking journey undertaken by an arctic fox, which demonstrates the resilience and adaptability of all the vulpine species, our common red fox included. It also raises questions, pertinent to everybody, about the effects of the frighteningly rapid loss of arctic ice.
Citizen science
Wiltshire Wildlife Trust’s hedgehog citizen science campaign begins today. They are asking volunteer citizen scientists to record and report hedgehog sightings and to monitor their behaviour and activity.
Continue reading “Citizen science”Buff tailed bumblebees
There are an exceptional number of buff-tailed bumblebees in the park this year; a walk around the hedges of Sleeper Field on a sunny morning revealed dozens working in the blackberry blossoms and the hogweed. There is obviously at least one large and thriving nest somewhere in the southern part of the park.
Continue reading “Buff tailed bumblebees”Counting hedgehogs
Counting hedgehogs is not easy and the best information we have about hedgehog populations is always an estimate.
Continue reading “Counting hedgehogs”Incident@Lambrok
Incident@Lambrok is how the Environment Agency titled its report on the week-long torrent of heavily sedimented, chlorinated water that Wessex Water let flood from a broken water main, through the Lambrok down to the Biss, taking in Southwick Country Park and its precious freshwater biota on its way.
Continue reading “Incident@Lambrok”
All sorts of water fly spend the very large majority of their lives living on a stream bed as larvae called nymphs. These are the species we are worried about at the moment as a burst water main upstream pours sediment-laden water into the Lambrok for the third day.
Continue readingTadpoles
Common frog tadpoles (Rana temporaria) in the little pond under the Decorated Bridge.
Continue reading “Tadpoles”The latest Church Lane update
The decision on RPS’s application to build 65 houses on the field south of Church Lane has been delayed again, until July 31st. We expect that this is, in part, to allow the Secretary of State’s Inspector, Stephen Lee, to make his decision and final report on Wiltshire’s Housing Site Allocation Plan.
Continue reading “The latest Church Lane update”
What really happens to the plastic bottles thrown away in the park?
One or another of the Friends walks around the park pretty much every day and picks up rubbish as he or she goes. Most of what we pick up is plastic and most of the plastic is in the shape of bottles.
Here is a short video to explain what happens to a plastic bottle after it is thrown away.
Where are all the butterflies?
So far this year, only seven species of butterfly have been seen in the park and in very small numbers. Ian Bushell walked an unofficial transect on Wednesday and sent this message:
Read on for Ian’s messageGlobal assessment
At the beginning of this week, the UN’s Global Assessment has highlighted the impact that we are having on the natural world.
Continue reading “Global assessment”Late frost
There was a frost on Saturday night.
Continue reading “Late frost”
