Our common frogs (Rana temporaria) have spent their winter sheltering from the cold in the mud at the bottom of the reserve’s ponds, or among composting vegetation and detritus in our hedges and edges.
Continue reading “Common frogs”Common frogs
Preparing for spring
At this time of year, the reserve’s blue tits are pairing up and scouting for nest sites.
Continue reading “Preparing for spring”Flea treatments
New research shows that the three most commonly used flea and tick treatments for our dogs are all associated with high chick mortality and nest failure among blue tits and great tits.
Continue reading “Flea treatments”Badger Cubs
As February begins, at least one of our badger clan’s sows will be either heavily pregnant or nursing up to five newborn cubs.
Continue reading “Badger Cubs”Snowdrop
Did you know that snowdrops are not native to the UK?
Continue reading “Snowdrop”Anti-freeze
How did the reserve’s invertebrates make it through last week’s freezing weather?
Continue reading “Anti-freeze”Ivy
Time to take down the seasonal greenery!
Continue reading “Ivy”Green New Year’s Resolutions
Sometimes, New Year’s resolutions are just too hard. The media, for instance, has been busy this week suggesting dramatic eco-resolutions for 2025: give up plastic, rewild your garden, cycle to work, stuff you know you will abandon half way through January. We, the Friends of the Reserve, think you should take these things more gently.
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Holly
Here are some interesting holly-facts to accompany you in your preparations for Christmas.
Continue reading “Holly”Water shrew
There are water shrews in the reserve. This header picture was taken by Simon Knight in the Lambrok’s tributary stream at the bottom of Kestrel Field.
Continue reading “Water shrew”Bracket fungi
These are a species of bracket fungus common in the reserve: turkey tail (Trametes versicolor). The main part of the fungus, the mycelium, is growing invisibly inside the tree. These beautiful outgrowths are the fruiting bodies, part of the fungus’s reproductive system.
Read on:Cold snap
Here are ten numbers to go with this week’s cold snap.
Continue reading “Cold snap”Squirrel invaders
The reserve’s grey squirrels are invasive aliens, brought here during the 19th Century, when the possession of rare and exotic species of plants and animals was the height of fashion. Grey squirrels, native to eastern North America, were first released into the wild in Britain, at Henbury Park, in Cheshire, in 1876.
Read on:S41 mammals
The Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act (2006) makes it the duty of all local authorities to conserve biodiversity. Section 41 of the Act refers to a published list of habitats and species (called S41 species) which are considered to be of principal importance for the conservation of the country’s biodiversity.
Continue reading “S41 mammals”Leaf fall
What happens to all those leaves?
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Winter terminology
We use the words overwinter, hibernation, and diapause when we are writing about the reserve’s inhabitants’ preparations for the cold weather. It’s easy to assume that they are interchangeable terms but that is not so: let’s take a closer look.
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Let the leaves lie
There are thousands of species of invertebrates that overwinter in the leaf litter below the reserve’s trees and shrubs. Let’s not be too eager to sweep the autumn leaves from our gardens.
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Where have all the wasps gone?
Continue readingWay to go
For a moment, imagine that you are one of the reserve’s willow warblers, a tiny grey-green bird, hunting spiders among the white willow trees and alders down by the Lambrok tributary stream.
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Contrasting Reports
There are two recent reports that show the extremes of the UK’s conservation efforts. The first, this year’s Big Butterfly Count, reflects the decline in our insect populations, while the second, from the RSPB, shows how rapidly the situation can be turned around if we create the right circumstances.
Continue readingComing and going
At this time of year, we are inclined to think of our migratory birds as leaving the reserve’s cold, damp fields and woods to fly south and spend their winter somewhere warmer. But, for some of the birds on our species list, Southwick is the somewhere warmer. The autumn migration is swap-over time.
Continue reading “Coming and going”Ecosystem engineers
Ecosystem engineers are organisms that modify their environment. They increase biodiversity by creating habitat for species other than themselves. The oak apple, caused by a tiny wasp called Biorhiza pallida, is just such an engineered environment.
Continue reading “Ecosystem engineers”Black and yellow
In the world of invertebrates, black and yellow signals danger. It says to predators: I am poisonous or I will bite you.
Read on to discover more:
Southwick Country Park Nature Reserve 