Three well camouflaged roe deer in the Church Lane fields, photographed yesterday: a doe and her kids. Typically, a pair of roe kids is one of each sex, and here, the male is in the middle of the group; you can just see the buttons covering the pedicles, the places from which his antlers will grow.
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among mammals, otters have the thickest fur. In every square inch of a Eurasian otter’s skin, there are around half a million hairs. For comparison: the average dog has 15,000 hairs per square inch and the average human, only 1,000.
Thanks to Sarah Gould for reminding us that the tawny owl’s classic tu-whit tu-whoo noise is, in fact, made by two birds in conversation.
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The Winter moth (Operophtera brumata) is one of the few moth species that can cope with winter’s freezing temperatures in its adult stage. They are endothermic which means that they can produce heat internally by biochemical processes, just as warm-blooded creatures do.
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There are all sorts of things that shriek in our woods: the Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius) is just one of them.
Jay (Garrulus glandarius) audio by Bodo Sonnenburg ( CC -BY-SA) xeno-canto.org
Last year the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) published a report called Wild Bird Populations in the UK, 1970 to 2018. We published this post at the time but feel it bears repeating: the coronavirus crisis may be at the top of our list of concerns but the environmental crisis has not gone away.
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A robin’s lifespan is just 13 months on average due to high mortality among robins in their first year. However, once they’ve passed that first year barrier, they stand a much better chance of surviving for quite a while – the record currently stands at 19 years!
All pictures taken in the park by DKG
Though you may not have seen them, there are field voles all over the park. Here ten things you may not have known about them.
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The name hedgehog came into use during the fifteenth century.
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by Simon Knight
I was surprised to see these two critters, given that insect life in the park has gone quiet now compared to the summer.
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American mink have been in the news as a disease vector for COVID-19. Millions of animals on hundreds of Danish fur farms are to be destroyed.
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The park’s oak trees have produced more acorns this year than any of us can ever remember. These periodic bumper harvests are called mast years.
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We have both greater and lesser spotted woodpeckers on our species lists but it is many years since the single sighting of a lesser spotted woodpecker in the park. Here is a video from the BTO to help you tell the difference between the two.
Simon Tesler’s video of an otter hunting in the moat at Southwick Court is powerful evidence not only of Lambrok Stream’s biodiversity, but its importance as a wildlife corridor that runs from the River Biss right up through and beyond Southwick village.
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We have been sent video of an otter hunting in Southwick Court moat yesterday.
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….here are long tail tits preparing for a cold February night.
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The increasing use of nest box cameras has shown how frequently garden nest boxes are used by blue tits for winter roosting.
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We are half way through National Mammal Week! Who knew?
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Keep a look out for hibernating amphibians as you tidy up your garden ready for winter. Frogs, toads and newts will find sheltered places to hibernate in hedge bottoms, compost heaps, under stones and in log piles and are best not disturbed. Take particular care if you are planning to clear out a pond: frogs and newts will sometimes overwinter in the mud at the bottom.
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The clocks went back; the nights, which have been getting longer since the autumnal equinox, will seem extra long and especially dark now. We cosy up in front of the fire and crave stodgy puddings but out in the park, the ratio between daylight and dark triggers many natural processes.
Continue reading “Daylight hours”
There are two badger setts in the park, hidden away in its quiet places; here are some interesting badger facts.
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We have precious elm saplings, resistant to Dutch elm disease, that will need to be planted out in the park soon.
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Build a hibernaculum to help the amphibians and reptiles in your garden through the winter.
