a partridge in a pear tree. The park’s partridges are Perdix perdix, the grey partridge, not the pretty little North American plumed partridge, Perdix plumifera, sitting in our Christmas card’s pear tree. Neither does the park actually have any pear trees: cherries, plums, sloes, apples and pedants aplenty but no pears at all. Nevertheless…
Christmas greetings from the Friends of Southwick Country Park.
A Christmas Eve gallery of the park’s robins, photographed by DKG.
What would Christmas be without mistletoe?
Continue reading “Mistletoe”
There were reindeer here in Britain in large numbers around the time of the last ice age, 35,000 to 50,000 years ago. There were wild herds of reindeer in Scotland right up until the 13th century when, like so many of our large native herbivores, they were hunted to extinction.
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Five things you may not have known about the ivy in your Christmas wreath.
Continue reading “. . . and the ivy”
Over the years the Friends of Southwick Country Park have planted many holly whips in the hedges around the reserve’s fields.
Continue reading “The holly. . .”
Many of the evergreen plants in the park have traditionally been used in the celebration of winter festivals. As the days grew ever shorter and colder, winter must have been a frightening and dangerous time for the early human cultures of northern Europe.
Continue reading “Winter festivals”
In the UK, rabbit numbers fell by 43% between 2008 and 2018, with the latest surveys showing no sign that the decline is slowing. The cause is RHDV2, rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus type 2.
Continue reading “Save the rabbit”
A seasonal robin from DKG to cheer us all up on an overcast December morning. Thanks DKG.
Sometimes, healthy and mature trees shed large branches during the summer for no apparent reason. This is what is known as Summer Branch Drop Syndrome and it is what happened to Oak 5552 in August of this year.
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Ian Bushell writes:
Unfortunately, in late August oak 5552 suffered from Summer Branch Drop when at least two limbs fractured and fell.
Continue reading “Correction”
This is tree number 5552: an old pollarded oak standing in the eastern-most corner of Sleeper Field.
by Suzanne Humphries
Did you know that grey squirrels eat hawthorn berries? No, neither did I.
Continue reading “Did you know…”
There are at least two wild honey bee nests in the reserve, high up in hollow old trees. Here is a short video that shows how the bees are adapting their colony and their behaviour to the demands of winter.
A tiny candlesnuff fungus, Xylaria hypoxylon, growing in the rotting wood and moss of the old willow tree (number 5477 ) by the footpath alongside the Lambrok Tributary.
Continue reading “Candlesnuff fungus”
by David Feather
Did you realise that by taking walks through our lovely semi-wild nature reserve, you were saving the Country money? I didn’t and I bet you didn’t, unless you read an article in the Guardian last week.
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A lot of people buy artificial Christmas trees in the belief that it benefits the environment, but environmentalists and energy analysts disagree. We need only look at a single element of the hundreds of thousands of artificial trees that will be put up and decorated this Christmas: they are all made of plastic.
Continue reading “Real or fake?”
Another lucky dip into remote corners of our species lists wins us the knot grass moth (Acronicta rumicis), a night flyer of open grassland and woodland edges.
Continue reading “Knot grass moth”
by David Feather
I enjoy mushrooms, particularly as part of a full English breakfast. What I have never, till now, known, is that they and their other fungi relatives could save the planet.
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In its latest review, the RSPB has added four more names to its red list of Britain’s endangered bird species.
Continue reading “Red list”
The wood mouse is Britain’s commonest and most widespread species of rodent. There must be hundreds, if not thousands, in our nature reserve but they are rarely seen. Here are some of their personal details.
Continue reading “Wood mouse”
Southwick Country Park Nature Reserve 