During all that rain, Ian spotted a goldcrest by the wooden footbridge into Village Green. Goldcrests are Britain’s smallest bird; a tiny flash of yellow against the dark green of a pine tree.
Continue reading “Goldcrest”Goldcrest
What a difference a day makes!
After sending yesterday’s pictures of the wetland scrapes in Lambrok Meadow, our in-house photographer Simon Knight went back to the reserve to find all its water features, scrapes, ponds, ditches and streams, full to overflowing. Go carefully out there.
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Pictures from Simon Knight of the new wetland pond in Lambrok Meadow and the two new backwater scrapes. They are slowly filling in this rain. As the weather warms, keep an eye out for the pioneer plants that will move in and provide cover for the our wetland creatures.
Hart’s tongue fern
Another of the species found in the reserve by BSBI County Recorder Richard Aisbitt during his visit to the reserve last summer: hart’s tongue fern (Asplenium scolopendrium).
Continue readingFox
Have you heard the foxes? January is the middle of their mating season when they are a lot noisier than at other times of year.
Continue reading “Fox”Anthropocene II
Geological scientists have decided that the Anthropocene has to be properly defined.
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A very early song thrush has been practising his spring song from the ash tree at Fiveways.
Song thrush recorded by David Bisset in Essex UK (xeno-canto.org)
Chiffchaff
Our chiffchaffs will already have started the long journey back to their breeding sites in the reserve.
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SOUTHWICK COUNTRY PARK LOCAL NATURE RESERVE
PROJECTS PROGRAMME SUMMARY UPDATE – FOR 2022
Background.
The following programme of actions was taken as an outcome of the review of the park on 27th January 2013 by the Wiltshire Countryside Team and Friends of Southwick Country Park (FoSCP). It is intended that this is a living document: a record of previous projects and tasks conducted and an update of works carried out during 2022, a review of the reserve in general, and suggestions for possible future progress.
First footing
A message from Clive Knight:
Walking round the reserve late afternoon on New Year’s Day, I spotted the first user on the newly created pond in Lambrok Meadow. The pictures are not brilliant as I took them on my phone and didn’t want to try to get any nearer as I think it would have spooked it and it would have flown off.
Mute swan (Cygnus olor) in the new wetland scrapes in Lambrok Meadow.
Bulbs
It’s not just the snowdrops that are waking up in the reserve’s woodland. Our native daffodils and bluebells are stirring, too.
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Snowdrops are the earliest of the reserve’s wildflowers and this is the right time to look out for their green shoots pushing through the woodland’s leaf litter. Here, while we wait for the flowers, are five things you probably didn’t know about snowdrops.
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Cantharis livida
One of our New Year’s resolutions is to make regular trawls through the depths of our extensive species lists in order to introduce you to some of the less visible (and sometimes much less fluffy) of the reserve’s inhabitants.
Continue readingHappy New Year!
Here’s a thing: a brisk walk in the reserve will help to increase your circulation, bringing more blood and oxygen to your brain and muscles, and help to offset hangover symptoms like headaches and achy muscles. Our best wishes for 2023 and our thanks for all you support.
Header image taken in the reserve by Simon Knight
A mischief of magpies
The charm of goldfinches we published yesterday reminded us of a piece from last year that might, during this long hiatus between Christmas and the New Year, bear repeating
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The fifth day
The 29th is the fifth day of Christmas – when we are supposed to receive five gold rings from our true loves. But few of the Friends have any use for gold rings so here, instead, is a fivefold gallery of the reserve’s goldfinches.
All pictures taken in the reserve.
Annual report
Every Christmas, the National Trust publishes a report on the ways in which the year’s weather has affected the UK’s wildlife. This year, after the summer’s extreme drought, we can clearly see some of those effects in the reserve.
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Turtle doves
It’s Saint Stephen’s Day, the second day of Christmas, when an 18th century carol would send us two turtle doves.
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Christmas robins
A Christmas Eve gallery of the reserve’s robins, photographed by DKG.
Mistletoe
What would Christmas be without mistletoe?
Continue reading “Mistletoe”. . . and the ivy
Five things you may not have known about the ivy in your Christmas wreath.
Continue reading “. . . and the ivy”
Floodwater
The Lambrok is full to overflowing – nice to see after all those weeks of drought but go carefully.
All images taken in the reserve 20.12.2022 by Clive Knight
Oh, the holly. . .
Over the years the Friends of Southwick Country Park have planted many holly whips in the hedges around the reserve’s fields.
Continue reading “Oh, the holly. . .”
MERIPILUS giganteus (Giant Polypore)
by Clive Knight
This is the fungus I found at the base of an oak tree in the reserve at the beginning of October. Rich Murphy identified it as a Giant Polypore (Meripilus giganteus). I took the first picture (see above) on October 15th when the fungus was about 10cm across.
Rich and I have followed its progress and photographed it regularly through October, November and up to the 3rd December when it had started to decline. At its fullest it was approx 55cm across by 25cm height.
Southwick Country Park Nature Reserve 