Of the five species of Britain’s black corvids, four have been seen in Southwick Country Park Nature Reserve: crow (Corvus corone), rook (Corvus frugilegus), jackdaw (Corvus monedula) and raven (Corvus corax).
Continue reading “How to tell corvids apart”
Early though it may be, male blackbirds are already tuning up ready for the spring. These are birds that were hatched last year. Inexperienced and without established territories, they have a lot of songs to sing and battles to win if they are going to breed this year.
Common blackbird song recorded by Beatrix Saadi-Varchmin (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) xeno-canto.org
Winter cress (Barbarea vulgaris) is another of the wildflowers first identified and recorded in the reserve by Country Recorder Richard Aisbitt when he visited last summer. It isn’t a rare species or even particularly unusual; it’s just one of those plants that are so commonplace that nobody bothers to look at it or ask what it is.
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Last week, Frank Lamerton and Pete White, both FoSCP volunteers and parkrunners, dug channels to clear the floodwater from the central path between the decorated bridge and the big pond, the first area to flood every winter and the last to drain.
Continue reading “Drains and consequences”
Cryptic colouration, is another name for camouflage, a defence strategy that creatures use to disguise their appearance, or to mask their location, their identity, or movement. It both allows prey to avoid predators, and predators to sneak up on prey.
Continue reading “Cryptic colouration”
It’s cold! Wrap up warm and stay safe.
by David Feather
Recently, a commercial dog-walker in Surrey was killed by the dogs she was walking. According to The Times, she had eight dogs, including a Leonberger (a large and heavy breed originating from Germany). The story appears to be that one of the large dogs attacked another walker’s small dog. The lady owner picked her dog up and was bitten by the attacker. It looks as though the dog walker tried to control the situation but the large dog went for her and then the other dogs joined in. The details are still emerging.
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By Simon Knight
The weather has certainly been changeable over the past few days! The temperature dropped pretty quickly Monday night and combined with clear skies, it ensured that Tuesday saw the reserve carpeted in frost. It wasn’t a heavy frost, but it was certainly a welcome change after seeing the park flooded just a few days ago.
Continue reading “From flooded to frozen”
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust are reintroducing Eurasian beavers (Castor fiber) to our neighbouring county, Hampshire. A breeding pair of beavers will be released into an enclosure on an estate near Basingstoke, this year.
Continue reading “New neighbours”
The nature reserve’s rabbits are beginning their long and busy breeding season.
Continue reading “Rabbits”
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”
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.
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).
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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”
Geological scientists have decided that the Anthropocene has to be properly defined.
Continue reading “Anthropocene II”
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)
Our chiffchaffs will already have started the long journey back to their breeding sites in the reserve.
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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.
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.
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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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.
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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
Southwick Country Park Nature Reserve 