Pigeons are known to have been domesticated for more than 5,000 years. They are mentioned in cuneiform writing on clay tablets dug up in Mesopotamia and in hieroglyphics on the walls of ancient Egyptian tombs. There is a growing belief among archaeologists that pigeons were, in fact, the first birds to be domesticated, more than 10,000 years ago,
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Over the years, we have recorded hundreds of different species of flora, fauna and fungi in the reserve. Among the rare and beautiful things that attract everybody’s attention (the snake’s head fritillaries, the scarce chaser or the visiting roe deer) are many smaller, more commonplace creatures and plants that we pass by without noticing.
Continue reading “Searching the Species Lists”
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.
Header picture: greater spotted woodpecker in the reserve photographed by DKG
On 1st September 2020, the EU’s ban on the use of neonicotinoid pesticides came into effect but investigators have found that eight EU countries and the UK have since exported neonicotinoids to other nations with weaker environmental regulations. These are unacceptable double standards: the companies that produce these dangerous chemicals are prioritising their profits at the expense of our environment.
Continue reading “The return of neonicotinoids”
Since the 1960s, the number of Eurasian blackcaps that overwinter in the UK has got bigger and bigger. It’s no longer a rare sight to see them in the reserve in the middle of winter. The blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) is one of the rare species that sings all year round. Listen out for them:
Recording: Blackcap by Alexander Henderson (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) xeno-canto.org
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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What are our badgers doing in the middle of this damp and overcast November?
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A study by scientists from the RSPB, BirdLife International and the Czech Society for Ornithology has found that there are 247million fewer house sparrows in Europe than there were in 1980. This is a loss of almost half the house sparrow’s European population.
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Cop 26 does not appear to have reached an agreement that will limit global heating to 1.5ยฐC. The really frightening thing is that we all know what has to be done but the people who make the decisions are not listening to us.
Here is Sir David Attenborough on the simple matter of saving our planet:
The car park wagtails are a pair of grey wagtails but we have pied wagtails too.
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[1] Wood mouse [2] Water vole [3] Pigmy shrew [4] Grey squirrel [5] Rabbit [6] Stoat [7] Common mouse [8] Brown hare [9] Badger.
Header image: hedgehog (CC0)
Message and a picture from Ian Bushell.
Continue reading “Tree slug!”
A beautiful photograph from Ian Bushell of the pollarded oak tree by the footbridge between Cornfield and Sleepers.
by David Feather
Get your children creative with their favourite teddy or other toy character.
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Over the weekend, the main notice board at the entrance has been damaged and somebody appears to have held a firework party somewhere in the park.
Continue reading “Bonfire Night damage”
Pictures from a rain-soaked park
Slime moulds are extraordinary things; here is a fascinating video of time-lapse photography:
Occasionally, while we are clearing the undergrowth in the reserve’s copses, we find the secret places, among the ivy and blackthorn, where somebody has hidden their plastic bags full of dog poop.
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Last night brought the year’s first frost to many parts of the country.
Video: Timelapse of frost forming on European beech leaves ยฉAlastair MacEwen/naturepl.com
Header image: frosted leaves by DKG
Of all the mammals on our species list, only the bats and hedgehogs truly hibernate. We have found the tiniest piece of evidence that there might be dormice in the park, if so, that would be a third hibernating species.
Continue reading “Hibernating mammals”
These are spangle galls on an oak leaf.
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There are European hornets (Vespa crabro) still hunting in the Lone Oak.
Continue reading “European hornets”
Hallowe’en Greetings to all our arachnophobes from park resident, Agelena labyrinthica.
Header picture: Labyrinth spider by Gail Hampshire (CC BY 2.0)
Video from: Animalia Kingdom – ลukasz Karnatowski
Southwick Country Park Nature Reserve 