The park is full of water; there are deep puddles everywhere. Everything is wet and muddy and the paths are flooded.
Continue reading “Rain!”Rain!
Our barn owls are back
Sharon Vincent posted on our Facebook page:
Sharon Vincent: Thought you might like to know we saw a barn owl flying across the Village Green field at about 11am this morning. No photo as I was so excited I forgot to grab my phone, & it was gone quite quickly!
Continue readingEnvironment Bill delayed
Three days ago, the government delayed the Environment Bill for the third time. Rebecca Newsom, head of politics at Greenpeace UK, said:
Time and time again the government tells us that ‘urgent action’ is needed to restore nature, that it will ‘build back greener’ and that we can’t afford to ‘dither and delay’. What then is it playing at by delaying the most important piece of environmental legislation for decades?
We don’t need to look any further than this week’s New Scientist to see the urgent need for legislation to protect our environment and the many lifeforms we share it with.
Continue reading “Environment Bill delayed”
Hazel
As always, the first flowers of the year are the hazel catkins: a familiar and friendly sign that spring is on its way.
Continue readingErratum
Last week, we posted a piece about camouflage, in which we cited our newly discovered wasp spider as an example of a harmless species dressing up in the black and yellow stripes that so many creatures use to signal that they are dangerous. Then we watched BBC’s Winterwatch and there is a picture at 2:20 that suggests we may have been mistaken. We apologise for the error…..
Continue reading “Erratum”
Snowy morning
by Simon Knight
It was lovely to see the covering of snow on Sunday morning. It never fails to bring back those childhood memories of excited anticipation about getting out outside and playing in it, but maybe that’s just me! I got over to the park at around 8:30am, and although the light was dull, it was lovely to see the park covered in a blanket of white.
Continue reading
Snow in the park
by Chris Seymour and Ossie Jones
Header picture by Chris Seymour
Southwick Country Park is officially a Local Nature Reserve.
Fairy rings
One of several fairy rings in Lambrok Meadow, caused by the mycelium of a subterranean fungus.
Continue reading “Fairy rings”
Before dawn, this frosty morning in the park, it sounded as though there was a song thrush singing from the top of every tree.
Continue readingFox
January is mid-mating season for foxes.
Continue reading “Fox”Cryptic colouration
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”We are having WiFi problems this morning and today’s post may be delayed. We apologise.
Neonicotinoids
The Government has decided to allow the emergency use of the neonicotinoid thiamethoxam on sugar beet in England in 2021, despite objections from conservationists. The decision, in response to pressure from England’s farmers, will permit the treatment of sugar beet seed to combat beet yellows virus, which is spread by multiple species of aphids.
Continue reading “Neonicotinoids”
Redwing
Every year redwings are among the park’s winter visitors; we are their winter migration’s destination.
Continue readingDormouse hibernation
Over the years, we have seen just the faintest of signs that there are dormice somewhere in the park. We have worked to make the hazel copses in Cornfield and Simpson’s Field good dormouse habitat and every year we hope to add them to our species list. At this time of year they will be deep in hibernation.
Continue reading “Dormouse hibernation”
Collybia velutipes (winter fungus) photographed in the park by Ian Bushell
Oak factoid
There are 2,300 species associated with oak, 320 of which are found only on oaks. Here is a gallery of wildlife photographed in the park’s oaks.
Header picture: Oak Bridge by DKG
Carbon dioxide landmark.
The Met Office has forecast that during 2021, atmospheric carbon dioxide will reach levels 50% higher than before the industrial revolution.
Continue reading “Carbon dioxide landmark.”
Blue tit
by Simon Knight
Along with everything else going on in the world, I was beginning to find the recent dull weather slightly depressing. I have also found it frustrating from a photography point of view, as I only like to take pictures in good light, and you don’t get good light without the sun! The recent dullness has been especially frustrating as I have had a new lens to test which needs good light for me to be able to get the best out of it.
Continue readingWood ear
This post was first published in January 2019
Auricularia auricula-judae is one of the few fungi that produces fruiting bodies all year round. Winter hardly seems to trouble it and we found these specimens in the strip of wood between Lambrok Meadow and Kestrel Field, in the second week of January with the early sunshine just beginning to melt the frost that had covered them overnight.
Continue reading “Wood ear”
A squirrel factoid
Grey squirrels can’t hibernate; their metabolism won’t let them put on enough weight to sleep through the winter.
Continue readingA warning
A message from a reader:
Apparently there is this guy trying to steal people’s dogs; it is doing the rounds on Facebook groups in Trowbridge. He is asking the dog’s breed and then waiting for them to get back to the car park to steal them. The people he is approaching are older and on their own.
My aunt walks her dog in the park and I would hate to think someone approached her in the park and stole her dog. It would be awful! Could you warn people this is happening?
Thanks x
Heritage orchard
In February of 2014, the Friends of Southwick Country Park planted an orchard: thirty eight heritage apple trees of fourteen different varieties, in the southern end of the park. They have really beautiful names:
Continue reading “Heritage orchard”
Frosty morning in the park
by DKG (2019)
Southwick Country Park Nature Reserve 