Newland Homes has published a concept plan for the building of up to 45 houses on the land at Upper Studley (WHSAP site H2.5) just diagonally across the road from the park. They have distributed a leaflet to 170 local addresses as their first step in the process of public consultation.
Continue reading “Development at H2.5”Message from Becky Lou: Someone’s little Piglet found at the park today, he hung on but no one returned so he’s being looked after… Get in touch if he’s yours.
There are funnel shaped webs low down in the dense vegetation of the park’s hedges and edges; what lives in them?
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A female Oedemera nobilis, known as the thick legged flower beetle or swollen thighed beetle, photographed in the park last week.
The male has the strangely shaped legs for which the species is named
Yesterday, the Met Office’s radar recorded such a large and dense cloud of flying ants off the southern coast of Britain that it registered as a rain storm.
Continue reading “Flying ants”
The Big Butterfly Count began yesterday and will run until Sunday August 9th. Join in and help Butterfly Conservation monitor the health of Britain’s Lepidoptera. Spend just 15 minutes in the park, your garden, a field or wood, counting the common butterflies you see.
Continue reading “The Big Butterfly Count”
Wed 15/07/2020 18:48; mail and pictures from Clive Knight
Walking round this afternoon spotted these. The first two pics are of a plant in Sleepers Field – no idea what it is and the bottom pic I found in the pathway through the woods at the top of Village Green. Both single plants.
Sent from my iPhone
A brown hawker female, Aeshna grandis, spotted in the park by Ian Bushell on Tuesday afternoon.
Continue reading “Brown Hawker”
Remember all those peacock caterpillar netsts? They have metamorphosed into a shiny new generation of adult peacock butterflies.
Wiltshire Council policy on metal detecting
Wiltshire Council does not allow metal detecting by the public on land it owns for the following reasons:
Perforate St John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum) also known as common St John’s wort.
Header picture taken by Clive Knight, others by Suzanne Humphries
It is now two years since the Friends of Southwick Country Park took issue with Wiltshire’s Housing Site Allocation Plan. Despite our best efforts the sites surrounding the park and Lambrok Stream, at Church Lane (H2.4), Upper Studley (H2.5) and Southwick Court (H2.6) were selected, last year, for future development.
Continue reading “Newt-counting”
The rosebay willowherb (Chamaenerion angustifolium) in the Arboretum is in flower and well worth a look.
Read on:
This post was first published in June 2019 but the warning bears repeating.
This is hemlock water dropwort (Oenanthe crocata), by some accounts the UK’s most poisonous plant.
Continue reading “Hemlock water dropwort”Just a reminder that quad bikes are not allowed in the park. They are a danger to walkers, particularly children, and to dogs and the park’s wildlife; if you see people driving quad bikes, please report them to the police.
AND if you can get a picture, without in any way endangering yourself, that would really help
We are not out of the woods yet. The latest coronavirus figures for Wiltshire are not encouraging and scientists now believe that airborne transmission is playing a big part in the disease’s spread.
Continue reading “Social distancing”
Somewhere between fifty and sixty teenagers gathered in the park, under the Lone Oak, yesterday evening, to celebrate somebody’s fifteenth birthday. It’s hard to imagine how such an event could not have ended badly.
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A marmalade hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus) feeding on the nectar of a bramble flower. This is a new species for our lists, despite its ubiquity.
The marmalade fly gets its name from its colour, and its thin cut/thick cut dark stripes, just like marmalade.
Clive Knight has sent us this picture of meadow vetchling, taken in the park last week.
Continue reading “Meadow vetchling”
A marbled white (Melanargia galathea) on creeping thistle flowers, photographed in the park yesterday by Julie Newblé. If you look carefully, there are at least three common red soldier beetles hidden in the picture.
Thanks Julie.
We apologise to the Village Green Vandals. After a closer examination, we are beginning to think that the goat willow trees in Sleepers Field were actually stripped of their bark by squirrels.
We have been sent pictures this afternoon of newly damaged goat willow trees in Sleepers Field. Who is doing this?
Who is it spending their lockdown time climbing into our trees with a sharp blade? If you know anything about this, please report it.
UPDATE: On closer inspection this looks as if it may be squirrel damage. We apologise to the Village Green Vandals for jumping to conclusions. We have sent the photographs to our Tree Officer.
Our email address is friedsofscp@outlook.com
PCSO Mat Till’s email address is Matthew.Till@wiltshire.pnn.police.uk.
Mat is a member of Community Policing Team 1, which can be contacted on 101 ext 36337 or on 07471029309.
There has been a lot of petty vandalism and antisocial behaviour in the park recently and we need your help to make it stop.
Continue reading “Anti social behaviour”
Southwick Country Park Nature Reserve 