Bluetit factoid
Most birds can’t create pigments, other than melanin, on their own. This bluetit, high in the park’s canopy, can’t produce the pigment, carotene, that makes his tummy yellow; it comes from pigments in the green caterpillars he eats. The more caterpillars he eats and the brighter his tummy, the more likely he is to attract a mate.
Header picture by DKG; others CC0 from pixabay
Regular contributor Cheryl Cronnie sent in two lovely pictures of a pair of house hunting blue tits looking around a nest hole in one of our veteran oak trees.
Continue reading “Des res”
The sound of spring.
Regular contributor Cheryl Cronnie has sent a beautiful picture of a bullfinch.
Continue reading “Bullfinch”
There are all sorts of things that shriek in our woods and the Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius) is just one of them.
Jay (Garrulus glandarius) audio by Bodo Sonnenburg ( CC -BY-SA) xeno-canto.org
Our songbirds are tuning up for the spring. Here are ten things you may not have known about birdsong.
The reserve’s song bird are tuning up for spring
Continue reading “Birdsong”
Simon Knight, our in-house wildlife photographer has sent a picture of a goldcrest, of which he says:
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Clive Knight has spotted a little egret in Village Green this week. There is a nesting colony in the woods between Trowbridge and Bradford on Avon and egrets regularly visit the reserve, particularly at this time of year as they make their way back from their winter travels for the breeding season.
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There are tawny owls in the park. Here are some tawny owl facts:
click here for tawny owl facts
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”
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.Â
Continue reading “From flooded to frozen”
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”
Our chiffchaffs will already have started the long journey back to their breeding sites in the reserve.
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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
Continue reading “A mischief of magpies”
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.
It’s Saint Stephen’s Day, the second day of Christmas, when an 18th century carol would send us two turtle doves.
Continue reading “Turtle doves”
A Christmas Eve gallery of the reserve’s robins, photographed by DKG.
Fieldfare (Turdus pilarus) and redwing (Turdus musicus), migratory thrushes from mainland Europe, are common winter visitors to the park. They are easily confused; here is a video to help you distinguish the two species.
Header picture: Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris) by Teresa Reynolds (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Jenny Wren, the Eurasian wren, Troglodytes troglodytes.
Continue reading “Jenny Wren”
Simon Knight, our in-house wildlife photographer, has sent us a long tailed tit huddled against the cold of a frosty morning.
click here to see how such tiny birds cope with these freezing nights
Treat your garden birds with a Christmas bird table. Here are some suggestions:
Continue reading “Christmas bird table”
Birds need clean water for both drinking and bathing whatever the weather. We know you put out clean water for your garden visitors during the drought but please don’t forget they will need the same support as the temperature falls and natural sources of water freeze over.
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Southwick Country Park Nature Reserve 