Grasses

Grasses are flowering plants; they have all the same bits and pieces as a buttercup or a dandelion. The difference is that they are wind pollinated so they have not adapted their structure to meet the needs of insect pollinators; they have no scent, no nectaries, no colours or ultra-violet sign posts and no petals to make landing platforms.

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Christmas robins

A Christmas Eve gallery of the reserve’s robins, photographed by DKG.

Camouflage

Some of our residents are really quite hard to see. Here are some of the late DKG’s pictures of the well-camouflaged.

Header picture: public domain.

Robins, male and female, sing all year round but the male’s spring song is louder and more confident as he prepares to do battle for territory and a mate.

Header image by Simon Knight
Audio: European Robin from xeno-canto by david m.

Christmas robins

A Christmas Eve gallery of the park’s robins, photographed by DKG.

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

Christmas robins

A Christmas Eve gallery of the park’s robins, photographed by DKG.

Camouflage

Some of our residents are really quite hard to see. Here are some of DKG’s pictures of the well-camouflaged.

Header picture: public domain.

Fact of the week

A robin’s lifespan is just 13 months on average due to high mortality among robins in their first year. However, once they’ve passed that first year barrier, they stand a much better chance of surviving for quite a while – the record currently stands at 19 years!

All pictures taken in the park by DKG

DKG

We are saddened to announce the loss of DKG, our gifted in-house photographer; David Keith Galliers died peacefully at home after a short illness.

We will miss his dry sense of humour, his kindness and his hard-working enthusiasm for the park, which he recorded for us in all its seasons and moods. His obsession with early morning light has left us some truly unforgettable images.

Our heartfelt condolences go to his family.

Frosty Morning

Some of DKG’s gorgeous pictures of frosty mornings in the park.

Chiffchaff or willow warbler?

DKG has sent in beautiful pictures of a tiny green-brown warbler; does anybody know if it is a chaffchaff or a willow warbler? Neither is a rarity and both are known to nest in the park but we really have trouble telling them apart.

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