Sunrise on the summer solstice by DKG. "A few photos of the sunrise on June 21st. The sky was producing some lovely cloud textures, a lovely dawn chorus as usual...." Click on the first picture to open the gallery:
Midsummer sunrise
The structure of orchids
We sent DKG, and his macro lens, to look at the common spotted orchids in Village Green. Orchid flowers appear very variable but are, in fact, all built to a unique but simple pattern. Orchids have three sepals, three petals and a column which contains the reproductive organs. Sepals are the petal-like structures... Continue Reading →
By DKG: "A few photos from a stroll last night, unfortunately the cloud closed in and even a few spots of the wet stuff, very dull and dismal. The Bluebells are situated in the copse in Brunt's Field; a lovely display this year after the haloing last year. There is no sign of the green... Continue Reading →
Reasons to scoop poop: no. 3
Most bio-degradable poo bags are not really bio-degradable; they are photo-degradable. In UV light their long molecular chains break down and they become lots of little pieces of plastic. If you wrap perfectly biodegradable dog faeces in non-biodegradable plastic and hang it in a tree, it either hangs there for years, is collected by a... Continue Reading →
Words and pictures by DKG. . . . I arrived at the owl location very early yesterday morning still hoping to get some decent photos of the barn owls hunting but once again neither Brenda or Barney was seen: quite possibly sitting on eggs? Whilst hidden under the camo net I heard something approaching: Clive... Continue Reading →
WINTER NOTES
BY SARAH MARSH The winter weather has not been kind to the Friends and all over the Park the ground has been very boggy and waterlogged. When it has stopped raining, we had to endure bitter icy cold winds blowing from the east. However, we are a hardy bunch and only missed one session of... Continue Reading →
Owl nesting boxes
In 2016, a pair of tawny owls nested in the owl box in Sheep Field and reared these two owlets. The parent birds returned in 2017 to inspect the box, but it obviously didn't meet their standard and they left. This year a pair of barn owls is hunting across the park, roosting in one... Continue Reading →
One of a pair of barn owls seen hunting over the park this weekend by DKG and Chris Seymour. Photograph: DKG
Listen to the robin's song. Robins sing all year round but their spring song is louder and more confident. Picture by DKG
Litter Picking
One of the perennial jobs around the Park is collecting litter. Most weeks sees one of the Friends with litter picker and rubbish sack in hand. All sorts of rubbish is found especially during the winter months when the foliage dies back and it is easier to spot. Sometimes we come across rubbish that has... Continue Reading →
Predation……
Last spring DKG, our in-house photographer, found a bluetit's nest in a hole in one of our veteran oaks. A couple of days later, he set up a hide, hoping to photograph the parent birds bringing food to their young. He found no bluetits.. . . . . . . A stoat is a fearsome... Continue Reading →
