Another period of changeable weather including warm sunny days, wet windy days, frosty mornings and a day of snow and sleet.
SIGHTINGS
Heathland - Buzzards in flight, Dartford Warblers, Stonechats, Green Woodpeckers, Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Jays, Crows, Jackdaws in flight, Wrens, Goldcrest, Female Roe Deer and a pair of Mallard Ducks.
Hazel Wood - Brambling, Green Finch, Gold Finch, Chaffinch, Great/Coal/Blue/Long Tailed Tits, Jays, Crows, Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Sparrowhawk, Blackbirds, Robins, Song Thrush, Holly Blue/Peacock/Brimstone butterflies.
Wet Wood - Song Thrush, Wrens, Blue/Great/Coal/Long Tailed Tits, Nuthatch, Blackbirds, Robins, Mallard Ducks.
The Mallards were seen taking advantage of the waterlogged paths on the central heath probing for worms on the soft earth.
The sighting of a male Brambling in Hazel Wood on the West boundary with Hazel Drive is the first recording since our records began four years ago. Probably passing through on its migration flight.
A pair of Nuthatch have been very vocal in Wet Wood. They are about to nest in a hole in a Cedar tree on the boundary of Beaufoys Avenue.
A pair of Great Spotted Woodpeckers have been "drumming" at the West end of Hazel Wood path to declaring their nesting and feeding territory. They have been making regular visits to gardens in Hazel Drive for easy food from feeding stations.
Dartford Warblers and Stonechats are now selecting nest sites on the heath. A polite reminder to all dog owners, therefore, to keep their dogs on leads in the enclosed areas as requested by the signs on access gates.
We await arrival of Tree Pipits during April and Nightjars in May.
Adders, Grass Snakes and Slow Worms may be observed on warmer days in coming weeks as they bask in the sun after hibernation.
Recordings by Christine Wilcox
