A month of very mixed weather for our area. Heavy snow fall, frost, wet and windy, with only a few dry milder days.
SIGHTINGS
Hazelwood- Nuthatch, Wrens, Chaffinches, Siskins, Great Spotted Woodpeckers, all Tit species, Goldcrests, Blackbirds, Robins, Song Thrush, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Male Pheasant, Female Tawny Owl.
Wet Wood- All Tit species, Nuthatch, Tree Creeper, Song Thrush, Blackbirds, Robins, Sparrowhawk, Wrens.
Beaufoys Plantation- Great Spotted Woodpecker, Siskins, Goldcrests.
Western Enclosure- Green Woodpecker, Dartford Warbler.
Eastern Enclosure- Pair of Snipe, pair of Stonechat, Dartford Warbler, Green Woodpecker, first sighting of Pond Skaters on the surface of the acid pools(12/3).
Beaufoys Bog- Pair of Snipe, Dartford Warbler, female Roe Deer.
Buzzards Carr- Buzzards.
Wild Wood- Jays, Bramblings.
Dragonfly Drop- Flock of Redwing, Buzzards.
Roe Deer footprints found in snow and soft mud. Several Raptor strike remains have been found on site.
The Blue Tit study is ongoing. Daylight activity has increased to 12 hours and the bird continues to night roost. Will it choose to use this box for nesting with a partner?
The spider shown this month is the Heath or 4 Spot Orb Weaver, another specie observed during the Summer 2008 survey. This large brightly coloured spider lives on grassland, heathland and hedgerows. The abdomen may be yellow, orange, green, red or brown. It spins a large vertical orb-web built low down among ground vegetation. It catches mainly grasshoppers, crickets and other jumping insects
