Nature Notes December

                                               

December was unusually mild with strong winds and heavy rain for  the majority of the month.

SIGHTINGS
Birds:   Carrion Crows, Jackdaws, Jays, Magpies, Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Tawny Owls, Green/Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Wood Pigeons, Collared Dove, Black-headed Gulls, Stonechat, Siskins, Redwings, Blackbirds, Robins, Song Thrushes, Wrens, Goldcrest, Chaffinches, Goldfinches, Greenfinches, Bullfinches, Coal/Blue/Great/Long-tailed Tits, Nuthatches.
Mammals:   Grey Squirrels, Indication of Mole movement, Wood Mouse.
Butterflies/Moths:   Red Admiral.
Plants in flower:   Gorse.
Insects:   Several species of Bees.
Fungi:   Birch Polypore, Sickener.
Pond Life:   Whirlygig Beetles.

Tawny Owls heard on most nights.
A flock of Redwing at various locations on site, stripping Holly bushes of their berries.
Many bird species seen defending their territories.
The clearance of bird boxes of last years contents has been delayed, due to the hazardous weather and ground conditions on site.

WORK  PARTY
The December work party continued the coppicing of gorse and clearing overgrown vegetation from the fenceline bordering the dry heath area north of the Redwood Drive entrance. Accumulated cuttings were burnt. The next work party is scheduled for Tuesday 26th January, details will be published on this blog page shortly before this date.

Nature Fact

Redwings are Winter visitors,  fractionally smaller in size to the Song Thrush.  The ‘seep’ sound is the commonest flight call of the Redwing.  Distinctive markings are the pale eye-stripe above and below the eyes, with red flanks.  Redwings breed in Iceland in the Summer months and are visitors in Scotland during the winter, spreading southwards if the weather conditions deteriorate.