Nature Fact

Willow Catkins
 Many of us are familiar with the soft grey silky catkins of pussy willow or the long hanging catkins known as ‘lamb’s tails’ that appear on Hazel trees.  A catkin is a structure consisting of many extremely small flowers in which petals and sepals are usually absent.  These structures are necessary to insect-pollinated flowers, since they help to attract insects, but are mostly wind-pollinated.

Nature Notes February

Heavy rain continued throughout February, causing waterlogged ground on site. Temperatures continued to be on the mild side.

SIGHTINGS
Birds:   Jackdaws, Jays, Carrion Crows, Magpies, Wood Pigeons, Stock Doves, Black-headed Gulls, Buzzards, Tawny Owl, Heron,
Canada Geese, Snipe, Green/Great Spotted Woodpecker, Siskins, Redwings, Blackbirds, Robins, Song Thrushes, Wrens, Coal/Blue/Great/Long-tailed Tits, Goldcrest, Dunnocks, Nuthatches, Treecreeper, Bullfinches, Chaffinches, Greenfinches, Goldfinches.
Mammals:   Grey Squirrels, Fox, Wood Mice.
Plants in flower:   Gorse.
Insects:   Bees.
Butterflies:   Red Admiral, Brimstone.

A pair of Canada Geese were seen in flight over the site, on several occasions.
A Tawny Owl was heard calling at dusk on the west side of the Reserve.
A Snipe took flight north of the board walk.
Pairing of birds is well underway already, probably due to the mild weather.

Nest boxes were cleared in January, delayed from November, due to the bad weather.  The survey showed 21 had been occupied, 11 not used, 3 boxes missing.

Nature Fact

The Black-headed Gull, often seen in flight over the Reserve, often causes confusion due to the variety of changing plumage.  In Summer, the black head is in reality chocolate brown forming a hood stretching down the nape and broken only by a white ring round the eye. The beak, legs and feet are a deep blood-red.  In Winter, the brown hood is lost and replaced by white plumage with a small grey-brown smudge behind the eye, with the beak and legs showing as a muddier red colour.  

Nature Notes January

The weather continued to be wet and windy, with the occasional dry period. Nationally, rainfall was twice the normal January average resulting in extensive waterlogging on the Reserve.

SIGHTINGS 
Birds:   Jackdaws, Jays, Carrion Crows, Magpies, Wood Pigeons, Stock Doves, Black-headed Gulls, Buzzards, Green/Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Siskins, Redwings, Blackbirds, Song Thrushes, Robins, Coal/Blue/Great/Long-tailed Tits, Wrens, Goldcrests, Dunnocks, Nuthatches, Treecreeper, Bullfinches, Chaffinches, Greenfinches, Goldfinches.
Mammals:   Wood Mice, Grey Squirrels, Fox.
Plants in flower:   Gorse.
Insects:   Bees.

A flock of Redwings were seen in the woodland at Kingfisher Creek.

Nature Fact

Deciduous woodlands consist of four main layers of vegetation, each providing living space for different mammal species.  Some, such as Pymy Shrews, spend their entire lives at one level; others, such as Squirrels and Woodmice, move between layers.  Competition for space is not as great as it is in the less complex habitats of fields or moorland and many more species are accommodated into the woodland environment eg Fox, Badger, Wood Mice, Dormouse, Squirrel, Mole, Shrew and Deer.