February’s Wildlife Watch Walk was held on Tuesday 21st of February, which happened to be during the half term holidays and it was lovely to welcome a small group of girls who joined us.
We immediately spotted some signs that spring was on its way as we walked through the Jenkinson Garden at the beginning of our walk, with the crocuses which were just peeking through the soil last month, now in full bloom.
We could hear a great tit shouting close to the bridge and a pair of coots were spotted in the undergrowth at the side of the island, along with a grey squirrel. We could also see goat willow in full bloom on the island.
Despite last month’s flooding, the water level in the pond has already receded significantly. There were 2 pairs of mute swans and one male on the lower end of the pond. We saw a number of mallards, including a female sitting on a branch of a tree by the side of the pond, creating a real racket!
We saw 2 robins and a number of wood pigeon and a red kite across the Great Meadow. There was a large cluster of frog spawn in the ditch that runs from the old oak tree to the hedge line. We noticed a deep hole that had been dug at an angle in the soil. We couldn’t identify what had created it, but we felt it was too deep and at the wrong angle to have been dug by a dog. A fungus, which we think were oyster mushrooms were seen growing on an old oak tree in the hedge line. The horse chestnut at the bottom of the meadow had large, sticky buds developing on it.
In the grassland, we noticed that the docks were starting to come through, thistles starting to develop, along with spurge, nettles, bitter cress and speedwell.
On the lawn, a number of daisies and a few lesser celandine were starting to flower, along with a carpet of snowdrops along the side of the lower path and the Ha-ha.
Wildlife Watch Walk February 2023
Posted: 28/02/2023 by Ffiona Jones
February’s Wildlife Watch Walk was held on Tuesday 21st of February, which happened to be during the half term holidays and it was lovely to welcome a small group of girls who joined us.
We immediately spotted some signs that spring was on its way as we walked through the Jenkinson Garden at the beginning of our walk, with the crocuses which were just peeking through the soil last month, now in full bloom.
We could hear a great tit shouting close to the bridge and a pair of coots were spotted in the undergrowth at the side of the island, along with a grey squirrel. We could also see goat willow in full bloom on the island.
Despite last month’s flooding, the water level in the pond has already receded significantly. There were 2 pairs of mute swans and one male on the lower end of the pond. We saw a number of mallards, including a female sitting on a branch of a tree by the side of the pond, creating a real racket!
We saw 2 robins and a number of wood pigeon and a red kite across the Great Meadow. There was a large cluster of frog spawn in the ditch that runs from the old oak tree to the hedge line. We noticed a deep hole that had been dug at an angle in the soil. We couldn’t identify what had created it, but we felt it was too deep and at the wrong angle to have been dug by a dog. A fungus, which we think were oyster mushrooms were seen growing on an old oak tree in the hedge line. The horse chestnut at the bottom of the meadow had large, sticky buds developing on it.
In the grassland, we noticed that the docks were starting to come through, thistles starting to develop, along with spurge, nettles, bitter cress and speedwell.
On the lawn, a number of daisies and a few lesser celandine were starting to flower, along with a carpet of snowdrops along the side of the lower path and the Ha-ha.
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