Last Friday, after Robsac School's pond dipping session, we found a small pond animal swimming around in the container which was pointed out by one of the children. We had already chosen the 10 pond creatures for the broadcast so it was not mentioned. However this fascinating pond creature is called Argulus also known as a fish louse. [...]
In the autumn last year, adult common eels migrated down the river Ouse and other Sussex rivers to the sea. Their return to the sea was the first stage of a very long migration when thousands of common eels swim to the Sargasso Sea where they are believed to breed. The adult eels live in [...]
We have been seeing some great views of waterfowl through the ditch cam and Winterbourne stream cam. There are 3 main species of water fowl that we regularly seen on the nature reserve. These are the moorhen, coot and mallard. Coots and moorhen are not ducks but belong to a group of birds known called Rails. [...]
One of the big wildlife events of the year in the ponds and ditches is the arrival of common frogs, following their winter hibernation. Frogs spend most of their life on land, but when they awaken from hibernation they feed and then head off to the pond and ditches to mate. The frogs feed using [...]
Many animals awaken from hibernation in March and so as we start April many of the animals are out and about. Newts, which have hibernated away from the ponds and ditches, will now be active. They will slowly make their way back to water, but its slow progress. On land newts look like lizards, but their movements are [...]
There has not been a lot activity on the reserve during the winter months. Why do you think this might be? Animals have different ways of coping with the severe winter weather. Some animals, especially birds, stay active during the winter and we have seen this through the bird cam. A few species of bird [...]
The underwater webcam on the Leighside pond has shown that newts are already in the pond. Newts usually return to the pond in the spring. They hibernate away from the ponds and ditches in the winter but they are active already. Why do you think this might be? Firstly we have had a mild winter so far. [...]
We have had a very unusual winter so far, much milder than normal on many days, but also very changeable. Why do we think this is happening and what makes it so changeable? Well firstly wind has brought warmer weather from the south and the west giving us a mild winter when countries to the [...]
Blue tit and the larger great tit are frequent visitors to the bird feeder. Observe a bird feeder for any length of time you will notice that there is a distinct pecking order. Especially between species. Blue tit will often be chased off by a great tit and a great tit will give way to an [...]
One of my favourite visitors to the bird feeder is the great spotted woodpecker. In the woodland, views are restricted to a quick flash of black and white as it flies past, or the distant drumming. Small air pockets in the skull help cushion the impact as the woodpecker strikes the tree with its beak [...]
