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 [...]
The Winterbourne stream flow through the north end of the nature reserve and is an important part of the patchwork of interconnecting habitats. In the summer the winterbourne is a slow meandering stream. In the winter months, a much larger volume of water flows along the winterbourne only flows in winter which normally flows direct [...]
We often associate migration with the summer months in particular the long distance migrants, such as swallows and swifts, which breed in the UK and Europe and spend the winter in Africa. But some birds actually chose to migrate to visit the UK in the winter. Why do you think they chose to do this? [...]
We have had to remove the pond surface camera due to increased water levels and we have also re-sited ditch cam for the same reason. This means that for the next few month we will be operating just two of our four cameras (bird feeder and ditch). However, we have exciting ideas for re-siting the [...]
The nature reserve has now settled into autumn and I took a walk around the reserve to see how some of the areas not covered by the webcams had been changing. Many of the trees have now shed their leaves and changed colour but why? Well, they do this to conserve water and energy during the winter. [...]
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 [...]
Blue tits and great tits are now regular visitors to our bird feeder. While there are similarities in colour, the blue tit is the smaller of the two birds. Both birds have white cheeks but the blue tit has a blue cap and a black stripe that passes through the eye. The larger great tit [...]
We are starting to see some of the woodland birds forming winter feeding flocks. In the summer the birds are spread out through the woodland, engaged in nest building and the busy duties of feeding and rearing their young. Through autumn into winter, some species start to form winter flocks, often a mixture of two [...]
During a walk around the reserve yesterday I was surprised to see that a large dragonfly, possibly a faded southern hawker (it did not settle so not definite ID.) was actively flying back and forth near the Winterbourne stream. Adult dragonflies usually have a short life compared to their nymph that live beneath the surface of [...]
