This is an archive of past Wildlife Walks

DAWN CHORUS

Join the Friends of the Country Park and be part of one of nature’s amazing spectacles — listen to the birds welcoming another spring day. Early start – meet the Friends and the Countryside Warden at 5am by the Visitor Centre, off Albert Road

Next walk: Sunday 12th May 2019

Walk report: 5th May 2018

For the eight of us who dragged ourselves out of our beds for a 5 am start, there were many rewards on our annual Dawn Chorus Walk led by warden, Rob Spencer

As dawn broke over the Country Park, we were greeted with the call of the wren – the loudest noise for such a small bird and certain to wake us if we were still feeling a bit sleepy. This was soon followed by the many different songs of the aptly named song thrush. As we wandered through the mist hanging over the wetlands, we heard a black cap warbler, a green finch, a great tit and a couple of Egyptian geese flew over our heads

The view over the mist-covered lake was spectacular and a sign of the warm day to come. On our way back to the visitor centre, we spotted reed warblers, dunnocks and white throats who are late risers compared to the others. All in all, we heard and saw around 20 species of birds. It was definitely worth the early start

BUTTERFLIES

Walk report: “18 Friends of SNCP gathered for the walk. What a great morning we had for it bright and sunny with a gentle breeze. As we strolled through the Park, Malcolm Bridges pointed out the various species and also talked about the plants and vegetation the butterflies feed on

We saw 10 species during 2 hours and Malcolm showed us where the colonies of Purple and White Letter Hairstreak congregate, high in the oaks and elms on the Elmers End border. The elms are the food plant of the White Letter and the best time to see them active in the tree canopy is during light summer evenings. Very special, as the White Letter Hairstreak is a Priority Species for conservation”