Nature Notes March 2025
Date Published: 06-04-2025
A very dry month with minimal rainfall.
SIGHTINGS
Birds (seen/heard/in flight): Carrion Crows, Magpies, Jays, Buzzards, Herring Gulls, Tawny Owls, Sparrowhawk, Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Wood Pigeons, Nuthatches, Siskins, Stonechats, Blackcaps, Chiffchaffs, Wrens, Goldcrest, Firecrest, Robins, Blackbirds, Dunnocks, Chaffinches, Bullfinches, Goldfinches, Coal/Blue/Great/Long-tailed Tits.
Insects: Wasps, Woodlice, Midge, Buff-tailed Bees, Bee-Flies, Flies, Black Ants.
Mammals: Grey Squirrels, Mole activity, Hedgehogs.
Butterflies/Moths: Brimstone, Peacock, Red Admiral.
Plants in flower/Berry: Common Gorse, Catkins, Cotoneaster, Wild Cherry.
Pond Life: Pond Skater, Whirlygig Beetles, Backswimmers.
The warmer days at the end of the month encouraged leaf growth on plants.
Birds were paired, showing interest in nest boxes and building materials.
Bird song and calls filled the air waves.
Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs arrived for the summer.
A Red Kite was seen in flight over the Reserve, one of several sightings in the area in recent weeks.
Recorders: C & K Wilcox
NATURE FACT
The Red Kite are magnificent fliers, circling tirelessly for hours over wooded valleys on their long, slender wings, steering with their forked tails as they scan the earth for small mammals, which they kill with a sudden pounce to the ground. Their effortless flight long ago added a word to the English language ie the kites which children fly get their name from the bird. Pairs of Kites join in aerobatics in their courtship ceremony, and there is the diving display flight common to many birds of prey.
Red Kite Image by K Wilcox
