Nature Notes February 2022

Date Published: 28-02-2022

February brought Storms Dudley, Eunice and Franklin which felled trees, branches and debris on Slop Bog.

SIGHTINGS
Birds (seen or heard) : Common Gulls, Black-headed Gulls, Carrion Crows, Magpies, Jays, Buzzards, Tawny Owl, Wood Pigeons, Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Nuthatches, Blackbirds, Robins, Dunnocks, Goldfinches, Greenfinches, Chaffinches, Bullfinches, Siskins, Stonechats. Wrens, Coal/Blue/Great/Long-tailed Tits.
Insects: Buff-tailed Bees, Midges, Sheet Web Spiders.
Mammals: Roe Deer, Grey Squirrels, Foxes.
Butterflies: Peacocks, Brimstone.
Plants (in flower or berry) : Holly Berries, Ivy seed heads, Cotoneaster, Common Gorse.
Pond Life: Whirlygig Beetles.

Bird song has returned early this year, noticeably with the Tit and Robin species.
The Parasitic disease Cnemidocoptic has been spotted on many Bullfinches, Chaffinches, Goldfinches and Greenfinches in the Slop Bog area.

NATURE FACT
Cnemidocoptic is a skin infection where mites are found deep within the skin layers where they cause proliferative lesions that typically develop around the digits and foot, extending up the entire leg. This condition is often called “scaly foot”.

Recorders: C. Wilcox K. Wilcox

SITE MANAGEMENT
The work party cleared Willow and Birch saplings and Gorse along the western perimeter bordering the paddock. Volunteers removed trees and fallen branches blocking pathways.