Countryside Rangers Diary
July
Noon in high summer, and barely a breath of wind stirs the grass.
This is what we can look forward to this month.
Little is moving in the countryside as the sun heats everything, the
best time for wildlife-watching occur early or late in the day, when the
dew is still on the grass, the air is fresh and fewer people are out and
about.
When you visit the Park take a trip to the shop. This year we have a
miniature camera that is positioned next to a Swallows nest. The live
pictures are relayed into the shop onto a TV screen. She successfully
hatched 3 eggs and both the male and female are feeding the young. Once
these fledge we hope she will have a second brood for us to watch.
Get belly-down with the reptiles !!
Pick a day when the sun is strong
early in the morning, you may be lucky to see them warming up in the
suns first rays of the day.
You may see an adder (Vipera berus), which is our most widespread
snake. The slow worm (Anguis fragilis) (which is actually a lizard) is
often found on the boarders of grassland or of woodland. They prefer the
damper areas; they may venture out after rain or in the evening.
The grass snake (Natrix natrix) is an egg-layer. The female may hang
around where she has layed her eggs, which is usually in or around
rotting vegetation, why not check your own compost heap. The warm
weather and the heat from the decomposing vegetation provide the snake
clutches of up to 40 leathery-skinned eggs with perfect incubation
conditions.
Vegetation hollows create sheltered hotspots and so look along the
edges of the footpaths. When you are walking long the paths and you hear
an energetic rustle you have probably passed a highly-strung common
lizard (Lacterta vivipara). If you focus your attention on this spot
(try not to cast your shadow over the area) it will in most instances
creep back into place.
Aerial Acrobatics !!
Many of this years young raptors (birds of prey) have left the nest,
they still have much to learn. Young tawny owls, looking like awkward
feathered gnomes, are often found in daylight perched in obvious places.
Please leave them should you find one, the parents are usually keeping
an eye on their unruly youngsters.
Young buzzards, kestrels and sparrowhawks are easily spotted as they
sit on fence posts and in trees wailing for food.
Peregrine falcons often visit the park, the parents often pass food
to the youngsters in mid air, and the aerial displays of these birds are
hard to beat.
Enjoy the sunshine, sit back and watch!!!