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Welcome Student Members!

dragonfly

Summer certainly seems to have come to an end, but what does this mean for wildlife and nature in our district? Many species will have “disappeared,” or so it might seem.

Some, such as colonies of bumblebees, have largely reduced down to just the hardy queens, who will have found a nesting space to hibernate in over winter with their small food supply. Bumblebee queens, such as buff-tails or red-tails, will have nested underground, in leaf litter, or in tussocky grass. Where can you imagine wildlife might have hidden itself around where you live?

However, not all wildlife hides out of sight. Migratory birds, largely from colder regions like Scandinavia and Siberia, travel to the southwest of England during the coming months. Species such as redwings and fieldfares can be seen feeding on berries and in open fields. Wetlands also attract many wading birds, such as wigeon and teal, while many resident species, such as robins, blackbirds, and wrens, also remain throughout winter.

These latter garden species, as well as birds like blue tits, great tits, and sparrows, can be given a helping hand by you! You can put out bird feeders and make fat bombs to hang in your window or garden to help them fatten up in preparation for winter!

It’s important not to forget that all of our native and migratory species are important, but also very different from each other. These feeding stations will only be visited by a handful of our beautiful birds. Other birds, as well as small mammals, rely on different kinds of foods, such as insects and berries. For these feathered and furry friends, be mindful of any bushes with berries near you and delay trimming them while they still have fruit. The blackberries have come out quite early this year, which is exciting to add to crumbles, but remember to leave at least half of the berries in an area for the wildlife who rely on them for food.

Speaking of food for wildlife, remember to plant your wildflower seeds now so that they will be ready for our pollinators next spring!

Create Outdoor Crafts

Pressed Flowers

Place individual flowers between sheets of tissue paper inside a large heavy book if you don't have a press.Once dried you can use them for crafting

Create Leaf Rubbings

Place a leaf under a piece of paper and rub a crayon over it to see its pattern

Painting Rocks

Find smooth rocks and paint fun designs on them

Stick Sculptures

Use sticks to build small sculptures or even a tiny fort

Feather Hunt

How many feathers can you find? Which bird they are from? Stick them to a piece of paper and add the missing information or use them for crafting

Know Your Owls

Barn Owl

The Barn Owl is a distinctive and much-loved countryside bird. Widely distributed across the UK it has a heart-shaped face, buff back and wings and pure white underparts. They are avid hunters, scouring open grassland for small mammals such as voles, mice, shrews and rats. They catch prey with ease thanks to their incredible long-distance vision, sensitive hearing and silent flight.

Little Owl

Little Owls usually hunt from a perch, typically a fence post. They like mixed farmland as well as open wooded areas and can be very noisy and territorial. They nest in holes, often in trees and like to use the same nest every year. They are small owls with brown and white colouring and they like to be out and about during the day as well as the evening. They eat a lot of insects.

Tawny Owl

These beautiful owls like woodlands and choose to eat small mammals like mice and shrews. They like to nest in tree holes but don't like buildings. They are the most commonly found owl in the UK and young birds leave the nest very early to sit around nearby so sometimes they can be found on the ground and should always be left alone. They make the classic twit-twoo noise but this is made by a pair of birds calling and answering each other. They also make a "kewick" noise so you can get lots of interesting duets.

Long Eared Owl

The Long-eared owl is one of the rarest native owls. Highly secretive and strictly nocturnal, they choose quiet, isolated areas away from people like woodland or dense hedgerows.

With its long ear tufts, they can't be mistaken for any other owl.

Short Eared Owl

Short-eared owls are not as common as other owls in UK but their numbers are increased by the many winter migrants coming from Scandinavia. They are found in Wales, Ireland, Scotland and North England. The like to hunt small mammals over grasslands at dusk and dawn. They have short ear tufts but are otherwise quite similar to tawny owls.