A Beautiful Cold Day
Monday, April 16th 2012
A beautiful clear blue sky greeted the bird ringers this morning.
Wearing coats, hats, scarves and gloves they hurried around the frosty reserve putting up the mist nets.
During the day over 100 birds were processed including Chaffinches that were over 4 years old and a Bullfinch that was at least 6 years old. Willow Warblers had been heard on the reserve for a week and the first ones were caught and ringed today, along with 8 birds returning to Foxglove from Africa which were ringed here in previous years.
The bird ringers also worked on some of the net rides in preparation for the beginning of CES.
Thankfully the flowers and the trees have not been damaged too much by the frost. Primroses, Wood Anemones, Blackthorn and the cherry blossom provide nectar and pollen for insects on the wing. Some flowers, like this Dog Violet, have honey guides to direct the insect to the nectary, and in doing so ensure the insect becomes covered in pollen. When the insect visits another flower of the same species pollination is brought about and in time a seed will form.
Many trees rely on wind pollination and have separate male and female flowers. These catkins on the Silver Birch will soon be releasing their pollen.
You can see the sticky stigmas of the female flower (of the Birch) in the photograph below. These catch the pollen and so by the end of the summer the seeds will be dispersed all over the reserve!
The reserve was very busy with many new families and visitors, and it was nice to see the Woodcock still sitting tight while people passed by, oblivious, only a few metres from the nest.
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Reserve Access: Open, Field Centre Closure Tues 17th June
Wednesday 4th June 2025 |
Access is currently as normal and the reserve and field centre are open as usual.
The Field Centre will be closed on Tuesday 17th June for one day. The reserve is still open.
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Dragonfly Walk
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- Marsh Cinquefoil at Foxglove Covert
- Willow Seeds Floating on the Wind
- Working in the Sun
- Flowers at Foxglove Covert
- Working in the Sun
- Winter Work
- Wonderful Woodcock!
- Listing Birds
- Ring Barking in the Conifer Plantation
- Creating a Woodmeadow
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- Caught on Camera
- Behind the Barrier this July!
- Reserve Update
- Would You Like to be a Trustee?
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- Dead Hedging
- Beautiful Bird Boxes!
- Completed Coppice
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- Garden Birds
- Winter Fungi
- Winter highlights
- Happy 2024!
- Wonderful winter workers!
- Making A Start
- Visitor Information (Update)
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- Weekend Waxcaps
- Meadows and Ponds
- Meet Foxglove’s New Ranger
- All Work and No Play?
- Field Centre open Sunday 15th October 12 noon - 4.00pm
- Paving the Way
- Getting further, faster - together…
- Brian’s Baler!
- Reserve closed Tuesday 26th September 2023
- The Revolution has begun!
- Learning to Scythe with Steve Tomlin
- A fine time was had by all!
- Bird Ringing
- Galls
- Late Summer into Autumn
- News from the North
- Thank you!
- A Quiet Walk
- Hanging Around
- Mipits
- Common Lizards Again!!
- Species
- Bird Ringing
- Keeping Your Eyes Open
- Weekend opening hours Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th August
- We are recruiting!
- Thank yous and Bye Bye
- When the Sun Comes Out
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- More Wildlife
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- Butterfly Roundup
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- Weekend opening Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th July 2023
- Watching
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- Moth Update
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- June Flowers
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- Sharing Ideas
- Questions
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- Chasing the Chasers and Other Insects
- A Lesson - Perhaps?
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- Half Term Trail
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Nessa Sally responded on 31st Jan 2019 with...
I love to see it all and must say that all of these above images are adorable.