A Special Glimpse!

Tuesday, December 15th 2020

The Foxglove bird ringers monitor over 100 large nest boxes. This year, a camera was placed inside one of the Tawny Owl nest boxes for a two week period. The resulting pictures are really special because Tawny Owls are strictly nocturnal and rarely seen during the daytime unless they are disturbed.

With Tawny Owls, incubation starts with the first egg, leading to asynchronous hatching – a clever plan which increases the survival of at least some chicks if food is scarce. In this box there were two healthy owlets and you can see from their size that they are slightly different ages due to the hatching strategy. The photographs were taken in the middle of May when the chicks were around 4 weeks old.

The pictures captured moments that show the close bond between the adult and chicks such as at feeding times.

The adults could also be seen preening their young.

The pair of chicks seemed to be well fed and content. They were both ringed and managed to fledge successfully.

The ringers received an email from the BTO (British Trust for Ornithology) today reporting that one of the Barn Owls that was ringed as a chick earlier in the year had been found injured in the road. It was cared for and then when fit and strong enough, it was released back into the wild. Another happy ending!

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Friends of Foxglove

The Friends of Foxglove Covert is for those individuals, families and organisations who would like to support the reserve through an annual membership subscription. Friends receive a regular newsletter and invitations to attend our various activities and social events.

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Upcoming Events

Family Pond Dipping 1

Wednesday 28th July 2021 | 45 minute sessions on the hour

Come along and find out which animals are living in some of the Foxglove ponds. Book a pond dipping session for your family bubble. There will be a socially distanced brief to set you off and then you can use the equipment for the remainder of the session. You will be requested to use hand gel on arrival and the net handles will be cleaned between sessions. Please call the Reserve Managers on 07754 270980 to book your allocated slot. You are advised to arrive 15 minutes before your allocated time.

Booking is essential. A donation in advance (card payment by phone) of £5 per family bubble is required in order to secure your booking.

Family Pond Dipping 2

Wednesday 4th August 2021 | 45 minute sessions on the hour

Come along and find out which animals are living in some of the Foxglove ponds. Book a pond dipping session for your family bubble. There will be a socially distanced brief to set you off and then you can use the equipment for the remainder of the session. You will be requested to use hand gel on arrival and the net handles will be cleaned between sessions. Please call the Reserve Managers on 07754 270980 to book your allocated slot. You are advised to arrive 15 minutes before your allocated time.

Booking is essential. A donation in advance (card payment by phone) of £5 per family bubble is required in order to secure your booking.

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