Bats, Chickens and a lot of Hard Work

Tuesday, October 11th 2011

What a busy day it has been at Foxglove!  Firstly the timber for the felled plantation was again being extracted from site. 

All 53 bat boxes are checked once a year for evidence of usage by bats as summer roosts.  Tom and Brian finished checking the boxes and found a total of 7 bats in residence.  This lucky box housed four pipistrelle bats and they found single bats in three other boxes. In addition there was evidence of usage of other boxes as either birds and bat roosts. The total number of bats seen was a record for the Adopt-A-Box Scheme.

Pips roosting in a box

Otter spraint are becoming more commonly spotted along Risedale Beck, Ken installed his motion camera here in hope of getting some photos of them.  It will be looked at next Tuesday; make sure you check the blog then to see if it was successful!

Installing the motion camera

Volunteers have again been hard at work clearing young Silver Birch from the side of the lake to make a grassy bank that will be a good viewing point for wading birds!  The scrub in front of the lake hide was also cleared greatly improving views of the lake.

Chicken Run

The reserve has been home to a cockerel from the Officers' Mess for the last six weeks.  Foggy, Compo and Clegg were keen this morning to take it back to its proper home, however they were outwitted by the chicken and had to give up on their rescue attempt!

After lunch other volunteers decided to try their luck, and tempted it out of the undergrowth using Sophie's delicious banana muffins!  The muffins went down well and soon Jack and Richard had him netted!  He is now happily relocated back with the chickens at the Officers' Mess!

Got It!


(0) Comments:

There are no comments for this blog post yet. Why not start the discussion? - use the form below:


Leave a Comment:

Please complete this field, it's required. Your email address will not be displayed but it's required.

Your email address will not be displayed but it's required.

Remember my personal information

Notify me of follow-up comments?


Back to Top

Help Support Foxglove

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.

More Details

Upcoming Events


Access to the Reserve: OPEN with limited access

Monday 18th March 2024 |

The reserve is now open, although again with limited access.

Visitors will be able to access the reserve with the use of key fobs provided at the pass office upon entrance to the camp, or will be provided entrance and exit through the access gate by an officer from the camp Guard Room. In this case visitors will need a mobile phone to call the Guard Room when they wish to exit the reserve.

Please be aware that due to these circumstances, entering and leaving the reserve might take a little longer than usual.



Bird Watching for Beginners

Thursday 18th April 2024 | 10am-1pm

Improve your bird spotting and identification skills with this guided bird watching session. Learn how to identicy common species, differentiate between confusion species and how to get started learning bird calls. A great opportunity to ask questions and learn alongside others.

£3 per person. Free for volunteers and Friends of Foxglove and voluteers.

Booking essential. Fill in the booking form by clicking the link below! Pay via paypal or in person on the day.



VIEW ALL EVENTS

Recent Blog Posts

Blog Archive