January 2025 Wildlife Update
Sophie, our Conservation Officer, shares some exciting wildlife sightings we’ve had in the Park this month, despite it being cold and damp:
Birds:
- Merlin – possibly the highlight of the month. This small falcon species didn’t hang around long but long enough for one of our eagle-eyed volunteers to spot it!
- Marsh Harrier – an infrequent visitor to the park.
- Egrets – we’ve had all three species this month: Cattle Egret, Great White Egret and Little Egret.
- Egyptian Geese have made an appearance.
- Yellowhammer
- Jackdaws – not usually a noteworthy bird, but there’s been a large group of at least 1,000 birds meeting to roost at Ham Mere in the evenings, which is quite a sight!
- Greater Spotted Woodpeckers have started drumming – Lynch Wood is a good place to hear them.
- Various winter wildfowl including Goosander, Wigeon, Pintail, Pochard, and Teal have been seen on the lakes.
- 66 species of bird have been recorded this month alone!
Other wild things:
- Mink – our first American Mink in over a year was caught, as part of the wider eradication programme in the region to try and remove this invasive, non-native species from the eastern region.
- Bee Orchids – lots of bee orchid leaf rosettes have been coming up, including at a new spot in Castor. Hopefully we’ll have a good number of them in the Ferry Meadows car park again this year, as long as the rabbits don’t nibble them!
- Bats – surveys are in the planning for the 2025 season. These will be a mixture of “sit and watch/listen” surveys and walking parts of the park with the detectors.
What a fantastic way to kick off 2025, what do you think you’ll spot in the Park this year?
