September 2025 Wildlife Update
Autumn is in full swing and winter is on the way! The wildlife around the park can be seen preparing for winter, the squirrels are gathering as many nuts as possible, and one of the winter visiting birds have started arriving.
Bird highlights:
- Redwing – first two spotted by one of our regular birders last week and are one of the many visiting winter birds
- Wigeon – a visiting winter duck, being spotted more frequently and in bigger numbers as September has gone on
- Hobby – seen passing through
- Pintail – a few being spotted around, mostly on Lynch Lake
- Osprey – spotted at the beginning of September passing through, likely one of the resident ones from Rutland Water starting its migration south
- Redstart
- Red Crested Pochard
Other wildlife highlights:
- Common Lizard – a few adults and a juvenile have been spotted near M’Lady’s Pond in Castor (managed for us by the Langdyke Trust), an exiting species to be moving in to the area
- Water Vole – signs spotted on one of the Mink rafts on the Rural Estate
- Nathusius’ Pipistrelle bat – confirmed at Lynch Farm as well as other locations in Ferry Meadows
- Lots of fungi are starting to emerge – keep your eye out for the various ones around the park, but best to look and not touch, unless you’re 100% sure what they are!
