Recent news from the park, from my social distanced walks.
In early April the highlight is the native Bluebells in Horse Close Wood, best seen along the bluebell path entered through the eastermost tree planting. Blackthorn flowering is over, but the Lesser celandines remain and Hawthorn flowers are just breaking out and there are some early flowers on the Cow parsley. The wood also has many flowers of Cuckoo pint. The fenced-off area under the veteran Oak has an interesting story to tell. Without mowing, species that must have been arriving every year now have a chance to establish. Notable is a species that has arrived in the intestines of birds, there are many tiny seedlings of Hawthorn, donated by birds that have eaten the haws elsewhere and perched in the branches above. In contrast is several seedling Buddleja established in the stony soil near to the fence. These seeds blow in the wind and Buddleja is notorious for establishing in places with difficult growing conditions. The third intresting species is Lesser chickweed, which is easily missed as its tiny green flowers lack petals and it produces seed and dies back early in the summer. There are three patches of this, rarely recorded, plant. In the grassland strip between the tennis courts and the tube line is another plant colonist. The Blackthorn in the planted hedge is making its way west apace. Whether the failure to mow here was deliberate or not we don't know, but it's well-known that trees and shrubs will colonise quickly where there's not at least one cut a year. At this rate we will have a dense stand of Blackthorn on this edge. Just around the corner from there, the two Dove trees beside the tennis courts were in flower, worth a look as this is the only time of the year when these look great.
The lake still has Pochards (six males and one female), so our site is still contrary to the national decline. Two adult Black-headed gulls remain behind whilst the others have all departed for breeding sites elsewhere. If they are a pair, it's likely they are inexperienced, but still may have a go at breeding, building a nest on one of the rafts. There are two pairs of Great-crested grebes, which will certainly try to breed. The second pair of Mute Swans seem to finally have been seen off from the lake, as have the two remaining cygnets from last spring. So, we are down to what was typical of the time before the big influx five years ago, just the one pair of swans. Some 20 Jackdaws remain in the area and one was seen carrying nesting material. Perhaps they will come to breed in the holes available in the larger trees.
Work is under way to make the Elizabeth Pool safe to use, perhaps an irony in this year when the play areas are closed. The usual herbicide spray has been used around trees and at the bottom of fences, again most of the places sprayed would present no problem with a bit of longer herbage around them.
In early April the highlight is the native Bluebells in Horse Close Wood, best seen along the bluebell path entered through the eastermost tree planting. Blackthorn flowering is over, but the Lesser celandines remain and Hawthorn flowers are just breaking out and there are some early flowers on the Cow parsley. The wood also has many flowers of Cuckoo pint. The fenced-off area under the veteran Oak has an interesting story to tell. Without mowing, species that must have been arriving every year now have a chance to establish. Notable is a species that has arrived in the intestines of birds, there are many tiny seedlings of Hawthorn, donated by birds that have eaten the haws elsewhere and perched in the branches above. In contrast is several seedling Buddleja established in the stony soil near to the fence. These seeds blow in the wind and Buddleja is notorious for establishing in places with difficult growing conditions. The third intresting species is Lesser chickweed, which is easily missed as its tiny green flowers lack petals and it produces seed and dies back early in the summer. There are three patches of this, rarely recorded, plant. In the grassland strip between the tennis courts and the tube line is another plant colonist. The Blackthorn in the planted hedge is making its way west apace. Whether the failure to mow here was deliberate or not we don't know, but it's well-known that trees and shrubs will colonise quickly where there's not at least one cut a year. At this rate we will have a dense stand of Blackthorn on this edge. Just around the corner from there, the two Dove trees beside the tennis courts were in flower, worth a look as this is the only time of the year when these look great.
The lake still has Pochards (six males and one female), so our site is still contrary to the national decline. Two adult Black-headed gulls remain behind whilst the others have all departed for breeding sites elsewhere. If they are a pair, it's likely they are inexperienced, but still may have a go at breeding, building a nest on one of the rafts. There are two pairs of Great-crested grebes, which will certainly try to breed. The second pair of Mute Swans seem to finally have been seen off from the lake, as have the two remaining cygnets from last spring. So, we are down to what was typical of the time before the big influx five years ago, just the one pair of swans. Some 20 Jackdaws remain in the area and one was seen carrying nesting material. Perhaps they will come to breed in the holes available in the larger trees.
Work is under way to make the Elizabeth Pool safe to use, perhaps an irony in this year when the play areas are closed. The usual herbicide spray has been used around trees and at the bottom of fences, again most of the places sprayed would present no problem with a bit of longer herbage around them.
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