NOVEMBER – What to look out for
Welcome to November!
The clocks have gone back, so dusk comes early in November. The first frosts will arrive and the trees are rapidly losing their leaves….but it’s a good time for wildlife spotting. Winter visitors are streaming in, so there’s lots to look out for!
The North Pools
As the cold sets in further north and east, many ducks fly in to enjoy our milder winters. We do regular monitoring counts on the reserve and the charts of the duck numbers on the North Pools clearly show this happening. Though the counts have been disrupted somewhat during COVID but the charts below give an indication of what you might expect.
Wigeon and Shoveler
These two species spend their summer further north and just visit us in the winter.The numbers that reach us will depend on how harsh the winter is elsewhere.
Will this year bring bigger numbers?
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The South Pool
The South Pool hide is a great place to sit and search for Snipe. Snipe numbers also increase in the winter, but they are hard to spot amongst the tussocky grasses because of their amazing camouflage. They have impressively long beaks for their size and fly away with a zig-zag flight if disturbed.
The Hedgerows
You should start to see the winter thrushes. Look out for big flocks of both Redwings, Fieldfares and Blackbirds on the Hawthorn trees around the reserve as they swoop in to strip the trees of their berries or “haws”. Some years the crop has almost gone by the end of the month!
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As well as hawthorn berries there are lots of other seeds to look out for. Keep any eye out for these on the reserve, of course, the hungry wildlife might get them first!
The weather might not always be friendly in November, but a visit to the reserve is always worth the effort. You never know what you might see!
Why not try out our November Spotting Card?
Images: some supplied by “Friends” others are courtesy of www.pixaby.com thank you all!
Hi ………… if there are volunteer places I can help with any repairs to hedges or the hides.
I walk in the area and the gate posts on North Pool are broken ……..
Regards,
Chris Jones