April with all of the weather!

Male Blackcap caught on the bird walk.

April really was the month we saw all the weather from all the seasons arrive! We kicked off the month with our bird weekend, which we hosted with the RSPB. This involved a free trail hunt, learning about our wonderful birds, binocular hire and a guided walk in the afternoon each day. On the walks we saw a huge range of birds, including a Sparrowhawk hunting a wood pigeon (amazing site to see!), tree-creepers, green woodpeckers and nuthatches and even a vole joined us for a short time!

We also had our last Afternoon Tea until Father’s Weekend. Lots of delicious cakes, scones and sandwiches consumed once more! If you missed our last few months of Afternoon Tea, fear not! We have one more on June 18th and shall restart them once more on a regular basis later on in the year.

This month also saw the Warden, Josey, head to Sherrads Hatch Nursery to help them build a bug hotel. A Fantastic bug hotel was built with help from the students, who loved filling it with woodland materials! Can’t wait to see what moves in!

Green Woodpecker spotted on the Bird Walk

April marks the start of the busy period for schools visiting the reserve. Towards the end of the month we welcomed 145 students through the gates, all eager to learn about the woodland and wildlife in Harlow. Most of the time they were lucky with the weather, however there was one group who were fortunate to experience brilliant sunshine, hail, snow and rain, all within a few hours!

Our volunteers have been working hard to open up some of the vistas within the reserve by clearing away some of the huge numbers of brambles. By piling up the left over waste, we create habitats for reptiles to bask on, birds to nest in and rodents to live in too. What will you see in the new views?

Other interesting wildlife spots this month include a family of Blue tits setting up home in our bird box with a camera. Unfortunately, it looks like the camera has got some moisture in it, so the picture being transmitted isn’t always the clearest. We have a camera to replace, but shall wait until the family and their chicks fledge. In the closing days of the month our resident moorhens showcased 3 fluffy chicks on the main pond, so keep an eye out for those!

And a nosey Nuthatch also spotted on the guided bird walk!