April...without too many showers!

April started with a huge BANG!

A Tawny Owl from our Bird Weekend

Our Easter weekend saw over 3,000 visitors through our doors in the hunt for chocolate eggs! Although the weather wasn't always the driest (especially Good Friday!) everyone had a wonderful time and went home with a chocolatey treat. We had lots of Arts and Crafts on for the kids too, with the Easter Bunny our most popular craft over the weekend!

We also ran a story book for sale over this period, based on Parndon Wood and about one of our resident trolls, Grumps. Hand illustrated and written by a visitor, it was perfect as a gift for the kids over Easter, and at £2.99, a complete bargain! We even had an order from a local school, so hope to see the students using the maps in the front and back covers of the book to find their way around the reserve on their next visit.

We were open on Easter Monday too (Bank holiday) and although we didn't run the chocolate hunt, the weather had perked up by then and so it was lovely to see our regular visitors enjoying the sunshine! We were happy to see over the weekend too that there wasn't huge amounts of rubbish thrown around the reserve, so would like to thank you all for being so thoughtful! There will unfortunately always be some which gets left behind, but it does seem that most of our visitors are very aware of the impact litter can have on our wildlife.

Our Chicks popped out this month too!

One of the main events in April, after Easter, was our Bird Weekend. We teamed up with Harlow Museum to borrow some of their stuffed birds for our display and also invited members of the RSPB down for the weekend. In the visitor center, we had a feather to look at under the microscope, Owl pellets to dissect, an incubator with eggs inside and also a bird hunt around the trail for the younger children. At 3pm each day, we also held a guided tour around the reserve, identifying birds to our visitors through their song and plumage. We were even able to show the RSPB members a Treecreeper, something they had not seen before too! (Luckily, we regularly have a pair of these delightful birds on the Oaks outside the front of the centre, which can be seen alongside a cup of tea!)

A few days after our Bird Weekend, our classroom eggs began to hatch, allowing our visitors the chance to see the stages of a chicken, from the egg, its development right through to hatching.

 

Hard at work!

Our wonderful volunteers have also been hard at work this month protecting our newly coppiced area with some beautiful dead hedges. We have also put up some signs explaining to visitors what coppicing is and why we do it. Check out their handy work next time you’re in! This time of year we also had some tree surgeons in to check the safety of the trees surrounding the nature trail around the reserve. A few questionable branches were spotted, as well as a few questionable Oaks in other areas of the reserve. These were then removed, with the Oak trees removed being milled to use for future projects within the reserve. Incredible work the tree surgeons do and will definitely give spider man a run for his money with their climbing skills!

The wonderful dead hedge protecting the coppiced area.

The sunshine has brought out lots of our wild flowers throughout the reserve, and towards the end of April saw the Bluebells poking their heads up. There is a patch of Bluebells by the visitor center, which we have surrounded with a mini dead hedge to save them from being trampled on.

With the sunshine comes life it seems. The trees are all popping with fresh green leave and the weather has been so warm that we've had sightings of the Grass Snakes basking and even swimming in the pond dipping pond. Wonderful sights! We put out camera traps around the reserve on occasions and have been lucky enough to spot some of our night time visitors, including the foxes, something visitors don’t regularly see during the day! Another notable achievement for this month was the permission granted by Natural England for us to work with Harlow Beekeeping Association to place 4 bee hives within the reserve. This is wonderful news and a project we are really excited about! 

A selection of the camera trap photos we've collected this month.

March..ing into Spring!

Well March has certainly been a step from Winter to Spring!

In the first few weeks we have had some tree work done within the reserve, removing old Oaks and replanting lots of new ones in the cleared area!

We also went along to Rum Tum Tuggers nursery group to help them build a beautiful bug hotel in their garden. The children were fantastic and made lots of beetle and lacewing bottles, using cleaned plastic bottles they had collected and filling them with a variety of things including corrugated cardboard and wood and leaves. Although the weather was against us at times, we all got stuck in, filling the hotel with straw, flower pots, canes, logs and twigs as well as creating a frog and toad hole at the bottom with some old masonry.

The Nursery are also going to cover the top part of the hotel with flowering plants and ivy to attract bees and increase the shelter offered to the inhabitants. Can’t wait to hear who’s moved in!

Rum Tum Tuggers Bug Hotel

We were lucky enough to have a really lovely bit of weather for the joint event with Harlow council, for toddlers and parents. The sun was shining and this really brought the families out, who enjoyed a story themed treasure hunt around the trail, followed by arts and crafts on the picnic benches outside the front of the visitor center.

Towards the end of the month we had out Amphibian weekend! Displays went up in the classroom to show the species of newts you can find in the UK (with special attention on the Great Crested Newt, of which we have present in the reserve!), It wouldn’t be an amphibian weekend without mentioning the frogs and toads and as the sun had started poking its head out, we managed to collect some frogspawn and the tadpoles had hatched. Children were also given instructions to find the life cycle of the frog and put it in order as they worked their way around the trail too. The frog and toad spawn in the ponds within the reserve still hadn’t hatched for this weekend, which at first we thought was a shame. As our tadpoles had hatched though, we were able to then direct visitors to the pond dipping pond (without nets unfortunately) to see the frogspawn floating on top and, for the quieter visitors, they were able to spot lots of smooth newts swimming amongst the pond weed. Proof to show you don’t always need a net to see the life in a pond!

Frogspawn

Smooth Newt having a mooch

We've seen quite a bit of wildlife too now that Spring is showing its head. Top spots for this month include a pair of Muntjac, Nuthatch, Sparrowhawk, Treecreeper and a few Buzzards, as well as lots of Great Tits, Long-Tailed Tits and Blue Tits, Wrens, Blackbirds ad Dunnocks. .

Wintry Wonderings

February has been an odd month weather wise, with snow and sunshine appearing throughout the month! Temperatures seem to be on the rise though and giving us a sneak peek into Spring. All around the reserve you can see lots of bird activity, with the tits scouting out the bird boxes for nest sites and I have also started hearing the Great Spotted Woodpeckers drumming on the trees within the reserve to establish their territories. Green Woodpeckers too seem to be more active, calling frequently to each other, especially when the sun is out.

In light of this increase in bird activity, this month saw Parndon Wood Nature Reserve running the build a bird box event and make your own fat balls before and during the February half term. These were a huge success, with lots of visitors walking home with fabulously decorated houses to pop in their gardens (don't forget to varnish them before you pop them up!). We even had a few gifted to us for the reserve, which we shall pop into a suitable places. Fingers crossed they all have new inhabitants before not too long! We have also taken on board a special bird house ourselves, complete with a camera! Hopefully we will get this up and running in the visitor center ASAP to see some of the reserves birds making a home inside!

One of the painted houses donated to the reserve.

Our new bird house, complete with camera!

The snow which fell at the start of the month proved a fantastic way for visitors to see the tracks of some of the animals living within the reserve. Squirrel, fox, rabbit, mouse, deer and crow were just some of the prints identified by visitors along the trail. I love seeing the prints in the snow as it really allows you to imagine the animals as they go about their business and shows visitors’ sights they may otherwise miss.

 We also had some very interesting visitors to the reserve, including a kite and a rough legged buzzard, who stopped over for a spot of lunch! Other species spotted this month include a tree creeper, who has been spotted several times on the Oaks surrounding the center, sparrowhawks and kestrels by the centre and in the reserve, Green Woodpeckers by the outdoor theatre and Great spotted woodpeckers on the feeders around the reserve and also drumming on numerous trees too! 

New projects for 2015

Well firstly a happy new year to everyone! And this year I am kicking it off by introducing the 2015 flagship species of honey bees! As awareness rises of pollinators in general decline, Parndon Wood Nature reserve is trying to do its bit with plans to install several bee hives over the coming years, along with the installation of bee gardens, showing visitors the types of bee friendly plants they can have, setting up a flower stall dedicated to Bee friendly plants and also organising bee themed events throughout the year, including a ‘buzzing bee’ day at the reserve, with live demonstrations from Harlow bee keepers association. So quite a busy year ahead!

January has seen us get on the road with these projects by taking delivery of 6 large concrete planters, recycled from another location in Harlow. Arriving in a slightly neglected state, staff have worked to clear them of the rubbish within the tubs, adding compost and planting the first of many Bee friendly plants. So far, lavender, rosemary, sage, chives, grape hyacinths, crocus and snow drops have been planted and there is room for more to be popped in throughout the year!

The transformation undertaken is already fantastic and hopefully, that as the weather warms up, these will help our local pollinators with the first struggles of the year.

Some of our concrete planters looking a bit sad.

The first selection of our Bee friendly plants adding colour!

January also saw the reserve joining in with the RSBP Big Bird Watch of 2015. Over the weekend we offered identification books and binoculars to the visitors who came back with a huge list of birds which were spotted, including 6 Great Tits, 16 Blue Tits, 2 Robins, 1 Nuthatch, 2 Crows, 2 Magpies, 1 Jay, 10 Wood Pigeons, 3 4 Blackbirds, 2 Chaffinches, 2 Jackdaws, 3 Long tailed Tits, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 1 Marsh Tit, 1 Seagull, 1 Green Woodpecker. The other birds spotted by our visitors today include a Sparrow hawk, 2 Ducks, 2 Bullfinches and a goldfinch, all on just one day!

Feathery and Festive

Well what a brilliant end to 2014! Opening up the bird hides at Parndon Wood Nature Reserve (Harlow) has been a truly magical experience recently, mainly due to the thick frosts which have occurred. There is nothing quite like walking through a frozen forest first thing in the morning and hearing the leaves crunch under your feet. Yes, you're probably making your presence known to every living animal in the area as you crunch along the paths, but at the same time, it's amazing how amplified the rustling sounds become too! 

The cold weather has also made it much easier to spot favorite feathered friends who spend lots of time at the numerous bird feeders located around the reserve. Robins are generally quite easy to spot in the reserve anyway, but there's something quite lovely about seeing one look back at you from a frozen tree as you open a hide up! It also does wonders for getting you into the 'festive feeling' for Christmas! (Which, lets be honest, can sometimes be a bit of a struggle, especially when there's a Santa's Grotto to organise!)

Robins are obviously the poster bird for this time of year, beautifully demonstrated by the chap above. For such a seemingly small and innocent bird it's quite startling just how vicious they can be to each other. Males hold their territories all year round, choosing visible 'lookout posts' to be able to check on their neighbours and to defend their territories. I've once been told that if you find a dead Robin outside, it's likely to have been killed by another bird!  Although being highly territorial is bad if you're another Robin, it's nice to see them when so many other birds are missing this time of year. 

Robins are still beautiful birds to see and the flash of their red breasts makes a welcome splash of colour this time of year. Now that Christmas is nearly upon us, it shouldn't be too long before we see the return of migrants and hear the songs of other birds within the reserve. I hope all our visitors and readers have a wonderful time over Christmas and New Year and I can't wait to see what 2015 will bring to the reserve!