WICK COUNTRY PARK WILDLIFE SIGHTINGS - August 26th 2020
The signs were not good when we set off on our wildlife walk this morning, strong winds and cloudy skies usually mean few birds and insects around but as we walked the weather improved and in sheltered areas the wildlife came out for us.As is often the case on windy days, small birds keep well hidden and it certainly was the case today with very few being seen. It was also difficult to hear their calls and songs so overall our bird count was low. However, there were a few Blue Tits here and there, plus the usual Woodpigeons, Crows and Magpies. At the lake, there were a few Coots, Mallards and Moorhens plus the reducing flock of Canada Geese - only 8 of these today. However, as we came through the gap near the pillbox, we saw a nice small flock of Swallows and House Martins, then a Green Woodpecker and a Blue Tit, plus a few Starlings flying by - all in 5 minutes!
As the sun started to emerge, more and more butterflies began to come out of hiding. A few Large Whites were seen and we had the usual problems separating Small Whites from Green Veined Whites but managed to ID several GV Whites. A few Meadow Browns were also seen but the stars of the show were a Holly Blue and a really nice male Common Blue, both looked like they had recently emerged and were in great condition. A final butterfly added to the list was a lone Gate Keeper as we were just leaving the park.
We only saw one species of Dragonfly but as predicted yesterday, this was the Migrant Hawker and was in the park in decent numbers. These will be in the park for the next few weeks, flying around the hedges and trees rather than around the lake and are a medium/small dragonfly, which is increasing in the UK.
Another nice morning walk around the park with some good sightings.
Martin Singleton Birds: Total Number of Species: 16
| Common Name | Scientific Name | Date | Total Count |
| Barn Swallow | Hirundo rustica | 26/08/2020 | 4 |
| Black-headed Gull | Chroicocephalus ridibundus | 26/08/2020 | 2 |
| Canada Goose | Branta canadensis | 26/08/2020 | 8 |
| Carrion Crow | Corvus corone | 26/08/2020 | 3 |
| Common House Martin | Delichon urbicum | 26/08/2020 | 3 |
| Common Moorhen | Gallinula chloropus | 26/08/2020 | 2 |
| Common Starling | Sturnus vulgaris | 26/08/2020 | 4 |
| Common Wood Pigeon | Columba palumbus | 26/08/2020 | 11 |
| Eurasian Blue Tit | Cyanistes caeruleus | 26/08/2020 | 6 |
| Eurasian Collared Dove | Streptopelia decaocto | 26/08/2020 | 1 |
| Eurasian Coot | Fulica atra | 26/08/2020 | 3 |
| Eurasian Magpie | Pica pica | 26/08/2020 | 3 |
| European Green Woodpecker | Picus viridis | 26/08/2020 | 1 |
| European Robin | Erithacus rubecula | 26/08/2020 | 2 |
| House Sparrow | Passer domesticus | 26/08/2020 | 2 |
| Mallard | Anas platyrhynchos | 26/08/2020 | 2 |
Butterflies: Total Number of Species: 8
| Common Name | Scientific Name | Date | Total Count |
| Common Blue | Polyommatus icarus | 26/08/2020 | 1 |
| Gatekeeper | Pyronia tithonus | 26/08/2020 | 1 |
| Green-veined White | Artogeia napi | 26/08/2020 | 6 |
| Holly Blue | Celastrina argiolus | 26/08/2020 | 1 |
| Large White | Pieris brassicae | 26/08/2020 | 7 |
| Meadow Brown | Maniola jurtina | 26/08/2020 | 3 |
| Small White | Artogeia rapae | 26/08/2020 | 2 |
| Speckled Wood | Pararge aegeria | 26/08/2020 | 1 |
Dragonflies: Total Number of Species: 1
| Common Name | Scientific Name | Date | Total Count |
| Migrant Hawker | Aeshna mixta | 26/08/2020 | 13 |