This page was updated on Tuesday, 03-May-2022 19:00:40 BST

NATURE NOTES

Useful Reference Information

  • For further information about any of the wildlife referenced on this page - or any other sighting of your own - please refer to The Wildlife Trust's Wildlife Exlorer.
  • For help with identifying common bird's songs please refer to The Wildlife Trust's Bird Song Identifier.
  • The RSPB's Bird Finder is also a very useful resource.
  • Please also see our own Flora and Fauna Page; this page, which is already quite comprensive, is still a 'work in progress'. Contributions from visitors to the park are openly invited - please email your comments to the webmaster
  • For help with identifying insects - please see the Amateur Entomologists' Society's Website, which provides a very useful reference source to help to identify and study insects found at the Park
  • For local expertise, please visit the Wickford Wildlife Society's Website. The WWS is a local wildlife group that provides a programme of nature-related events and talks. Members of the group also provide critical support for our Nature Quest / Nature Day events, lead the monthly wildlife walks and now also the annual Bird Song Walk, and are major contributors to this page on our website.

Wick Country Park Monthly Wildlife Walk Sightings

Please visit here to access all of Martin Singleton's reports on the Monthly Wildlife Walks around the Wick Country Park and also his annual summaries. These walks started in February 2020, and continue today, though there were gaps in 2020 due the prevailing Coronavirus mitigation measures.

Have you seen lots of Blue Tits in the Wick Country Park Recently?

Martin Singleton had a theory, which he has researched, and provided his very interesting analysis here

Incident at the Park (July 29th 2016)

A Canada Goose suffered great distress on the lake due to it becoming entangled in discarded fishing line. Unfortunately, attempts by the RSPCA and the Park Ranger to catch and 'rescue' the goose proved to be fruitless, and it has now flown away with most of the rest of the flock. The fear is that the line will cut into the bird's leg, leading to infections from which it is unlikely to recover.

ALL anglers are asked to take great care NOT to discard waste line, no matter how short it may be, because this type of incident is a very likely consequence of such action. If any person spots any discarded line please report it immediately to the Park Ranger, who is often on site in the Pavilion building, or who may otherwise be contacted on 01268 562921, and, if necessary, please leave an answerphone message.

The Park in November 2016

Our Chair, Nikki, has been busy with her camera around the Park, and has come back with some great pictures - please click here. If you have some nice pictures that you'd like to see on the website, why not send them through to the web-master? Please see the 'Contact Us' link to the left.

Wildlife sightings in the Park, June 2016

There have been three wildlife sightings in the Park during the past week that are enough justification alone for a visit, even in the unlikely event that nothing else there appeals to you!

Please click on the pictures below to be redirected to the RSPB's page about the bird highlighted.

the Bluetit Now the Storage Container really has become a wildlife reserve! Please see our cladding project page for the background to this story. Apart from improving the look of the previously very ugly storage container, the main point of the project to clad it was to encourage the wildlife. All those little holes are there to provide homes for various insects, which in turn would provide a food source and hence attract birds. Well now, a very happy Park visitor has highlighted the fact that birds are nesting in the roof lining! See the Visitors' Log for the full comment. We are fairly certain that the birds in question are, indeed, bluetits.
the Great Crested Grebe We have also had it confirmed that the Great Crested Grebes on the lake have successfully hatched a brood, and that the parents have been seen this week (early June 2016) swimming on the lake with the youngsters on their back! So sweet and cute!!!!
the Ceti's Warbler We have a Cetti's warbler on site within the Park for the second year running. Mark, the Park Ranger, heard it for the first time this year on June 12th. This observation is locally noteworthy as this warbler is a recent colonist of the UK, and being here at the Wick is evidence of its continued spread into Britain.