This page was updated on Tuesday, 18-Jul-2023 10:00:57 BST

WILDLIFE PICNIC - June 24th 2023

This event was run in conjuction with the Wickford Wildlife Society.

Report (by Martin Singleton)

Our first wildlife picnic took place on Saturday June 24th, and it turned out to be a very pleasant day. We were lucky in that the weather, while hot, was cloudy and kept the blazing sun off us. Some wildlife was seen, including a single Great Crested Grebe on the lake. Is the other Grebe sat on a nest somewhere? Fingers crossed that we do get breeding grebes at the lake this year. Nice also to see a few Swifts flying around the lake and a couple of Buzzards overhead too. One of the problems with a wildlife picnic on a sunny afternoon in the park, is the level of disturbance from us humans, radios blaring, kids swimming in the lake and lots of noise. I suspect the wildlife is used to all of this, but it was pretty obvious that we would have seen much more if things were quieter!

Birds - 18 Species

Common Name Scientific Name Date Total Count Notes
Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundus24/06/20232
Canada GooseBranta canadensis24/06/20238
Carrion CrowCorvus corone24/06/20232
Common BuzzardButeo buteo24/06/20232Heard
Common ChiffchaffPhylloscopus collybita24/06/20232
Common House MartinDelichon urbicum24/06/20231
Common MoorhenGallinula chloropus24/06/20231
Common Reed WarblerAcrocephalus scirpaceus24/06/20231Heard
Common SwiftApus apus24/06/20235
Common WhitethroatCurruca communis24/06/20231Heard
Common Wood PigeonColumba palumbus24/06/20234
Eurasian CootFulica atra24/06/20232
Eurasian MagpiePica pica24/06/20233
European Green WoodpeckerPicus viridis24/06/20231Heard
European Herring GullLarus argentatus24/06/20231
Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus24/06/20231
Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus24/06/20231
MallardAnas platyrhynchos24/06/20234

Butterflies - 2 Species

Common Name Scientific Name Date Total Count Notes
Large WhitePieris brassicael24/06/2023l1
Meadow BrownManiola jurtinal24/06/2023l4