Hartsholme park is absolutely buzzing with wildlife. Situated on the west part of the city every day there is always something that you will find. From The Territorial Singing Robins, the Blue Tits that fly at the top of the trees and the beautiful stunning Great Crested Grebe. I’ve not actually ever seen the Great crested Grebe mate dance yet however I still have hope one day I will. This year 2 of the Grebes we have at Hartsholme park have not had chicks, but the previous year we saw 4 babies but not all of them survived. As we all say about Nature it’s a fight for survival and it’s very true. Take the Jays for instance watching spring watch a couple of years ago Hannah Stitfall and all the crew who manage and watched the live cameras were shocked as a Jay came down to get wren chicks and took every single one of them. Even though Jays are beautiful they are ruthless. This Park brings so much happiness and love in so many different ways. I’ve seen couples sitting on benches holding hands, to the children playing in the park and grass areas with their footballs, to the lovely smells that come from cafe. We never go without our cameras and I have updated to my binoculars. They come along too! Quite often we will see Buzzards hovering about and Andy has actually seen the baby’s in the nest before they fledged.
Hartsholme has a reputation for Squirrels climbing up your legs just to get food out of your hand. Don’t get me wrong we love the squirrels and feeding them from my hand was very nice however sometimes it’s worth just keeping your distance from them. They are so used to humans they are certainly not shy! I love walking up to black bridge as beyond that are the Swanholme lakes. My uncle always mentions about them being gravel pits many years ago how he used to play around this area. Another part of Hartsholme thats beautiful, and having a family member live in Hartsholme park will always bring back memories.
Lots of Rabbits are often seen in the open areas of the park but even more so first thing in the morning mainly in the spring and summer time. It’s also ducklings and Cygnets which we love to see at this time of the year. The sound of the Black Cap is heard and this is certainly a sign that spring is on it’s way. The sound of movement in the forest we can’t see when all is quiet and no one around. What could it be? A deer creeps into the open “What a shot” The sound of Blue tits, Great tits, Goldfinches, long tailed tits and so many more are ready to find new homes and build their nest ready to have a family. WE LOVE SPRING!!
The Goldcrest is an absolutely striking bird to see and capture and as you can see in this picture we have had snow! It’s not very often we get snow here when we do we certainly like to be out taking pictures. The goldcrest is one of the smallest birds in the UK, it’s the same family as the Firecrest which can be seen mainly in Scotland. They are fast and almost impossible to see. This little guy was just hanging over a branch just above the waters edge. That was also the same day we saw Nuthatch. We certainly have the regularly birds all year round like the Robin, Blackbirds, Thrush, Roe Deers, Muntjacs, Woodpeckers and The beautiful Wrens. Plenty of waterbirds about Geese, Mallards, Tufted ducks and sometime we spot the Muscovy Duck. I find this rather an odd looking duck. Geese are another one i find unusual. The Greylag is one of the most prettiest Geese out of all of them. From Canadian Geese to the pink footed Geese (which I’ve not seen yet) They all have their own characteristics. Brent Geese are always seen at Frampton and not too far away when it’s the right season i will go and see Pink footed Geese on the Norfolk coast. another beautiful part of the UK. We’ve had many holidays there when my children were very young, they love the sandy Beaches. Back in Hartsholme Canadian Geese are very noisy as well as Greylag. We have spotted a hybrid Goose. Cross breed between Greylag and Canadian.
Songbirds are a particular Favourite of ours. From Siskins, Wrens, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Long tailed Tits, Robins, finches, Blackbirds etc. List is endless with songbirds however i absolutely love searching for these birds sometimes they are hard to spot as they love flickering around at the tops of the trees. Somersaulting upside down looking for food in the nooks and crannies between branches and not forgetting the juicy berries. In my Garden they love eating pears from my pear tree. Last year i trimmed tree down by quite a bit and this year Pears have doubled. More about my garden on next Page.
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