November Wildlife Team update
9th November 2011
It seems hard to think that we are now into November, although we are finally getting the winter weather we are due! The weather so far has been very mild compared to previous years and that has reflected in the wildlife we have been seeing. Southern Hawker Dragonflies can still be seen flying low over the Lost Valley ponds, Red Admirals are still very active and a sight we did not expect to see on the 1st November, a Humming-bird Hawk-moth feeding on a Fuchsia outside the Steward’s House! It is clearly starting to get colder in Scandinavia though, as we are seeing quite a few of our winter visitors turning up. A flock of 15+ Siskin were busy feeding in the trees surrounding the Steward’s House, large flocks of both Redwing and Fieldfare are showing up in the fields surrounding the gardens, lots of Firecrests are around, although seeing them is always a challenge! Our Kingfisher has also returned to fish the ponds in the Lost Valley and Jungle, so keep your eyes peeled for that flash of blue when near any of our water courses.
One of the most exciting things this month has been the addition of our “Mouse Cam” which was initially set up as a feeding station for the resident rodents in our Barn Owl Tower. A pair of Wood Mice (otherwise known as Long-tailed Field Mice) have since moved in and brought with them a lot of bedding, so it would appear as if they are very content with their new abode! They can be viewed 24 hours a day on our live webcams, views of which have quadrupled since the introduction of this new camera! Wood Mice are known to sleep communally, so we can expect to see more arriving as the weather gets colder…..keep up to date with these new arrivals at http://www.heliganwild.com/webcams
The Photography Competition is still proving very popular, with plenty of regular entries. To help anyone interested in entering our competition, the Heligan Wildlife Team have started a “Photography Tips” section on www.heliganwild.com which will show you the basics of digital photography before showing you how you could take fantastic photos of the wildlife to be found at The Lost Gardens of Heligan.
We have been very busy getting things ready for next year; a new Tawny Owl box has been made ready with in-box sound, so fingers crossed for the owls moving in and Horsemoor Hide is in the process of being updated with new displays etc. which we will keep you up to date with as it progresses.
Heligan Wild has now joined the social networking community by launching our very own Facebook and Twitter pages, so it is now even easier to keep up to date with the Heligan Wildlife Team. Just follow the links below:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Heligan-Wild/232313850163086
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/HeliganWild
