Autumn Takes Hold

Autumn is really taking hold of the park now with some great colours to be seen changing daily

The trees by Broadwalk bridge are changing colour all the time despite the hot weather. Below the old tree that fell last week has been sawn down this week its a shame as it was a good old tree

I caught the Heron hiding in the bush's this week we don't normally see him this late in the year, even the weeds have Autumn colour

The scouts have been in the park over the weekend and their tent makes the tree stand out its a colourful tree at this time of year

Plants Stolen

New plants were planted just over a week ago at the Gulf War memorial and by the Bowling hut but today some have been stolen and other pulled out at both locations some of them were Pieris and no doubt now in someone's garden or given as a present. The memorial has just returned after being vandalized and has been put back at the same location. In my view if its been broken once it will happen again and should be moved to a more public location so its harder for the yobs. There have been large stones found in the area as if they have been used to attack it. In the photo you can see the holes which once contained plants that ANTS planted. Ants have still not replied about the scouts who offered them help maybe they now dont want anyone else to join the group and help

Further vandalisms occurred at the Tipkinder gate were the old sign glass has been smashed 

The new paddling pool is now finished or in this case its the new path which has turned into a paddling pool as they have put no camber on it or raised it above surrounding earth but it does make a good photo

Spring

The friends meeting was held last week and the mins are here The interesting bits are they now have money to pay to restore thing that have been restored. They are also contemplating a web site which would evolve spending money raised for the park on it instead of providing nesting for wildlife or other useful things. Considering my two sites  have been running for over 5 years with 1,000 of photo and weekly reports wit hover a million hits whats the point of wasting money on another one? I had an offer from the scouts to help the ANTS and I passed this on to them over a week ago and they have not responded so I assume they dont want help?

With the few nice days we have had spring has burst into life the rabbits are out down Coronation walk. The swans are trying to nest on the island but have nothing to make a nest from. The wildlife group brought hay but no one would put it on the island for us

There a few lady birds about which is a good sign

The daffs have a great show of yellow down the main drive just right for people to take for Mother day I have seen people taking them as it is

The flower bed by the lodge is looking good and the path has now got stone laid its just waiting for the tarmac

Gardeners have been out with their new toy that grinds old tree stumps down they have done a lot by the lack. The question is will the mess be left like this or cleaned up when stumps were done last August they left the mess and its still there.

Swans Attacked

A few report this week of people witnessing the swans being attacked by yobs. There are very stiff penalties if they are caught so if you see anyone doing this ring the Police as they are a protected bird.

What do swans eat I am often asked

So what do swans eat? The following are the common foods that most swans eat:

• Aquatic Plants - since swans spend most of their time in bodies of water like ponds and lakes, they also source out their food from here. They usually feed on stems, roots, leaves, tubers and other parts of any aquatic plants. This is not a problem for swan raised on natural bodies of water; however, people that raise their swans in man-made ponds or lakes must ensure that aquatic plants are present to serve as the swan's food.

• Insects - swans also wander on land and they can eat whatever small insect that may come into their way. This includes snails, aquatic beetles and many more. This is the intriguing part about what do swans eat; at first people thought that swans are purely herbivorous but as time passes by, it was discovered that swans also feed on small insects.

• Small Aquatic Animals - this includes shrimps, small fishes and other small aquatic animals. These aquatic animals are eaten by fully mature swans living in a natural pond or lake.

• Grains and Vegetables - this is the usual food for domesticated swans, especially those that are raised on farms. Swans on captivity feed on corns and other grains as well as on left over vegetable scraps.

Grain, such as wheat, and vegetable matter, especially lettuce and potatoes, can be fed to swans. Food should be thrown into the water to avoid encouraging the birds onto the bank.

This week 7 staff came down to put a hay bail and pallets in the lake for the swans and grebes to nest on away from the banks were they are being attacked. Above the man wades out to fit the hay.

The swans tried it out the next day but now seem to have used it to get onto the island so lets hope they nest there safely. Hopefully they are returning in a few days with more hay for the Grebes

The two white ducks were back again this week so we dont know were one hides but it seems to come and go maybe it has a nest close by.

The week started off with contractors building steps by Morton Rd

They are now finished but people with prams and disabled are not happy as now they cant get up or down.

On Friday a 1,000 Scouts turned up for a big meeting.