New Signets in the park

Coronation Walk is still in a right mess with the stream still not working after all this time. The steam is covered in mud dirt and weeds and the water has virtually stopped. Why would the council pay for this if it was your house you wouldn't pay until it worked properly. Same with the plants  you wouldn't pay if they were stuck in the middle of weeds. Its possible if they don't fix it soon the pump will overheat and require a new one again. All that's needed is a couple of holes in the pond wall so water will flow in from the lake it will find its own level  the whole thing has been a cock up again. They have put new bench's down the walk so you can sit and look at the weeds and empty stream.

Lots of new wildlife with baby ducks, Canada geese and now signets. Lets hope they survive this time but watching today as they swam close to a fisherman who cast inch's in front of them its not good. I  thought they had to bring the line in and let swans swim past not try and hook them. The other problem is people feeding them as if they are babies so they get humanised which often gets them killed when they leave as they have no fear of humans. Swan rescue groups have advised not to feed by hand but people ignore that and still do. This makes the swan a threat as lots of people specially with babies fear them as they come right up to you for food and its frightening if you have a young baby and a swan is pecking close to it.

Myxomatosis in the park

Another swan has arrived in the park this time its a male so it may fall in love and stay and breed

 

With lots of rain the islands are going under water again as sluice gates aren't working properly

A rabbit seen in the park with Myxomatosis  note the eye.  Myxomatosis is a viral infection of rabbits, caused by a member of the Poxvirus family. It is usually transmitted by insects and is usually fatal. Anyone with rabbit coming to the park could carry the infection home with them so its important to have them inoculated.

The goosanders have been joined by their mates and we have a few male and females for more details of wildlife in Cheshire see us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/1174299352626624/ follow us on twitter @janmwrght

Harlequin ladybirds invade the Queens park

Found a Holly bush covered in lady birds in the park one problem these are Harlequin ladybirds and have been declared the UK’s fastest invading species after reaching almost every corner of the country in just a decade.

The cannibalistic ladybirds were first realised to have reached the UK in 2004 when they were seen in Essex and have since spread as far afield as the tip of Cornwall and the Shetland Islands, making it the fastest alien invasion of the UK on record. Grey squirrels, American mink, ring-necked parakeets and muntjac deer are advancing at a rate far behind them.

Scientists monitoring the spread of the voracious harlequin, which will prey on native ladybirds, said the warnings when it first arrived that it would colonise the country rapidly and was the world’s “most invasive ladybird” have proved correct.

The species is believed to be responsible for the decline of at least seven native ladybirds, including the popular two-spot, which when last assessed in 2012 had slumped 44%. Dr Roy said that there has been no sign of a recovery among two-spots.

 

The vandals have been at it again with the seat by the  Gulf War memorial having names all over it

 

Greylag geese back at the park and Canada geese having a fly past

 

We have had the one swan on the lake after the father died but this week a signet has appeared looking very friendly with the other swan maybe he goes for older women

Some Autumn colours below  these change daily but a lovely site

Swan Dies

The father swan has died he and his daughter were the only 2 swans left in the lake but he has died believed to be from eating mouldy bread. People have started on social media quoting Angel Wing as a problem and clearly this has never happened and it only normally happen in young duck fed very high protein. Above the heron coming in to land

Tits in the park and even new baby ducks which are late this year and may struggle if we get an early winter

 

The vandals have been in at work again breaking the cycle stand and one more tree near the rack has been cut down

Wild Life master plan

A plan for wildlife in the park was compiled with the help of visiting experts in many fields to cover all aspects of the habitat.

Nesting for wildlife on the lake is none existent we have had Grebe in the past but these and others cant leave the water so need nesting on the lake a simple way is to create the floating nest see http://bthbgcm.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/building-mallard-duck-nesting-tubes.html

One year we had floating islands for the grebe and they had young all that was used was a pallet and some straw and it worked well. The problem is now with the boats they cant be on that side of the lake as we have seen people in the boat reach onto the island and smash eggs. The only place is in the middle of the fishing side which should be far enough out so fishermen are not affected pallets around the bottom island would work as well grebe are a protected species. Cut down trees could be used tied together then tied to the island so it can rise and fall with the lake plenty of old dead trees at Tipkinder You can build a floating island very simple and cheap this also cleans the water as well as providing nesting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P28PNf2JjF0

Many of the duck struggle to bread as there is no safe /suitable place for them to breed nesting boxes would solve that http://norfolkwildfowl.co.uk/?p=duck.nest.boxes

The full answer is to plant more suitable plants in the lake which provide natural nesting sites provide food and improve the water for fish and wildlife

Suggested planting along part of the edge of the lake - a fringe of reed mace, yellow flag iris, meadowsweet and other wetland plants would create a habitat for many creatures as well as birds (N.B. reed-mace can spread rapidly, however it cannot move into deep water, so it should be OK in the lake.
The two steep banks of grass either side of Burma island on the south side are never used as they are to steep and are hard to mow so we want to cover with dense shrubs which would look nice and give wildlife a place to bread this would help wildlife and reduce the need for regular mowing. They could be used for fishing as it doesn’t put people in danger when walking past while people are casting. Possibly the area by the main road that is a bank on the north side could have the same treatment. The wildlife meadow on the South side has helped to bring in insects and should be continued

To encourage wildlife we need to start at the bottom of the food chain by putting lots of compost areas and rotting log piles this needs to be balanced with not looking a mess so it’s a matter of agreeing areas in bushes that wont generally be seen for these we are talking small piles which will barley be seen not huge ones. Other discreet project are log piles and bee hotels again discreetly situated to benefit things like hedgehogs etc. This will fit in with school projects and we would help with an educational resource

More plants are required for wildlife which would include. More bird boxes are also needed and our members are putting up bird feeders to feed birds through the winter.
• Spring: flowering currant, Berberis, Forsythia, guelder rose.
• Summer: Hebe, lavender, honeysuckle, elder
• Autumn: Buddleja, heather, Hypericum, Fatsia
• Winter: Mahonia, ivy, witch hazel, Sarcococca

Much of the winter work is collecting leaves and transporting them this is a natural resource which is being wasted by moving them a few feet into the bush's they improve soil, provide things for nature and put nitrogen back into the soil and will take half the time. A lot of bush's around the fences are cut back in winter and in a lot of cases the denser the area the better there is more for wildlife and it help security by making it harder to break into the park. When that is done all around the park railings you can see self seeded trees and these are never touched. The ANTS could spend a day just removing self seeded trees all over the site.

Since the paths have been done wildlife have suffered as the old paths with holes had puddles for wildlife to drink now there is only Coronation walk left all thats needed is a few small holes that can retain water for wildlife as there is no were to get water as the lake is too steep for a lot of wildlife bird baths would be even better.

Wildlife cameras would be a good asset these would only be deplored as the park was closing and retrieved at opening time so there is no problem with that with these we could check how many badgers we check nest a class wildlife like swans and grebe and gain information on wildlife night life which may show wildlife we didnt know we had. They could be used as a security camera if there were problems at night to capture intruders. You can get cameras for bird boxes which would be interesting to observe the birds all this goes towards getting a better understanding of the needs of wildlife in the park.

Wildlife needs promoting in the park as its a crowed puller and bring responsible people into the park the need is there I tweet my wildlife photos on Twitter and often they are retweeted a 1000 times so people are interested follow on twitter @janmwright

New Wildlife

The swan had a fit this week she came off the island and headed for the bubbles and spent time diving into the spray

The Moorhen baby takes his first swim around the lake after spending a week or so on the island

The Canada geese have had babies this week wit this nice one and other with mum

The first ducks of the years with 7 young very often they don't all survive

Some nice colour from trees and rhododendrons at this time of year

Giant Swans on the lake

Giant Swans on the lake this week as new boats arrive for the new season these two a lot bigger than the old ones

The daffodil's are all out down the main drive ready for Easter

The path near the lodge now mostly done there isn't a lot of paths to do on the north side

Burma Island now nearly all planted out just need a bit of rain as the soil is dry despite the floods

New steps go in

Burma Island is getting a make over at long last Its had all new top soil and this frame work has gone in. It seems a bit odd as it only goes to one side before it went down to the lake with a fence and seat so you could site and admire the view.

Years ago we had temporary step down to the bridge from Morton rd now at long last we have proper ones put in.

The path near Tipkinder have now had the first coat and hopefully be finished soon.

Heres a mystery we complained that when doing the paths they had illegally interfered with a badges set which is a criminal offence. The council then said the whole wasnt used as it was stuffed with leaves which was very strange as there were no leaves in the area. But today you can see its very much used just look at all the soil thats been dug out in the last week or so. If people have put the leaves there blocking the hole its a criminal offence and they should be prosecuted

A lot of gulls on site this week and fighting over food in the lake

We have greylag geese back and they are getting clever if they cant find food they wadle up to the cafe for it. Below swans having a good feed