Wildlife

There has been lots of wildlife to be seen this week all getting ready for breading season with the mild weather. In the friends mins they are going to make some floating island on the lake. Last time they did this they sank in a few day as even a bird landing on them sank them. They are needed now as wildlife visits now and if it cant find any where to build a nest moves on. How they will nest if boats are on the lake is another matter as last year idiots in boats destroyed eggs on nests. Above lots of robins still about and below 2 Mandarins which is rare we normally only have one at a time

3 grey lags on the lake and a lot of Goosanders keep popping in as these nest in hollow trees not on the lake they may just breed. Black birds are working overtime creating nests

In smelted places spring can be seen like this at the Gulf War memorial were the flowers are in full bloom

Early Signs of Spring

Its only February but there are early signs of spring is on the way daffodils have leaves above ground and the Periwinkle is in flower all ready in sheltered areas of the park.  

The Mahonia is showing nice colours

• Other common names Japanese mahonia

• Genus Mahonia are evergreen shrubs with leathery, pinnate leaves which are often spine-toothed, and clustered racemes of sometimes fragrant yellow flowers, sometimes followed by black or purple berries

• Family Berberidaceae / Berberidaceae

• Species M. japonica is an erect medium-sized evergreen shrub with large, spined, leathery pinnate leaves and small, fragrant light yellow flowers in spreading or drooping sprays from late autumn to early spring, followed by blue-black berries

The only Broom in the park has a fine show of yellow down by the lake

Buzzard in The Park

We have a Buzzard in the park he spends his time between Tipkinder the Park and the Golf Coarse. He has been seen everyday in the last few weeks he will help keep Starlings away should they return again.

Latin name

Buteo buteo

Family

Hawks and eagles (Accipitridae)

Where to see them

Greatest numbers in Scotland, Wales, the Lake District and SW England, but now breeding in every county of the UK. Found in most habitats particularly woodland, moorland, scrub, pasture, arable, marsh bog and villages. May even be seen in towns and cities including Glasgow. Look for birds soaring over wooded hillsides in fine weather, or perched on fence posts and pylons. In some areas they are known as the tourists’ eagle, often being mistaken for this larger bird of prey.

When to see them

All year round. Birds soar, display and call most in spring.

What they eat

Small mammals, birds and carrion. And even earthworms and large insects when other prey is in short supply.

Its been a cold week but no rain and nice when there is no wind but the lake has been frozen most of the week

Bettys Bench

Betty Cooke, 85, was distraught when she saw what the vandals had done in Queens Park, Crewe. Like many other benches it was vandalized and thrown in the lake.  The bench was installed in memory of Betty’s daughter Susan, who moved to Australia and died of a brain tumour in 2002.

It was Susan’s dying wish to have a bench installed to enable others to enjoy the park she loved so much and to have her ashes scattered there. A new bench is now in the park thanks to sponsors lets hope it last a bit longer this time

Like the rest of Crewe The park has been covered in snow which came down very quickly but fortunately didn't last very long

New Trees Planted

There has been some planting of Holly trees were we lost a lot of trees before from the startling nesting in the trees. It will brighten the area up a bit

There are a few rabbits out playing and looking for food this week they lost their habitat as the ANTS destroyed all the bamboo were they normally live

Cygnets Missing

Burma Island has had a face lift this week with bushes trimmed etc but no structural improvements even though the council said it would be restored 18 months ago.  Take a look below how it used to look before they messed it up with the restoration. As part of the design it block your view of the lake so you had to go round to see the rest creating a new vista

A puzzle of the park before it was restored

The Heron has been on duty this week coming for his fish dinner.The cygnets are now down to 2 on the lake its not known if they have flown away or something else has happened. The local councillor reported that one was found down Wisaston Rd injured and now with the RSCPA which if it lives wont be able to return to the park

Goosander party

With winter upon us you can see how dangerous the park can be as there is no one to salt when it freezes. The Temporary path that's been in place years as you can see is just turned into a skating rink its pure ice and you have no chance of getting down safely 

We have had a few wildlife visitors with 4 greylag geese 2 have teamed up with the swans and 8 Goosanders these should be living here but due to lack of any plants or floating islands for them to bread they only visit. It was part of the original plan to have plants all round the lake were there are wooden post and despite they council promising last summer to do it none are forth coming. The goosanders and Grebe come for the fish but cant nest on land so need floating islands to bread. 3,000 fish have been added to the lake so there is plenty of food for them

Another year past and no sign of the restoration ever been finished

Another year has gone by and The Queens Park Restoration that was conceived in 2005 is far from completed. For years we have had lies from the council about the project, last years friends mins said in December the path would be done in March now they are saying its next spring. The council stated that Burma Island would be done by last xmas but nothing has been done. Promises were made to control dogs in the park by enforcing owners to keep them on a lead this hasn’t happened.

The park is a public danger with all the paths apart from the main ones in a dangerous state and not accusable to disabled and mothers with prams. When it freezes at week ends there are no wardens to grit paths and they become skating rinks. The main lighting was removed from the main drive so any event after dark are dangerous, The gardeners workshops are full of asbestos but they still have to work in there against all H&S rules.

Of all the money spent so far the Bowling hut , Café, Clock, lodges have all had to be re done due to problems with the first restoration and this is the only work been done in the park in the last years. There should be an enquiry why the restoration has to be redone why was it passed in the first place if it wasn’t done right. The once pride of Crewe has become a disgrace if you leave the main paths you are in constant danger from broken paths and other dangers.

There is no real leadership in the park and very few staff to even keep the place going there was always a experienced head gardener who had vision and knowledge to keep the park maintained but this is sadly lacking. If the park was at Macclesfield I am sure it would have all been done by now Crewe has become the poor relation.

When will it be finished is a major question Coronation walk once one of the main attraction of the park with its roses, stream, water fall and pets is now just a tip and no even on the radar to be restored. The sad bit is its not big money to restore it. If only volunteers would see sense and concentrate on it a lot could be done they mess about with it then don’t touch it for another few months by which time it’s a jungle again. If they worked on it all the time then it could be made presentable. All the beds are full of weeds and self seeded trees growing and the once lawns are now a meadow. It a very important corridor in the park as it’s the only place birds can get a drink as they cant drink from the lake as its to deep. If it was restored it would increase the wildlife in the park but the wildlife group leader has stated shes not interested in birds only her swans.

Why the people of Crewe are not up in arms over this one cant understand I started the website in 2009 and it was supposed to be a 1 year job to restore it 7 years later we are still no further forward in fact its getting worse as the gardens are now down to a few men before there lots of them. They are just fighting fires and unable to do any improvements to the park. Walk round the outside of the park and you can count the number of self seeded sycamores and it runs into hundreds something volunteers could do but there is no direction from anyone and they all do their own thing often destroying things through ignorance.

I have in the past had experts down and they have studied what wants doing and given detail right down to the plants needed but the council have ignored this, the lake were there are post should have plants in for wildlife and to oxygenate the lake but this has never been done even though it was in the plans.

The park has become a private members club and one of the most complained out thing at one time you could hire bowls and have a game now its just for the select few members. The fishing is used only by a handful of people on a regular basis. Often you cant go to the toilet in the park as the café is closed, you then have to put up with dogs running about free as no one stops them.

I shall continue to record events in the park as a historical record of the restoration I started out with hope of a quick restoration and it never turned out that way it was once a Jewell in the Crown with well kept lawns and lots of flower now its like a deserted bomb site, if you only use the main paths it looks ok but venture off the main paths into the mud and you can see but if your disabled or have a pram you cant get there.

Above the cafe on a wet day the  wood is soaked and covered with green slime and like a skating rink. Why because there are no gutters and all the water runs onto the wood and it has all got to be replaced

Above the new path up to the bridge they cant even get that right as you can see it floods and when it freezes it dangerous how hard is it the get the levels right?

Burma island no work has been done on this island

The path to the bridge if your disabled you have no chance below the path or lack of it at the bottom of the lake

Goosanders in the Queens Park

A few Robins about giving it a xmas feel this one giving us a tune

The swans are getting white now the females more so than the males. Concerns this week as to how they have been tamed and if you dont know and feed them they eat out of your hand problem was one women had a baby with her and they frightened the mother as she thought they were attacking the baby. If they one do it for food if you have a baby it can happen they attack by accident

Goosanders in the park starting with one then today Mondays we had four of them. These handsome diving ducks are a member of the sawbill family, so called because of their long, serrated bills, used for catching fish. A largely freshwater bird, the goosander first bred in the UK in 1871. It built up numbers in Scotland and then since 1970 it has spread across northern England into Wales, reaching south-west England. Its love of salmon and trout has brought it into conflict with fishermen. It is gregarious, forming into flocks of several thousand in some parts of Europe