Country parks and greenways

A busy month at Ryton Pools Country Park!

By Ben Coleman, Grassland Habitat Specialist Ranger

Conservation and habitat creation

On completing our Willow Tit Training day organised by the RSPB, Rangers Simon, Lorraine, Courtenay and Ben have been busy improving habitat and surveying for this much-declined species. These tiny birds excavate their own nest holes from rotten trees, particularly favouring Willow and Birch. To expand on habitat availability across the site, we have been busy strapping Birch logs from this Winters thinning work to existing trees. These logs will slowly rot over time providing numbers of good nest sites in areas where there currently aren't any.

We are very pleased to report that our subsequent call-back surveys have confirmed this species is still present on-site, with two individuals responding to a recorded call in different locations!

We've also been lucky to have the support of our regular volunteers and corporate volunteers from JLR with couple of important conservation projects.

The JLR team got thoroughly stuck in and helped us install 135m of coir rolls in the margins of our feeder pool. These pre-planted coconut matting rolls quickly establish good growth along the margins of bodies of water, helping create a connection between habitats on land and water.The group not only installed 45 3 metre rolls weighing 2.5 tons, they also moved over 7 tons of aquatic soil to fill in between the existing bank and the rolls - not a bad workout! The area will soon be seeded to create a diverse margin for semi-aquatic invertebrates and pollinators.

Our hardworking Saturday volunteer team came in again to continue with the "beating up" of our fledgling hedgerows. A number of trees have died during the droughts over the last few summers, so replacing these trees helps to retain the diversity, quality and structure of our hedgerows across the site. A very prickly task, so a big thank-you to all who helped!

Bees, blossom and lambs

On the 18 March, we were very excited to report not only the first lambs of the spring at Ryton Pools Country Park, but also the first lambs ever born here to our flock of Hebridean sheep! 

Three lambs have been born to two ewes so far, and conservation grazier Dale Huddlestone, who the flock belongs to, has reported all are doing well.

There has also been lots of bee activity as the weather has got warmer. Spring Plasterer Bees (vernal colletes) are a solitary species discovered at Ryton Pools as new to Warwickshire last year and have once again been spotted around the park, including a classic Plasterer Bee 'mating ball'! With an estimated 100+ bees here now, it looks like they're here to stay.

Other solitary species spotted include mining bees Adrena Bicolor and Adrena Trimmerana. And to top it off we've also seen lots of fuzzy Queen Bumblebees!

And to truly mark the commencement of spring, a stunning display of Blackthorn blossom was spotted by Ranger Craig. 

Bluebells bloom at Hartshill Hayes Country Park

By James Taylor, Woodland Specialist Ranger

It's bluebell season, and while these enchanting flowers can be spotted at several of our parks, one of the county's most spectacular displays is found at Hartshill Hayes Country Park.

British Bluebells are associated with ancient woodlands and with other species provide evidence of such a woodland. There are thousands of bulbs in the woodlands that provide a carpet of blue flowers in the spring. They are some of the early flowering plants of spring and produce an abundance of nectar for bees and, butterflies and hoverflies. 

Bluebells are still very common but are under threat from hybridisation and illegal wildflower collecting. Bluebells can take years to recover from trampling and destruction. Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 it is prohibited to dig up the plants or bulbs from the countryside. 

So please tiptoe carefully while enjoying our bluebells, and we'd love to see some of your photos! Share them for the Warwickshire Country Parks photography competition here.

You can also join rangers Jenny and Liann for special spring flower and bluebell walks taking place at Ryton Pools Country Park on the 2 May and 5 May.