Tag Archives: flora and fauna

Fabulous Foraging

On Saturday 13 May, we gathered to discover what edible delights the park has to offer! Experienced, self-taught, and local forager, Kevin Godby from GCDA led us around the park, introducing us to lots of plants, bushes and trees that have edible parts.

Kevin had a great list of tips to share, including not foraging at a low level, to avoid contamination, never consuming too much of one kind of forage, being mindful of the time of year and ripeness of plants. As a general rule of thumb, younger seeds, buds and leaves are juicier and tastier!

We look forward to welcoming Kevin back to the park in another season to learn more!

Park Inspirations

Don’t miss these!

It started as a creative competition and grew into a proper Exhibition at the Summer Festival. There was too much variety and mixed media to choose one winner so here’s the gallery where you can enjoy all the entries…

All the creators are FSP members of 18+ yrs

 

WHO LIVES IN THE PARK? #2 – Results from October hedgehog survey

Have a look at this latest link and see a native resident of Shrewsbury Park on one of its nocturnal rambles.

This October a small band of members assembled and set out hedgehog tunnels at three likely spots in the park, all next to wildlife water bowls. As a result of the tracks recorded we put the FSP nature camera trained on this hog house donated a few years ago by two members. This is just one of videos that resulted. Lots of other critters use the water bowls and forage nearby.

Stay tuned for more videos every few weeks…

WHO LIVES IN THE PARK? #1

The FSP nature camera has been sited in various parts of the park undergrowth over the summer. First one to share was  captured on film visiting one of the wildlife watering bowls…

Watch the website for more critters in the coming weeks!

If you are interested in helping with a HEDGEHOG SURVEY this autumn please get in touch via werfsp@gmail.com. I know a few people have already offered, please send your contact details. First job is to construct some hedgehog tunnels near the feeding station to record tiny footprints of the hogs – or whatever else is mooching about.

Help for thirsty creatures

Have you noticed any water bowls tucked into hedges or by trees when walking in the park since that midsummer heatwave?

Thanks to two loyal creature/critter supporters these provide some water in what can be a very dry environment. Hard to believe at the beginning of 2021 but now…

If you would like to help, take a bottle of water with you when you walk in case they are empty. Especially when the weather gets warmer. Please leave the stones are in to provide escape route for wildlife falling in the dish – frogs, insects etc)

THANK YOU!

THE HEDGEHOG DIARIES: JUNE

As we learned last month, May was when the hedgehog breeding season started to get into full swing.  Once pregnant, it will be around four weeks before a hedgehog mother gives birth to her litter. The number of hoglets born will normally be between four and five.

For those mothers who started the breeding season early, their hoglets may already have started to emerge from the nest. It’s more likely that you’ll start to see babies in July, but keep your eyes open because you never know when they’ll be about.

Did you know that a hedgehog can live for up to 6 years? Find out MORE HERE.

Here are our top hedgehog tips for this month:

SPOTTED A HEDGEHOG?   If you spot a hedgehog either in your garden or somewhere in the local area, please let us know. It would be really exciting to build up a picture of where and when they are being seen locally.

You can also log your sightings with Hedgehog Street (project run by the Hedgehog Preservation Society) who are building up a national picture of the state of our hog population. Find out MORE HERE.  ‘Make a hole, make a difference!’

CONTINUE TO PROVIDE FRESH WATER    Although we’ve had a lot of rain in recent weeks, fresh water remains an important resource. Continue to put out a shallow dish in your garden and keep it topped up with fresh water throughout the month.

GARDEN PONDS    If you have a pond in your garden, you may get hedgehogs visiting for water and to find yummy invertebrates to eat. Always make sure that there is an escape route, with a gentle shelved area to allow any animals who fall in to the water a to get out easily. Hedgehogs can swim, but may drown if they are unable to climb out of the water.

LITTER PICK    Sadly, there have been instances of littering in our parks and open spaces. If you’re out and about and see something that could be harmful to wildlife, please consider carefully picking it up and placing it in a bin. Always be aware of vital hand hygiene, though, and it’s recommended that you wear gloves. Thoroughly wash your hands for at least 20 seconds if you touch anything that has been discarded.

Some of the things that can be particularly harmful to animals like hedgehogs include:

  • Discarded elastic bands: they can be an entanglement risk
  • The plastic holders from multipack drinks cans: they can be an entanglement risk
  • The plastic/foil/cardboard tubes that some savoury snacks come in: these represent a suffocation risk to small mammals such as hedgehogs

NOT BUILT YOUR HEDGEHOG SUPER-HIGHWAY YET?    Don’t forget that it’s a simple case of cutting a 13 cm x 13 cm hole at the bottom of a fence panel to create one. This gives hedgehogs the chance to roam between gardens, find suitable nesting spaces and a plentiful supply of health food and water.

Check out recent VIDEO HERE Got any grub….

If you spot a hedgehog out during the middle of the day, they may well be in trouble. Contact Willow Wildlife for advice on 07956 472284 or Michelle (on behalf of Friends of Shrewsbury Park) on 07849 534759.

More from the Hedgehog Diaries next month.

Thank you Michelle!

 

THE HEDGEHOG DIARIES: MAY 2020

May is the month when love is in the air for our hedgehogs.

Keep an ear out for loud grunting and snuffling noises in the garden at night. This could be a giveaway of amorous hedgehog activity.

Did you know, that after mating, the male hedgehog leaves and takes no part in rearing the young? You may see a hedgehog collecting leaves for bedding material, it’s possible this could be a female preparing her nest for the arrival of her babies. If you’d like to know more about hedgehog mating behaviour, you can read more herehttps://www.hedgehogstreet.org/about-hedgehogs/hoglets/

Here are some of the things that you can be doing in May to help for the arrival of this season’s baby hedgehogs.

FRESH WATER

We’re still experiencing very dry conditions, so the top recommendation this month is to continue to put out plenty of fresh water. Use shallow bowls that are easy for the hedgehogs to drink from.

Remember that meaty dog or cat food is a great supplement to their diet. Whilst beetles are their favourite, putting out a bowl of food will give them an extra boost.

STRIMMING YOUR GARDEN? PLEASE TAKE CARE!

Strimmers are one of the biggest causes of serious injury & death for garden hedgehogs. If you are using a strimmer, please check all areas of long grass and brambles carefully first. A hedgehog was found in the park a couple of years ago that had suffered a rear leg amputation. Sadly the hog had to be put to sleep, and it was felt highly likely that he or she had suffered a strimmer injury.

LEAVE AN AREA OF YOUR GARDEN FOR NATURE

Hedgehogs will often bed down in overgrown areas of a garden. If you can leave at least one area untouched, then the wildlife will love you forever! You’ll benefit from visits from bees and butterflies as well as other species. If you include some dead wood, you’re also creating the perfect habitat for our endangered stag beetles. Visit https://ptes.org/campaigns/stag-beetles-2/stag-beetle-facts/

BUILD A HEDGEHOG SUPER-HIGHWAY

If you haven’t yet spoken to your neighbours about creating a hedgehog super-highway, then there’s no time like the present. Just a 13 cm x 13 cm hole at the bottom of a fence panel is all it takes. You could be rewarded with the pitter-patter of tiny hoglet paws in the months to come if you do!

 

 

Tree Identification Walk

Local  enthusiastic amateur, John Denton, will lead us on a walk through the park – introducing you to local flora and fauna, you’ll learn more than you ever dreamt of about the trees in the park, how they’ve survived and thrived, how old they are and much more!

Sunday 28 April at 2pm

Meeting point : Notice Board by the car park. Binoculars and magnifying glass would be handy.  Sturdy footwear would be an advantage.

No dogs please.
Rain or shine, we’ll still go ahead

Read and download John’s  Trees Key and Tree Classification in advance of the walk!

Trees Map

Bee-autiful day for a Pollen Walk

The weather gods were smiling on Sunday 13 May, as we gathered in the park to look at bee behaviour around the blossoming flowers, ably guided by local Apiarist, John Large.

The idea was to mark some foraging honey bees, with a view to finding them in the apiary hives later, but the bees proved (mainly) elusive.

Walking through Shrewsbury Park – May 2018

We then departed for Oxleas Wood Apiary, where after a short, but informative talk, beekeeping suits and gauntlets were passed round, preparing us to get up close and personal with the bees.

Opening up the hives identifying the Queens, and seeing the way the pollen, nectar, honey and bee larvae were stored was a real eye-opener.

Later on, we even got a chance to taste the amazing honey – a great day with a very sweet ending!

More photos here

Thanks go to John Large – find out more about his Beekeeping courses and Apiary Days now.