Spring Goes On!

As a distraction from the current situation, we will try to bring you as many wildlife and nature photographs as we can. The latest Foxglove newsletter Undergrowth is now available to read and will hopefully be posted out to Friends and Volunteers shortly. Our sincere thanks to the editor Katie Awdas for bringing this together at a difficult time. Thank you too to all of the contributers (we are always looking for more if anyone has an idea for an article then please get in touch). A final thank you to the staff at Richmond Print who managed to turn this job around before having to close their doors.

Here are a couple of photos that were sent in by a local Natural Historian. The first one shows a Long-tailed Tit sitting in her beautiful mossy nest. According to the BTO (British Trust for Ornithology) their nests can be found in a variety of locations; tight against the trunk of a forked tree, high up, or in a shrub like hawthorn or bramble and placed lower down. The oval-shaped nests have a single entrance and are made out of moss, hair and cobwebs, then covered with lichens for camouflage and lined with hundreds of feathers. The nest is made by both parents quite early in the year (beginning in February), as they can take more than 3 weeks to build, and it is often left for some days once complete - a noticeable gap before egg-laying begins.

He also sent this stunning photograph of some Avocets that have returned to breed on his patch.

We would love to see your pictures of wildlife too. It doesn't matter when they were taken. Please send any that you are happy to share on the blog to the reserve email address: foxglovelnr@btinternet.com (remember to include your name if you would like to be mentioned).

Alternatively you can upload them onto the Foxglove social media sites (FB, Twitter and Instagram).