The first Bird Ramble on 27th June
We held our first “Bird Ramble” at 08:30am on Sunday morning – the first bird walk since the start of the Pandemic. 10 adults and one very enthusiastic little girl who had also attended our Wildlife Centre activity event on Saturday afternoon, set off to explore through the Park’s flower garden, woods, part of Lover’s Walk, past The Observatory Garden, and through the Rose Garden. For two hours we all concentrated on spotting as many species as possible. The inevitable crows, pigeons and squirrels accompanied us at first – all looking for a free breakfast. We soon spotted the smaller varieties, such as Goldfinch, Robin, Wren, Great, Blue and Long Tailed Tits, Egyptian Goose, Mallards, seagull, magpie, a Brimstone butterfly, Red Deer antlers giving away his hiding place amidst the long grass, with three Fallow Deer walking all the way from the boundary brick wall up to us directly to say Good Morning. None of us could believe how many Swifts were flying about everywhere – easy to spot against a white cloudy morning and likewise, with the noisy bright green parakeets. Our highlight was beside The Observatory Garden with a chorus of morning choral practice between thrush, blackbirds, and tit families – as well as distant church bells! Everybody appeared to thoroughly enjoy a very relaxed amble, sharing our knowledge and now eagerly awaiting our next gathering – on Sunday 25th July.