December 2022 - Nature Notes

Sickleholme Nature Notes

Reported wildlife sightings were far fewer during December, mainly due to the weather which frequently mocked our wish to play golf. After the drought of mid-summer, snow at the beginning of the month and heavy rain towards the end, completed a year which tested both us and our wildlife.

I did, however, note that the Facebook attachments to the club website included an image of Roe Deer grazing at the edge of the snow. This species is a regular visitor to the course, but most usually seen early morning by Matt and his team. Unlike the managed deer on courses such as Wollaton Park GC, these are wild deer and prefer to avoid humans, so it takes the absence of golfers to tempt them far from cover.

Having highlighted the influx of Blackbirds in last month’s notes, we did have four more species of thrush identified this month. There were still plenty of Redwings, a few Fieldfare amongst them, and small parties of Mistle Thrush; a species present around the course all year. Song Thrushes are also resident but can go missing at times. One bird was seen on three occasions near the end of the practice area. These last two thrushes can be confused but whereas the Song Thrush is warm brown with clearly defined spots on the breast, the Mistle Thrush is larger, greyer and the spots seem smudged. As one young observer commented “they look as if the paint has run”.

Another group of species which we see regularly at Sickleholme are the Corvids. Carrion Crows, Jackdaws and Magpies can be seen almost on a daily basis, Jays can be seen or heard on most visits, Rooks are occasional, and Ravens were reported overhead on a number of dates during the year. The “black” birds can take a bit of sorting out, but Jackdaws (Sickleholme’s most numerous Corvid) can be identified by their smaller size, grey neck, and white eye – see this month’s photo image.

And so to 2023. Every best wish to you all for a happy, healthy and successful year and do please keep letting us know about the wildlife that you see around the course.

Bryan Barnacle

Jackdaw