Joe woodman wildlife
  • BLOG
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT

Wildlife Blog

Wytham Woods: A Season in Three Boxes

24/8/2022

0 Comments

 
Wytham Woods is the most studied woodland on earth 🌳🌳🌳. Every spring, a population of birds undergo their breeding season as they make their homes in the 1000 or so nest boxes spread across the woods. And every spring, this population is closely monitored by members of the Edward Grey Institute at the University of Oxford.
This year, the long-term monitoring project celebrates it 75th birthday! That's 75 years of continuous data collection, which is incredibly valuable data that has been used to help answer fundamental questions about ecology and evolution. Watch this video to find out how we monitor the population and collect standardised data, taking you through a season in three of the boxes!
• • • • • • • • • •
All fieldwork in this video was undertaken with the correct British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) ringing licenses - please do not interfere with breeding birds unless you also have the correct permits!
0 Comments

Swallow youngsters

17/7/2022

1 Comment

 
I have just arrived in the Isles of Scilly for a 2-week family holiday! My first notable wildlife encounter have been these three swallow fledglings that are being fed by the parents in the eaves of Tresco church entrance. It's amazing to think that even though they've only just left the nest, in a couple of months time they will be on a 6-week-long migration all the way to Africa!
1 Comment

Rutland Water

8/6/2022

0 Comments

 
Following the busy breeding season, I have taken a short break to Rutland Water to visit the Rutland Water Nature Reserve and Lyndon Nature Reserve, famed for their breeding ospreys that can be seen there. I also enjoyed seeing quite a few avocets, which of course are known as the face of the RSPB!
0 Comments

Wytham Breeding Season 2022

25/5/2022

0 Comments

 
It has been another extremely busy breeding season this year in Bean Wood at Wytham! But with over 180 adults identified, 640 chicks ringed, and ~1500 individual nest-box checks, it is finally drawing to an end. I will be producing a short video in the coming weeks which will take you through the season in a handful of boxes, but for now here are some photo highlights!
0 Comments

Wytham Tits 75th Anniversary

27/4/2022

0 Comments

 
75 years ago today, the first egg was recorded in Wytham, beginning a huge effort to systematically track the breeding attempts of an entire population over multiple decades. I feel very lucky to be just one small cog that has contributed to the data collection in this incredible study which has been so influential and critical in studies of ecology and evolution. Keep an eye out for Wytham across various media outlets this week as we celebrate the anniversary!

BBC News article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-61314226
Video clip: ​https://twitter.com/i/status/1522107127426437120
0 Comments

Wytham Wildflowers

22/4/2022

0 Comments

 
A series of beautiful wildflowers seen springing out of the hedgerows and grassy meadows in Wytham this time of year.
0 Comments

First Egg

30/3/2022

0 Comments

 
It's the 75th anniversary of data collection here in Wytham Woods and I'm pleased to say that the first egg has been laid in my round! This long-term study has been crucial to understanding patterns in ecology and evolution, and a nice demonstration of that is the finding of this first egg on March 30th. Climate change has led to warmer temperatures earlier in the spring, meaning earlier emergence of leaves and earlier caterpillars. This means that if breeding birds continued to raise their young at the same time of year, they would miss the peak of caterpillars when compared to the peak of their chicks' energetic needs – a condition known as trophic mismatch. This means that the birds have also had to shift their breeding season earlier. This can be seen clearly across the 75 years of data collection in Wytham, where when the study started in 1947, egg-laying was almost a month later!
0 Comments

Late March at Farmoor Reservoir

24/3/2022

0 Comments

 
Nice afternoon at Farmoor reservoir seeing plenty of species, including the rare Oxon great northern diver visitor that has been here for a few weeks now. It's also great to see some courtship dances among the great-crested grebes, which I think is always one of the very best behaviours to watch!
0 Comments

Wheatear in Port Meadow

14/3/2022

0 Comments

 
I was very happy to see this beautiful male wheatear during an evening trip to Port Meadow today! These birds are reasonably rare visitors to Oxfordshire, having come from central Africa where they over-winter, and passing through to breed either on the west coasts of the UK or further afield. 
0 Comments

Spring in Oxford

12/3/2022

0 Comments

 
It's been a great day for feeling like spring has sprung in Oxford. I trudged around a few of the wildlife hotspots inside the city, with no particular hopes to see anything specific. This started in Port Meadow, where the river runs along the west and the canal to the east. At this time of year, the meadow is still flooded, attracting many gulls, waterfowl and some waders to roost overnight. This includes sometimes very large flocks of golden plover, one of which I saw isolated today perfectly camouflaged against the yellow grass! The air was thick with skylark song, which I expect will start laying their first eggs in a month-or-so's time. I then crossed north Oxford through to Marston meadows, where the first chiffchaff song of the year made me sure that spring has sprung!
0 Comments
<<Previous

    Joe Woodman

    A blog of my ideas, photography and research of the natural world. 

    Archives

    March 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    December 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    February 2020
    July 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    May 2018
    July 2017
    April 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    October 2015
    August 2015

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • BLOG
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT