What a difference some sunshine makes! It seems that all of nature has burst into life this month. Birds are singing their hearts out and building nests, the reptiles are out and about across the heath and the trees and plants are in full leaf.
Our green-winged orchids have made an appearance over on our south park. These beautiful purple flowers are classified as ‘near threatened’ due to declines in population as a result of habitat loss. However, they have the right conditions to survive here due to the conservation work being done by the team and have been popping up every spring.
The park welcomed lots of visitors over the Easter school holidays, with thousands of people coming to enjoy the wonderful sunshine. It was so nice to see so many people enjoying the great outdoors, meeting with friends and families and exploring the heathland. Lots of children (and adults!) had great fun on our Easter activity trail hunting down the eggs and learning about the egg-laying species that live at Avon Heath. The rangers also led pond dipping, moth trap unveiling and nature table sessions. We think we had a few future rangers in the making!
We also welcomed back The Falcons Crest who led a small group owl encounter evening. They were wonderful answering everyone’s questions about the owls. We have both tawny owls and barn owls here so it was a great opportunity to learn about some of Avon Heaths most elusive creatures. Look out for more future events coming up this summer.
Our rangers and volunteers started work this month updating our sand lizard enclosure. The enclosure next to the Visitor Centre forms an important part of a sand lizard breeding programme, in partnership with Amphibian and Reptile conservation. The enclosure is in need of some maintenance so our volunteers have done a fantastic job of clearing it of vegetation. This way we can repair any parts in need of attention and improve the space for the sand lizards. The lizards will be back soon once the work is completed so watch this space!