On the lake
East park has a large diversity of wildlife.From seasonal visitors to the more established species.On the lake you can find Canada / Grey lag geese in large numbers.These residents are very popular with visitors and are quiet used to being fed by the public.Also you can find a variety of ducks also moorhens and coots.You may even see a pair of grebes fishing around the lake. As well as Goo-sanders /Pochards / Tufted Ducks. The lake is very popular with Twitches (Bird Watchers) and on occasion rare species can be spotted .(a general indication being that there are a large number of twitches shows some thing special has arrived). A monthly Bird survey is carried out of all species on the park.
Mute SwansSwans usually mate for life, though "divorce" does sometimes occur, particularly following nesting failure. Young swans are known as cygnets, from the Latin word for swan, cygnus. An adult male is a cob, from Middle English cobbe (leader of a group); an adult female is a pen.Swans can also be black in colour but are not very common in this country Male and female swans look exactly alike .But the male is larger. The female lays 4-6 eggs.It is usually only the female who incubates the eggs whilst the male protects the nest..During this time he becomes very territorial.Whilst swans make excellent parents they chase off the cygnets once they can fly.often bullying them severely to leave the pond.The Mute Swan is less vocal than the noisy Whooper and Bewick's Swans; the most familiar sound associated with Mute Swan is the vibrant throbbing of the wings in flight Male and female swans look exactly alike .But the male is larger. The female lays 4-6 eggs.It is usually only the female who incubates the eggs whilst the male protects the nest The park has always enjoyed having swans on the lake .Sadly the last breeding pair were removed after being attacked and injured.At the moment only a single swan remains. Who we hope will find a mate and cygnets will once again be seen on the lake. Swans are large water birds of the family Anatidae, which also includes geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometimes, they are considered a distinct subfamily, Cygninae. These animals have a very muscular neck, as such they are able to break bones in the human body by biting and twisting.
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Various visitors and our residents
A large number of different species live on the lake Canada and grey lag geese.Mallard and pochard ducks.coots and Moore hens and even cormorants.But on occasion we get visitors dropping in from afar. pictured above are a bar head goose and Egyptian goose not common to the park.Two lake birds that get mistaken are the moorhens and coots although similar the moorhen has a red marking on its forehead the coot is all white fore headed.
Around the Park
A squirrel is a small to medium rodent of the sciuridae family.
Unlike rabbits or deer squirrels cannot digest cellulose .so must rely on foods
rich in protein carbohydrates and fats. Squirrels living in parks have found
that humans are typically a ready source of food. feeding squirrels nuts the
roasted type instead of the raw peanut is much better for them as they cannot
absorb the protein in raw peanuts as they contain a certain enzyme. Squirrels
are very clever creatures and are well known for problem solving were food is concerned.
You will possibly only come across the grey squirrel as the is a larger species
to the red squirrel and as all but driven it out of the English countryside.
But we have a large number of greys onsite. It is not recommended that you feed
them by hand as they have a very nasty bite.There are also foxes on site but are very rarely seen during the day.The park is an ideal environment for them with plenty of hiding places and food sources available.Wild rabbits can usually be seen around the youth zone area which used to be the old bowling greens.During the summer months Bat walks take place after the park closes (see events for more information)
Foxes
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The most common species of fox is the red fox.Most foxes live to 2 to 3 years old.But they can survive 10 years or longer in captivity.Foxes are normally very wary of humans and are not kept as pets.Foxes are found in cities and have adapted well to the human presence.Foxes have been helpful for agriculture being used to control pess on fruit farms.Were they leave the fruit intact.Foxes belong to the family omnivorous canids of which there are 27 species.
Rabbits
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Rabbits usually live between 4 to 20 years.They are pregnant
for 28 to 31 days. They are herbivores feeding on grass and leafy weeds.Rabbits
live in underground burrows or warrens.rabbits cannot vomit due to the
physiology of their digestive system.rabbits are different from hares in that
the young of a rabbit is born blind and hairless as the hare is born with hair
and is able to see.Hares are larger than rabbits with longer ears and have
black markings on the fur and hares have not been domesticated as rabbits have.