Nature in November
Winter may be coming and we may need to dig out our warm coats for a walk in the park, but there is still plenty to see and do in nature this month. November is a time when young tawny owls are searching for new territories and they can be heard calling at dawn and dusk as well as into the night. It is the female tawny owl that makes the “keewit” sound and the male replies with the “hoo hooo” sound!
The wildfowl on the late appreciate being fed in the winter when natural foods are scarcer. However you may already know that bread isn’t the best food for ducks; grains, peas, lettuce and even grapes are recommended by the RSPB!
Look out for mistletoe amongst the branches of trees in the park. It particularly likes apple, willow and poplar. Mistletoe is a ‘hemiparasite’ which means it gets some of its nutrients from its host tree whilst also photosynthesising to make its own.
By Martin Mecnarowski (http://www.photomecan.eu/) – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12691242