There is a lot of wildlife that you can look out for as you walk around the parish.
Wild flowers
Wild flowers are very seasonal, so click on the link below for information on what might be flowering for the relevant season. Spring, Summer, (Note: Autumn and Winter will be added when they arrive)
Crops
Much of the land around the parish is either given over to grass or crops. The grass may be used for grazing sheep or left to grow longer then cut for hay or silage.
Planted fields in this area are most likely to be:
- cereal crops such as wheat, barley or oats;
- crops for oil such as the bright yellow flowering fields of oil seed rape or linseed (both blue and white flowering types);
- or vegetables such as beans, sweetcorn or potatoes
Animals
There are foxes, badgers, hedgehogs and even a few deer in the parish but you will be lucky to see them on a walk as they are all very shy creatures. However there are plenty of farmyard and domestic animals around the parish so why not see how many different ones you can see. Sheep (and lambs in Spring), goats, horses, dogs and cats are all likely to be around, so keep your eyes peeled.
Birds
All sorts of garden and woodland birds abound in the parish as well as many game birds that are bred and released locally. Among the more unusual don’t be surprised if you see pheasants, partidges, a woodpecker, or hear a cuckoo (between April and June) or a little owl. That large bird wheeling lazily in the sky with lighter patches under the wings is almost certainly a buzzard, which have become much more numerous locally in the last few years.
The SSSI at the quarry
There is a site of special scientific interest at the quarry on the Rough Hills behind the village, which is the habitat of various unusual or rare species, but it is not accessible and should be avoided when walking in that area, so as to preserve the wildlife there. Withycombe woods is also an SSSI but it can be visited and walkable paths go through it.
