Wildlife Blog Summer 2013
We have all enjoyed a great summer at Kelling but how did our wildlife fare?

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We have all enjoyed a great summer at Kelling but how did our wildlife fare?
Sarah Kemp, Acorn Events coordinator at Kelling Heath stands in for Jerry Kinsley and takes a look at what happens when the Park closes down for its short winter break
I am writing this blog on the first day of autumn and reflecting on what has been a contrasting and challenging summer for our wildlife.
Bumbles and Town Hall Clocks What a difference a few days makes, from last week’s sunny, warm days to the chilly damp and windy arrival of Easter! Spring was advancing rapidly with spring flowers blooming and birds nesting; now we will have to wait and see how wildlife responds. We had been seeing plentiful butterflies that overwintered as adults such as peacocks, commas, brimstones and small tortoiseshells. Recently they have been joined by newly emerged orange tips and the occasional holly blue.
Sarah Nichols, Acorn Events coordinator at Kelling Heath stands in for Jerry Kinsley and takes a look at what happens when the Park closes down for its short winter break
The weather in late September certainly sprang a few surprises on us with temperatures reaching the late twenties, combined with dry, sunny conditions. We will have to wait and see what impact the unseasonal weather has had on wildlife. Certainly it has had a major effect on fungi this autumn with very few species fruiting and those that did, not in the abundance of last year.
After the hot, dry early summer and spring the weather developed into a typical British summer once the school holidays began. There were still some hot, sunny days but there were also a lot of grey and damp days.
May was a continuation of the dry sunny weather of the early spring. These conditions brought forward the flowering period of many plants by a couple of weeks with bluebells being dried up and almost disappeared from sight by early May when they would have been in full bloom in a typical year.
What our guests are saying:
"It could be anywhere in the world but with the convenience of being 45 minutes from home"