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Variety
There's no
shortage of variety at Talkin Tarn - Otters, Stoats, Rabbits, Badgers,
Red Squirrels, Hedgehogs, Shrews, Bats, Hares, Field Mice, Roe Deer, spiders,
beetles and insects. In late May early June, you'll even see thousands
of tadpoles.
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A
damselfly clinging to the reeds
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Insects
Apart from
the stunning Damselflies, there are thousands of insects of every variety.
Rotting trees
around the walk provide ideal homes for hundreds of species of beetles,
spiders and other creepy crawlies.
The large
oak trees have over 360 different insects associated with them which then
have animals that feed on them.
There are
areas dominated by birch scrub and open areas of moor grass (within the
moor grass is scabius, an important food source of butterflies), which
at one time or another after glaciation the whole area would have been.
Rabbits
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| Who
lives in a house like this? |
Holes can
be seen under many of the trees around the trail. Some are fairly large
and you would be forgiven for thinking that a large mammal lived there,
say a badger, or a fox for example, but alas, the large holes began as
little holes and are the result the sandy soil. The little holes were
made by none other than the common rabbit.
Otter
Perhaps
the most appealing resident of Talking Tarn is a dog otter that lives
in the back of the boathouse. He lives on the eels from the tarn. He is
shy though, so it is unlikely that you will see him.
Roe Deer
First thing
in the morning, Roe Deer can often be seen ... keep your eyes opne though
as - like the otter - they keep a low profile.
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| Nibbled
pine cones |
Red Squirrels
Evidence
of Red Squirrels can be seen all over the woodland floor in the form of
nibbled pine cones. This picture shows an untouched pine cone on the left
and two nibbled pine cones on the right.
Badgers
There are
two Badger sets in the woods. You can spot where they live where rotted
tree stumps in the woods have been ripped apart. This is most likely to
have been done by Badgers looking for grubs.
Birds
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| Mallard
duck |
The woodlands
create an ideal habitat for birds. Among the birds you could see are the
Blue Tit, Grey Tit, Spotted Flycatcher, Chifchaff, and the Longtailed
Tit. During the summer you can also see the speciality bird which is the
Pied Flycatcher.
The most noticeable bird at the tarn has to be the Mallard duck, they
are keen to come and say hello when there is food on offer.
We also spotted
three Buzzards circling above the big Scots Pine.
They get a lot of Tawny Owls and there are nest boxes for them in the
wooded areas, see if you can spot them.
Food Chains
Food chains
are an important part of the country park and without them, some species
would not survive there. For example, in the lake, the perch feed on the
freshwater shrimp, then feeding on the Perch are the Pike and then feeding
on the Pike, there is the Otter.
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