Talkin Tarn Wildlife
Reed beds and open water. Waterside
margins with soft rushes, irises, sedges and grasses. Beech woods,
birch and hazel scrub woodland, wet grassland and flushes. Talkin
Tarn has a variety of different habitats, attracting many different
species of wildlife throughout the year.
Red squirrels frequent the bird and
squirrel feeding area next to the tearoom, along with nuthatches
and greater spotted woodpeckers.
The Red Squirrel
Sciurus vulgaris can live up to seven years, and feed on
pine seeds, berries, acorns, fungi and even tree bark. A red
squirrel will construct a spherical nest called a drey
using twigs, moss and leaves. Although they do not
hibernate in winter, they may shelter in their dreys for days on
end to avoid spells of bad weather.
During the summer
months (May to August), the Common Blue Damselfly
(Enallagma cyathigerum) emerge from their underwater home
which they inhabit during their larval stage.
In the water, Damselfly nymphs feed
on other aquatic insects, like freshwater shrimps, daphnia, and
worms.
The nymphs emerge from the water by
crawling up plant stems at the water's edge. Above the water line,
they shed their larval skin and pump up their wings ready for
flight.
Newly emerged damselflies are
called tenerals, and are dull in colour, usually an olive
bronze. They rest among the vegetation, feeding by picking small
insects off the leaves, and wait for maturation into the brightly
coloured adult damselfly.
Adult damselflies mate with the
male clasping the female around the neck. The female lays her eggs
among submerged vegetation.
Common Blue Damselflies are very
similar to the Variable Damselfly and the Azure Damselfly, both of
which can be found in the same habitat as the Common Blue
Damselfly.
Common Blue Damselflies can be
distinguished by the broad black stripes along the thorax.
An easy way to distinguish a
damselfly from a dragonfly is damselflies hold their wings back
along the line of their bodies when at rest. Dragonflies hold their
wings splayed out when at rest.
Other species of wildlife that you may encounter at Talkin
Tarn include the Otter (Lutra lutra),
badgers (Meles meles),
foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and roe
deer (Capreolus capreolus).
Autumn brings a show of colours
from the autumnal trees and the splendour of the fungi of all
shapes sizes and colours, growing from nooks and crannies around
the woodland.
The winter months bring a variety
of birds to the open water, to feed and roost in safety. Among the
usual Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), there
are Wigeon (Anas penelope),
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla) and
Mute swans (Cygnus olor) as well as gulls
and geese.
Download a copy of the Bird Species
List For Talkin Tarn below.