You recorded a wide range of species this week starting with a member of the Ichneumon wasp family of which there are over 20 species in Britain and was seen at our Willington Gravel Pits reserve, as was a member of the Beefly family. At another of our reserves, Oakerthorpe, a white saddle fungus which has a wrinkled white appearance and is common in beech woodlands was recorded.
Outside of our reserves near Curbar a brambling was spotted, these winter visitors are members of the finch family will often flock with other finches where there is plenty of food. To the south outside the Peak District a pair of otters were spotted. They are a species that are well adapted to spending a lot of their time in water with their webbed feet and they also have the ability to close their nose and ears! Further south still an amphibian named after the wavy crest the males develop along their back and tail during the breeding season, the great crested newt, was recorded.
