Halwill Parish Wildlife

Halwill Parish has an abundance of wildlife to see; much of it scarce and unusual. The following is a quick guide of what to look out for. I don't pretend that this is a comprehensive list but it is a good sample.

Amphibians of Halwill

Amphibian can be seen virtually anywhere in the parish.

1. Common Frog
2. Common Toad
3. Smooth Newt
4. Common Newt

Reptiles of Halwill

Lizards are regularly seen around the hedge banks in the Parish. Slow worms sometimes bask on the roads.

1. Common Lizard
2. Slow worm
3. Adder
4. Grass snake

Mammals of Halwill

We have a good selection of native mammals many of which are unconcerned by human presence. A walk along the streams should reveal red deer and fox.

1. Red Deer (including rare white specimens)
2. Fallow Deer
3. Roe Deer
4. Muntjack Deer
5. Mole
6. Bank vole
7. Harvest mouse
8. Dormouse
9. Bats (need a bat expert to tell me what species but we have big 'uns, little 'uns and some with faces only a mother could love!)
10. Fox
11. Stoat
12. Otter
13. Hedgehog
14. Badger
15. Rabbit
16. Hare
17. Grey Squirrel

Birds of Halwill

Halwill is a great place to watch birds with a patchwork of habitats from mire grassland to deciduous woodland with lakes and streams. The following is a list of the birds I have seen at Halwill, some common, some once only.

1. Little grebe: occasional summer visitor to the lakes

2. Cormorant

3. Heron

4. Canada geese: Breeding some years, noisy

5. Mallard

6. Red Kite: Passage, stayed in area last spring

7. Hen Harrier: Winter visitor

8. Marsh Harrier

9. Buzzard

10. Sparrow Hawk

11. Kestrel

12. Merlin: Seen once in Autumn

13. Hobby: The swallows usually alert you to its presence, catches dragonflies over lakes.

14. Pheasant

15. Moorhen: Shy but sometimes comes to the bird feeders.

16. Curlew: Winter/Spring

17. Snipe: Winter/Spring

18. Woodcock: Common in winter along the woodland edges

19. Herring gull

20. Lesser black backed gull

21. Great Black Backed gull

22. Black headed gull

23. Stock dove

24. Wood pigeon

25. Collared Dove

26. Cuckoo

27. Barn owl

28. Little owl: Not seen recently, formally resident in area.

29. Tawny owl: More often heard than seen

30. Green woodpecker

31. Great spotted woodpecker: Particularly fond of chocolate cake!

32. Kingfisher

33. Swift

34. Skylark

35. Woodlark

36. Swallow

37. House marten

38. Sand marten

39. Tree pipit

40. Meadow pipit

41. Pied wagtail

42. Dunnock

43. Wren

44. Robin

45. Redstart: Summer in the woods

46. Stonechat: Sits on bushes on the moor

47. Wheatear

48. Mistle thrush

49. Song thrush

50. Redwing: Winter visitor

51. Blackbird

52. Fieldfare: Winter visitor

53. Grasshopper warbler: Heard more often than seen

54. Chiffchaff: The first sound of spring

55. Willow warbler

56. Sedge warbler

57. Garden warbler

58. Blackcap

59. Whitethroat

60. Goldcrest

61. Long tailed tit

62. Blue Tit

63. Great Tit

64. Willow tit

65. Marsh Tit

66. Coal Tit

67. Nuthatch

68. Tree creeper

69. Jay

70. Magpie

71. Crow

72. Raven

73. Rook

74. Jackdaw

75. Starling

76. House sparrow

77. Chaffinch

78. Greenfinch

79. Siskin

80. Bullfinch: Breeding usually seen on the track to the log cabin

81. Goldfinch

82. Lesser Redpoll

83. Linnet

84. Reed bunting

Please let Don Osborne (Parish Clerk) know of anything you can add to the list.