Under Development! - This is a first stab at a series of pages about the natural environment in Hankelow and the surrounding area. I have no expertise in any of these areas, so I am hoping readers will send in suggestions to add to the lists below. In particular insects and fungi need contributions.
If anyone has photographs and/or interesting information on any item, I can add a note page. Take a look at the underlined examples in the lists below.
So if you have anything I can add, please email it to me at nature@hankelow.org.uk.
In 2017 Cheshire Wildlife Trust provided a report entitled
"Protecting and enhancing Hankelow's natural environment". The
report can be seen in full
here.
This shows that Hankelow contains many important environments,
such as meres and mosses, ancient woodlands, open farmland,
ancient hedgerows, streams, and of course the river Weaver.
A wide variety of flora and fauna can be found in these habitats,
such as:-
- Birdlife
- Wild flowers, fungi, shrubs and trees
- Pond and river life
- Insects, moths and butterflies, and spiders
- Wild animals
Birdlife
Many species of birds can be seen in and around Hankelow:-
- Everyday year-round birds:-
- wood pigeon, collared dove, house-sparrow, wren, blackbird, song thrush, mistle thrush, buzzard, kestrel, sparrowhawk, crow, jackdaw, magpie, jay, raven, blue tit, great tit, long-tailed tit, coal tit, robin, pied wagtail, pheasant, chaffinch, greenfinch, goldfinch, goldcrest, linnet, starling, nuthatch, tree-creeper, greater-spotted woodpecker, little owl, barn owl, tawny owl ...
- Common water birds:-
- Mallard duck, moorhen, coot, grey heron, cormorant, canada goose, pinkfoot goose, greylag goose, mute swan, widgeon, tufted duck, little grebe, various seagulls ...
- Regular summer vistors:-
- swallow, house martin, swift, chiffchaff, willow warbler, blackcap, whitethroat, etc..
- Regular winter visitors:-
- Redwing, fieldfare, redpoll...
- Less common sightings:-
- kingfisher, green woodpecker, lesser-spotted woodpecker, tree sparrow, yellowhammer, oystercatcher, lapwing, red kite, red-legged partridge, skylark, whooper swan, great crested grebe, gadwall...
If you can
add to the lists or you see
anything unusual, please tell us about it! Email
nature@hankelow.org.uk,
and please attach pictures if you have them.
Wild flowers, fungi, shrubs and trees
Many wild flowers can be seen in Hankelow. Of course these are seasonal! Look on the village green when it has not been mowed for a while, and in the grass verges and copses. Don't forget to look for fungi as well.
- Common wildflowers:-
- Common daisy, dandelion, bluebell, campion, lesser celandine, fox-and-cubs, birds-foot trefoil, ragwort, wood anemone, star of Bethlehem, red dead nettle...
- Semi-wild flowers:-
- Daffodil, snowdrop, montbretia ...
- Rarer flowers:- ...
- Other plants:-
- Cow parsley, stinging nettle, giant hogweed ...
- Hedgerow shrubs:-
- Hawthorn, blackthorn, holly, ...
- Fungi:-
- field mushroom, ...
- Trees:-
- Oak, horse-chestnut, sweet chesnut, sycamore, maple, lime, ...
If you can add to the lists or
you see anything unusual,
please tell us about it! Email
nature@hankelow.org.uk,
and please attach pictures if you have them.
Pond and river life
The village pond contains ..., and crayfish etc... can be found in the river Weaver. Amphibians such as frogs, newts and toads are also common near the many ponds in the area.
If you know of anything we
haven't mentioned, please tell us about it! Email
nature@hankelow.org.uk,
and please attach pictures if you have them.
Insects, moths and butterflies, and spiders
In the summer there are many species of butterflies and moths, such as ..., cinnabar moth, ....
There are also many kinds of beetle and other insects...
If you see anything unusual,
please tell us about it! Email
nature@hankelow.org.uk,
and please attach pictures if you have them.
Wild animals
Grey squirrels abound, and there are also many rabbits in the area. Foxes and badgers are fairly frequent sights, and occasionally hares, stoats and weasels.
If you are very luckly you may see signs of otters by the Weaver, and apparently polecats and wild mink have also been seen, as well as one sighting of a Muntjac deer.
Grass snakes and lizards can sometimes be observed.
If you see anything unusual,
please tell us about it! Email
nature@hankelow.org.uk,
and please attach pictures if you have them.
