Watch-out for Other Wildlife at Chandos Park

The Great Tit is a small, lively bird that is very common in parks and gardens. It has a black head with bright white cheeks, a green back, and a yellow belly with a bold black stripe. Its clear song and active behaviour make it one of the most familiar birds in many local green spaces. You can often spot them in your local park, hopping along branches, hanging upside down as they search for food, or visiting bird feeders.

Unlike many birds, great tits usually do not migrate. They stay in the same area all year round. Only in very cold winters might some move a short distance to find more food.

In spring, great tits begin nesting. They choose small holes in trees, walls, or nest boxes. The female builds a soft nest using moss, grass, and feathers. She lays around 10 to 12 eggs and keeps them warm on her own. After about two weeks, the chicks hatch. Both parents then work hard to feed them, mostly bringing insects. Many pairs raise two broods in a single year.

Their diet changes with the seasons. In summer, they mainly eat insects and caterpillars, which are important for feeding their growing chicks. In winter, they eat seeds and nuts, and they are regular visitors to garden feeders.

Life is not always easy for great tits. Their nests can be attacked by animals like squirrels, woodpeckers, and weasels, and adult birds may be caught by birds of prey such as sparrowhawks. Even so, they are a very successful species.

Overall, the great tit is a cheerful and adaptable bird. Whether in a quiet woodland or a busy local park, it brings movement, colour, and birdsong to everyday surroundings.

The Eurasian Jay, often just called the Jay bird, is a shy but noisy regular in UK parks and woodlands—you’ll usually hear its harsh screech before you ever spot it.

When you do see one, look for its soft pinkish-brown body, a striking flash of bright blue on the wings, a black moustache-like stripe on the face, and a white rump that shows clearly in flight.

Jays favour areas with plenty of trees, especially oak, where they spend much of their time foraging. They’re particularly fond of acorns, which they bury in the ground to eat later (and often forget, helping new trees grow), but they’ll also eat insects, berries, nuts, and the occasional small animal.

In spring, pairs form and you might notice simple courtship behaviour like food-sharing. They build fairly untidy twig nests in trees, where the female lays around four to six eggs, and both parents help raise the chicks.

Their call is a loud, rasping screech that acts almost like an alarm for other wildlife, though they’re also capable of mimicking other sounds. In the UK they tend to stay year-round rather than migrate.

If you’re trying to spot one in your local park, listen out for that unmistakable call, watch for a flash of blue or white as it flies, and keep an eye on the ground under oak trees in autumn where they’re often busy collecting and hiding acorns.

If you have ever seen a swirling cloud of birds moving like smoke across the sky in the park, you’ve probably been watching Common starling. Here in the UK, they’re one of our most familiar and remarkable birds.

Although they can look black from a distance, starlings shimmer with greens and purples in sunlight, dotted with pale speckles. In autumn and winter, they gather in huge flocks and perform breathtaking murmurations before settling to roost. 

In Britain, many starlings stay all year, especially in towns and cities. But in autumn we’re joined by birds from northern and eastern Europe escaping colder weather — which is why winter flocks can be so large.

They’re noisy and wonderfully musical. Their song is a fast mix of whistles, clicks and rattles, and they’re talented mimics too. In spring, males sing enthusiastically to attract a mate.

Starlings nest in holes — in trees, buildings or nest boxes — lining them with grass and feathers. Their chicks hatch helpless, and both parents work hard bringing insects and worms. Within about three weeks, the young are ready to leave the nest and soon join the growing flocks.

Sadly, starlings have declined in recent decades and are now on the UK’s Red List. So when you hear their chatter or see a murmuration overhead, it’s well worth stopping to enjoy the show.

So if you’re walking past the outdoor gym and hear a raucous chatter or see flashes of bright green in the trees, you’re witnessing one of the park’s liveliest residents — bold, noisy, and full of character.

If you hear loud chattering squawk coming from the treetops whilst in the park — that’s probably a Parakeet. These bright green parakeets have made themselves at home in towns and parks across southern England, including ours. They don’t migrate, so once they find a good patch of trees, they stay all year round.

The males are easy to spot with their glossy green feathers, red beaks, and the thin black ring around their necks. Females and young birds are slightly duller, but equally lively. Their calls are loud and unmistakable — a mix of screeches, squawks, and constant chatter that carries across the park.

In spring, parakeets look for holes in old trees to nest in, and sometimes that leads to funny little disputes. Our outdoor gym area, with its trees nearby, is a popular spot, and visitors have often noticed them quarreling with squirrels over who gets the best nest hole. The parakeets are bold and persistent, while the squirrels are equally determined — it’s a noisy little battle high in the branches!

Once the eggs hatch, both parents work hard feeding the chicks a mix of seeds and fruit. The young parakeets grow quickly and leave the nest in about six to eight weeks, ready to join the local flock and explore the park.

Wood pigeons are among the most familiar birds in local parks across the UK. Larger and bulkier than feral pigeons, they are recognised by their soft grey-pink colouring, white neck patches and bright white wing flashes that show clearly in flight.

Feeding: They feed mainly on seeds, grains, leaves and buds. In parks they are often seen quietly grazing on lawns, nibbling grass shoots and clover, or searching beneath trees for fallen seeds. Their ability to digest tougher plant material helps them thrive year-round in both urban and rural areas.

Nesting: Their nests are simple, rather flimsy platforms of twigs placed in trees, hedges or thick shrubs. Despite looking sparse from below, they are usually strong enough to support the eggs and growing chicks. Wood pigeons can breed over a long season, often raising several broods from early spring through summer.

Mating and Courtship: Males perform a distinctive display flight, rising steeply before gliding down with wings spread. On branches, they puff out their chest feathers, bow and coo softly to attract a mate. Pairs are generally monogamous for the season and sometimes longer.

Eggs and Chicks: The female usually lays two white eggs. Both parents share incubation, which lasts just under three weeks. After hatching, the chicks are fed “crop milk,” a nutrient-rich secretion produced by both parents. As they grow, this is mixed with softened seeds. The young typically leave the nest at around four weeks old.

Calls and Movement: Their gentle, rhythmic cooing — often heard echoing through parks — is one of the most recognisable bird calls. In much of the UK they are resident all year, though numbers can increase in autumn when migrants from northern Europe arrive.

Adaptable and calm around people, wood pigeons are now a constant presence in many green spaces, adding movement and soft birdsong to the everyday park landscape.

When you are in the park, you will almost certainly spot the Eastern grey squirrel scurrying up trees or leaping between branches. Introduced from North America in the 19th century, these clever little mammals are now a familiar part of UK parks.

Grey squirrels are busy year-round, but you’ll see them most in the mornings and late afternoons. They spend a lot of time gathering food, especially in autumn when they bury nuts and seeds for later. Their bushy tails help them balance and even act like a parachute when they jump between branches.

Spring is an exciting time in the park, as squirrels begin their courting season. Males chase females through the trees, performing acrobatic leaps and chases to show off their strength and agility.

Squirrels are also a little feisty. Near the outdoor gym and tree areas, they’re sometimes seen squabbling with parakeets over nesting holes, making the trees a noisy place of playful disputes.

Female squirrels build nests, called dreys, in tree forks or dense branches. They usually have two litters a year, with the babies staying in the nest for about six weeks before venturing out with their mother to learn climbing, jumping, and foraging.