The birds and the bees at Charlecote

What would you like to know?

When do the deer lose their antlers? What happens to the bees in winter? What sort of nest box does a robin prefer? Is that a swallow or a house-martin? Why do the sheep have coloured patches? Visitors ask us so many questions, and we’ve created a wildlife hub in the Spinney by the bird hide where we hope you can find some of the answers.

This is where you can find out more about the deer, the birds you might see around the parkland, how we look after our bees and plenty more with seasonal information about bugs, frogs and butterflies which goes out at different times each year.

We also put up information about the plants that are looking at their best at the moment in the gardens to help you discover more about what's caught your eye.

Staff and volunteers have worked together to pool their knowledge, from our ornithology volunteers, the group who count butterflies every year, our beekeepers, Matt the gardener and his volunteer team, Joy the park ranger and her crew and, of course, Jana our talented volunteer photographer. Jana’s daughter illustrated anything we didn’t have a photo for too!

This is the best place for children doing their 50 Things challenge to find out more for identifying birds and other wildlife.

Everyone has added their knowledge and experience to the information, Jana worked on creating the posters, other volunteers put together the displays of birdboxes, antlers and beehive interior.

Of course, if you still have questions just post them on social media and we’ll find the answer for you. You might even inspire us to create another information board.