Summer wildlife

Summer has arrived in the parkland with so much wildlife to spot.

A walk through the Home Shrubbery gives you the chance to try and spot the nest of our great spotted woodpeckers and also, unusually, a nuthatch flitting in and out of its nest secreted in the outside wall of the Walled Garden.

Nuthatch feeding at the bird hide
Nuthatch feeding on a branch
Nuthatch feeding at the bird hide


At the court the house martins are back in force after a year of the building being under scaffold. See them collecting mud to repair their nests in the eaves of the court and swooping around the meadows catching flying insects on the wing.  

House martins and swallows at Croome
House martins and swallows at Croome
House martins and swallows at Croome

Across south park visitors with a keen eye may spot kestrels and perhaps tawny, little or barn owl hunting field voles.  We are working with our tenant farmer to change the grazing regime which is helping their numbers increase.

Kestrel
Kestrel
Kestrel

Walking towards the southern end of the river, you may spot hobby hunting dragonflies.   These impressive small falcons can even catch a swift in flight.  Brightly coloured dragonflies and damselflies can be seen near the lakeside.

Spot the damselfly around the edge of the lake
Damselfly clinging to plant
Spot the damselfly around the edge of the lake

Bird song fills the park in the summer and you may hear a nightingale singing its majestic song out in the wider parkland.

Keep your eyes peeled and you may see the odd deer - we have wild roe and muntjac roaming the estate - or their hoof marks (called slots) in muddy patches out in the wider estate.

See if you can spot a muntjac in the parkland
Muntjac in parkland
See if you can spot a muntjac in the parkland

If you’re lucky, you may even spot a slowworm basking in the sunshine.  We’ve a growing population here at Croome they’re not actually snakes but legless lizards.

Slow worm basking in the sun
Slow worm basking in the sun
Slow worm basking in the sun

Heading towards the lakeside you can see the many swans with their cygnets.

Swan with cygnets at the lake
Swan with cygnets at the lake
Swan with cygnets at the lake

Geese, moorhens, coots and ducks also enjoy the lake and in the late afternoon you may see the unmistakable bright blue and orange of a kingfisher hunting at the water's edge.

Coot and chick on the lake at Croome
Coot with chick
Coot and chick on the lake at Croome

Download one of our spotter sheets or pick up a free copy at our Visitor Centre.

Butterfly Spotter Guide (PDF / 0.4MB) download

Bird spotter's guide (PDF / 0.3MB) download

Wildflower Spotter Guide (PDF / 0.4MB) download

Dragonfly Spotter Guide

Watch our video of the coots with their new chicks


Early evening sees bats swooping low over the water. These are Daubenton’s bats, the only bat in the UK to hunt over water, catch the flies emerging from their larval stages in the water.

Watch our slideshow and listen to the Nightingale recorded at Croome