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
Bob Tunstall
Nuthatch feeding at the bird hide
At the court the house martins are back in force, 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
Charlie Fothergill
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
NT Images
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
Tracey Blackwell
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 in laye spring and early summer.
Roe deer in the parkland
John Hubble
Roe deer in the 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
NT Images/James Dobson
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
NT Images
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
John Hubble
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
John Hubble
Coot and chick on the lake at Croome
Download one of our spotter sheets or pick up a free copy at our Visitor Centre.
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