Watching birds in the park

easier to see some of our woodland birds. Great spotted and green woodpeckers, displaying stock doves, and shy redwings have all been noticeable recently, as well as rather vocal nuthatches, tree-creepers, song thrushes, and the screeching tawny owls after dark.

"On a less cheerful note, some birds that were seen more regularly in the park a few years ago, such as various finches, are decreasing or even on the verge of disappearing.

"Sightings of bullfinch and mistle thrush are very few and far between now.

"This winter has also brought us considerably fewer black-headed gulls than we usually get, with the reason for this still being unclear."

We’ve had some exciting news following the Friends’ application to the Social Action Small Grants programme.

An award of £4,100 means that we can open up the Nissen hut as a 'warm place' for three months, starting at the beginning of February.

We’ll be open two days a week, providing a warm cosy space to sit, read a book or chat with friends. There’ll be hot and cold drinks and snacks to keep you going, too!

The funding supports a coordinator post and running costs for the project, as part of Bristol

Council’s Warm Places initiative to help tackle the cost of living crisis in our area.

More details will soon be available on our Facebook page and website, www.eastvillepark. org.uk.

Elsewhere in the park, One Tree per Child have been planting saplings in the fields.

A small area of orchard varieties has been planted near Everest Road, and native tree saplings have been planted to extend the woodland area further down the field; the grass will no longer be cut where the planting has taken place.

In Redhill Drive field, some oak saplings have been planted to ensure a succession of these magnificent trees for the centuries ahead. Some of the naturally-seeded acorns will also be given protection and thinned out over time.

At the time of writing, we hear the cuts to the Parks service that were contained in city council budget proposals may be reversed. This appears to be in no small way due to the response to the public consultation and, if confirmed, will be great news for Bristol’s parks.