Smallbrook Meadows is a nature reserve found in the town of Warminster and is home to many animals and insects throughout the year. It is accessible for pushchairs and wheelchairs and there is free parking nearby, making it a beautiful tourist attraction in Warminster. Many people walk around the reserve for many reasons: a leisurely stroll, animal watching, bird watching, photography projects, and much more. A great variety of birds can be seen all throughout the year, ranging from sparrows and pigeons to birds of prey and kingfishers.
During spring, you may find wild rabbits, water voles, and hares throughout the course of the reserve. Water voles can be seen all year around but are more prominently found around the course during spring and summer, as this is when their breeding season is. Therefore, this would be the best time to search for them. Brown hares are also best found during early spring; however, they can reach speeds of up to 45 miles per hour, so you’d need to be quick and not startle them if you’re trying to get a photograph of them. Additionally, you can spot common frogs throughout the course, but specifically in and around water sources throughout your walk.
During walks from June to September, you’ll be lucky to find otters, common lizards, and grass snakes on your strolls through Smallbrook Meadows. Otters have been rarely spotted around the reserve all year; however, their sightings are more frequent during the summer months. Common lizards can be found wallowing in the warm sun, as they tend to hibernate in the colder seasons. Grass snakes are the longest, but harmless, snakes in England, and they can be found in warm weather in this reserve. However, they can be rather quick, as can the common lizards, so if you are trying to take photographs of them, you would have to be slow and quiet.
Less animals can be found from September to May due to most of them hibernating during this time. However, if you like nighttime strolls, you may spot red foxes and hedgehogs, or if you prefer daytime walks, you may be lucky to see roe deer before they dash away or grey squirrels as they are just getting out of hibernation.
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