Dropping hints - park's "eyes down" plan to track wildlife
A wildlife-rich holiday park in Cumbria is recruiting guests to help identify animal habitats in its grounds - by signing on as "dropping spotters" during their woodland walks.
Skelwith Fold Caravan Park in Ambleside says it is keen to log the spread and density of its wildlife population which includes red deer, red squirrels, badgers, hares and a wide variety of birds.
One of the most effective ways to achieve this, believes Skelwith's Henry Wild, is to record where droppings are most commonly found.
Armed with identification sheets which the park will provide, Henry hopes that holidaymakers' field reports will help to build a broad picture of Skelwith Fold's feathered and four-footed residents.
"There are well over one hundred acres of parkland here, most of it wooded and criss-crossed by paths which guests enjoy exploring when they stay here," said Henry.
"By asking them to cast their eyes downward from time to time, we could amass a huge amount of valuable data on what species favour particular locations.
"This information will be invaluable in helping us to map our wildlife and encourage the conditions for their feeding and breeding," he added.
Animal droppings and bird pellets can be quite distinctive, said Henry, and so too can their locations. Badgers, for example, dig out pits for their droppings, while foxes leave their deposits on tussocks.
Many bird pellets can also be readily identified, he commented, like those left by owls and seed-feeding birds such as goldfinches.
Skelwith Fold was named as the Holiday Park of the Year in 2010 by Cumbria Tourism, and has won a number of top green awards for its care of the natural environment.
The park has also been praised in recent times by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales for its successful bid to re-introduce colonies of red squirrels in the grounds.
Guests who wish to take part in dropping safaris will be issued with illustrated crib-sheets to help identify their finds, and a map of the park's grounds to mark their location.
"We're hoping that this will catch the imagination of children especially as they love exploring with a purpose and making their own discoveries," said Henry.
"Next year, we'll also be offering a small weekly prize for the youngster which records the most sightings on their safaris.
"After giving it some thought, we've decided to let them choose between a book token - or a hardback set of AA Milne stories," he said.