Date: 15th January 2021
Time: from 11 a.m.
Weather: dry, cloudy, light wind, 2°C
to 3°C
After the recent heavy rain, it was good to see all
the ponds filled to the brim! Having said that, unlike my last visit on 2nd January 2021, none
of them produced any Mallards or indeed Moorhens which I have yet
to see on the reserve this year.
Photo: "deep water" has returned to the ponds!
In some areas of the reserve, especially the wooded
areas in the east, it was also flooded away from the main tracks. In fact,
several locations reminded me of the amazing wet forests and swamps of the BiaΕowieΕΌa Forest in north east Poland which I have been fortunate to
visit on 2 occasions.
I saw and heard very few birds during my visit but
nonetheless I did have some notable sightings.
Whilst walking along the track from the storage
shed to Willow Pond, I heard and then saw a fly-over Pied Wagtail, my
first record for the site for the year.
As I left the reserve, there was a group of c.15 Redwings
in the hedges and trees along the track between the Spanish Steps and the
pedestrian gate.
I had a reminder that spring is not too far away
with several singing Robins (they resumed singing in December), now
joined by several singing Great Tits and 2 singing Song Thrushes.
Finally, I saw 9 Grey Squirrels, my highest total on a single visit to the site: 1 around the pedestrian gate, 3 along the track between the pedestrian gate and the Spanish Steps, 2 along the track between the Spanish Steps and the storage shed, 1 along the track from the storage shed to Willow Pond and 2 along the track from the storage shed and Puckles Pond.
Species recorded during this visit
were as follows (heard only records in italics):
Great Tit
Long-tailed Tit
Robin
Wren
Redwing
Blackbird
Song Thrush
Woodpigeon
Jay
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Herring Gull
Grey Squirrel
Site totals to date (2021 totals in brackets):
Mammals = 2 (1)
Butterflies = 18 (0)
Dragonflies and damselflies = 9 (0)
Reptiles = 1 (0)
Amphibians = 0 (0)
No comments:
Post a Comment
If you feel like commenting on my blog, you can contact me by completing the comment form below. I will respond to all comments and enquiries and constructive criticism will always be welcomed.