Visit to Noak Bridge Nature Reserve – 11th February 2021

Date: 11th February 2021

Time: from 10:45 a.m.

Weather: light snow, grey and cloudy, light wind, -2°C

As I left home, I saw 2 Fieldfares in the trees at the bottom of my road and heard 2 or 3 singing Goldfinches.

This was my first visit to the reserve during the current period of very cold and snowy weather and it looked especially beautiful in its white covering.

Given the weather conditions, I wasn’t expecting much in terms of wildlife sightings but my visit proved to be surprisingly good.

During my visit, I added one further species to my site list for the year: a female Kestrel with what appeared to be a dead Bank Vole in its talons sitting in a tree in Thorny Wood. This bird allowed a relatively close approach which enabled me to photograph it.

In addition, there were several other highlights: a fly-over female Sparrowhawk and 3 fly-over Mallards as I walked along the main track from the Spanish Steps plus c.10 Redwings in the company of c.5 Blackbirds, 2 Song Thrushes and a singing Wren in the wooded area bordering Willow Pond.

I heard several other Redwings at different locations around the reserve and also a distant calling Green Woodpecker although I think this bird may have been outside the reserve. The woodland between East Meadow and Puckles Pond provided sightings of foraging Blue Tits, Great Tits and Long-tailed Tits plus a few Robins.

Finally, I saw 2 Grey Squirrels during my visit: 1 in the wooded area around Fox Pond and 1 in the wooded area back towards Puckles Pond.

Species recorded during this visit were as follows (heard only records in italics):

Blue Tit
Great Tit

Long-tailed Tit

Robin

Wren

Redwing

Blackbird

Song Thrush

Goldfinch

Kestrel

Sparrowhawk

Green Woodpecker

Woodpigeon

Jay

Magpie

Carrion Crow

Mallard

Grey Squirrel

Here are some photos from my visit:

Photo: female Kestrel

Photo: female Kestrel

Site totals to date (2021 totals in brackets):

Birds = 40  (20)
Mammals = 2  (1)
Butterflies = 18  (0)
Dragonflies and damselflies = 9  (0)
Reptiles = 1  (0)
Amphibians = 0  (0)

💚🦆 🦉🦋🐝🦊🦡🌼 🌳💚
Stay safe, stay well, stay strong, stay connected with nature