Date: 24th February 2026
Time: from 8:46 a.m.
Weather: dry, cloudy/bright, light wind, 10°C to 12°C
During my visit to the reserve this morning, emerging Cherry Plum blossom at a few locations, together with very evident singing Song Thrushes (at least 2 males) and Robins, were some first signs of spring.
I am anticipating hearing the first returning singing male Chiffchaffs within the next 2 to 3 weeks, closely followed by the first returning Blackcaps in the first week of April.
During my visit, I added 3 species to my 2026 site list: Moorhen, Mallard, Carrion Crow
The notable bird records during my visit were as follows ….
Moorhen: 2 or possibly 3 birds seen on Willow Pond and 1 or possibly 2 birds on Meadow Pond plus another seen crossing the path near the storage shed (hopefully at least one pair will breed again this year on one of the ponds)
Mallard: male together with a leucistic bird seen on Willow Pond
Redwing: at least 10 seen in the eastern section of the reserve and another seen in bushes alongside the path near the storage shed
I also saw 5 individual Grey Squirrels: 2 in the wooded area surrounding Willow Pond, 2 in the wooded area between the storage shed and Puckles Pond and another in Thorny Wood
Species recorded during this visit were as follows (heard only records in italics):
Site totals for 2026 to date (2025 and 2024 totals in brackets):
Total species list for the site:
Love nature .... act now
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