From the car park looking over the small reed bed we had a Reed Warbler, a Sedge Warbler and a Whitethroat. On the lake there were Great Crested Grebes, Tufted Ducks, Mallards, a pair of Gadwall and a Mute Swan. A Cormorant and a Grey Heron flew over.
As we passed the visitor centre we heard a Cetti’s Warbler and saw a Chaffinch and a Robin at the bird feeders. At the first hide there were a pair of Gadwall, a Coot, a pair of Tufted Ducks and two Greylag Geese on the water. Goldfinches and a Great Tit were on the feeders. A Reed Warbler and a Reed Bunting were in the reeds. Flying around we had a Grey Heron, Cormorant, Kestrel, Woodpigeons, Jackdaws and a Long-tailed Tit. A Song Thrush and a Wren could be heard singing in the wood.
The first pool along the Coal Tip road had a Moorhen, a Coot with three chicks and a Little Grebe. 2 Willow Warblers and a Blackcap were singing in the trees behind us and a Reed Warbler was singing in the reed bed as 3 Oystercatchers flew over.
On the first large pool at the top of the Coal Tip road a Sedge and Reed Warbler were showing and singing in the reed bed. A good opportunity to compare the songs. Nearby there was a Cetti’s Warbler singing and a Reed Bunting. Numerous Pochards and Gadwall were on the water with Coot and 2 Common Terns perched on wooden rails in the water.
The next pool had 5 Coot families with chicks of varying sizes, 3 Little Grebe, Pochards and a Willow Warbler in the bushes. Further along the ridge we viewed the heronry and looked down over Lin Dike pools. A large number of Cormorants were nesting in the in the heronry along with the Grey Herons, Little Egrets and Spoonbills. We only saw 3 Spoonbills deep in the trees.
5 Cattle Egrets were seen with the Highland Cattle on the marsh and 4 Great White Egrets were seen on the pools. I had a brief view of a Hobby over the field before it flew behind the trees, unfortunately it didn’t re-appear.
From the corner we could view over Lin Dike pools and the marsh. On the water there were 62 Mute Swans, Shoveler, Gadwall, Shelduck and Canada Geese. The only waders were 2 Avocets and 2 Lapwings. A Cuckoo was heard calling close by but we couldn’t see it in the trees. Next to the fence a Skylark was collecting nesting material and a Green Woodpecker flew past. We returned for lunch at the picnic area before moving on to Lin Dike. An area good for warblers, we had 2 Chiffchaffs, 2 Blackcaps, 2 Cetti’s Warblers, a Willow Warbler, a Garden Warbler and a Whitethroat. Also along the path we had 2 Robins, a Chaffinch, Goldfinches, Wrens, Long-tailed Tits and Blackbirds. 3 Common Terns and a Spoonbill flew over the pool and a Red Kite and a Buzzard were seen in the distance from the viewing screen. Greylag and Canada Geese were on the marsh and a Great-spotted Woodpecker could be heard drumming.
Butterflies seen on our visit were Brimstone, Orange Tip, Common Blue and a Peacock. Dragonflies were a Four-spot Chaser, Blue-tailed and Common Blue Damselflies.
The total bird species seen was 60.
Mike Smithson
