Tuesday 26 February 2013

Middleton Lakes

Very busy at the moment so apart from seeing Argo on Saturday night, it was so good I thought I might give it an Oscar, we managed to get up to Middleton on what was a bleak Sunday afternoon.

The paths were quite manageable, but still recommend Wellies or Boots.  The feeders by the Heronry were very busy as was the Heronry itself, most of the Heronry nests were occupied, so looking good! The star for us at the feeders being the Lesser Redpoll:



The others seen here were Great & Blue Tits, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Dunnock and Reed Bunting:
So on up the path to the reserve, the path through the woods is closed for repair, so had to continue up the Bridleway. There was plenty of Crow activity as usual (I say as usual, it's the first time weve been since June last year!)

The reserve was pretty quiet as the water levels at the first lake were high so no waders, I guess everything is up the far end the other side of the works. It's difficult to tell how this is progressing other than the pathways are a quagmire because of the vehicles going up and down, but never mind!

We walked as far as we could around by the river, this resulted in:
Great Crested Grebe, Tufted Duck, Pochard, Mute Swan, Canada Geese, Cormorant, Coot, Lapwing, 

BHG, a Kestrel and some Mallard, we heard a Cetti's we think, but couldn't find it. The river produced a pair of Goosander:
It was very cold so after coffee we headed back and encountered a very friendly Robin!
So 30 species in all, not great but a pleasant afternoon all the same. Just a shame there's no hide so you can get out of the wind! Especially at Coffee time!

TTFN

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