A very cold morning, the wind was biting, Leon and myself made an early start at 08:45. The bus came straight away which meant that we arrived at WWT at 08:55. Over half an hour to wait in the cold! At least it was dry.
Once inside we warmed up with a hot drink (coffee for me once again!) followed by a walk around the shop.
The group was larger than for any of the other ‘Walks’ that we had been on, about twenty people in all. The good news was that the chap taking the walk was the usual one. He really is very good and kept us all enthralled with his knowledge.
We first made our way to the ‘Wildside Hide’ on the far north of the site. On the way there we had different habitats pointed out to us and were told what to expect to see and when at each of them. Interspersed with all of the natural history information our guide pointed out various projects in hand for the management of the site itself. These included the pollarding of Willows to lower the average height of the vegetation and a brief explanation of the water supply for the site. I for one didn’t realise just how much went on behind the scenes. There must have been a predator about because there was a large flock of Lapwing that took off and started circling above us.
On reaching the hide our guide once again started pointing out where different birds (including Water Rails, which we saw) could be seen and at what time of year we could expect to see them. Halfway through the talk he interrupted himself saying ”…and here comes a Sparrowhawk chasing a small bird!” We had an absolutely fabulous view of the Sparrowhawk as it flew right around the hide, at window level, only a few feet away! Leon, who had his back to the scene listening to our guide, executed a full 360 degree turn neatly keeping the Sparrowhawk and its’ prey immediately behind himself and therefore missed the show!
On the way back to the Centre we were shown some areas where the public are not usually allowed to go. This was to illustrate how the management of some areas by the grazing of sheep was carried out and its’ effects. We were also shown where a small flock of Redwing and Fieldfares were feeding.
Leaving the Centre we made our way towards the ‘Peacock Tower’ where we were able to see one of the two Bitterns that are currently on site.
The total time for the walk should have been one and a half hours but somehow it had stretched to over two hours! Our guide said a quick ‘goodbye’ and was gone before I had chance to thank him. I will write to WWT to do so.
We adjourned to the ‘Red Lion’ where we spent a couple of hours discussing everything that we had seen and learned.BIRDS SEEN: Wigeon, Teal, Robin, Mallard, Ruddy Duck, Whooper Swan, Bewick Swan, Mute Swan, Water Rail, Shoveller, Bittern, Sparrowhawk, Siskin, Coot, Moorhen, Gadwall, Redwing Fieldfare, Jay, Lapwing Magpie, Pochard, Cormorant, Carrion Crows, Blackheaded Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Great Crested Grebe, Feral Pigeon, Coal Tit, Blackbird, Starling, Canada Goose, Heron, Green Woodpecker.
Once inside we warmed up with a hot drink (coffee for me once again!) followed by a walk around the shop.
The group was larger than for any of the other ‘Walks’ that we had been on, about twenty people in all. The good news was that the chap taking the walk was the usual one. He really is very good and kept us all enthralled with his knowledge.
We first made our way to the ‘Wildside Hide’ on the far north of the site. On the way there we had different habitats pointed out to us and were told what to expect to see and when at each of them. Interspersed with all of the natural history information our guide pointed out various projects in hand for the management of the site itself. These included the pollarding of Willows to lower the average height of the vegetation and a brief explanation of the water supply for the site. I for one didn’t realise just how much went on behind the scenes. There must have been a predator about because there was a large flock of Lapwing that took off and started circling above us.
On reaching the hide our guide once again started pointing out where different birds (including Water Rails, which we saw) could be seen and at what time of year we could expect to see them. Halfway through the talk he interrupted himself saying ”…and here comes a Sparrowhawk chasing a small bird!” We had an absolutely fabulous view of the Sparrowhawk as it flew right around the hide, at window level, only a few feet away! Leon, who had his back to the scene listening to our guide, executed a full 360 degree turn neatly keeping the Sparrowhawk and its’ prey immediately behind himself and therefore missed the show!
On the way back to the Centre we were shown some areas where the public are not usually allowed to go. This was to illustrate how the management of some areas by the grazing of sheep was carried out and its’ effects. We were also shown where a small flock of Redwing and Fieldfares were feeding.
Leaving the Centre we made our way towards the ‘Peacock Tower’ where we were able to see one of the two Bitterns that are currently on site.
The total time for the walk should have been one and a half hours but somehow it had stretched to over two hours! Our guide said a quick ‘goodbye’ and was gone before I had chance to thank him. I will write to WWT to do so.
We adjourned to the ‘Red Lion’ where we spent a couple of hours discussing everything that we had seen and learned.BIRDS SEEN: Wigeon, Teal, Robin, Mallard, Ruddy Duck, Whooper Swan, Bewick Swan, Mute Swan, Water Rail, Shoveller, Bittern, Sparrowhawk, Siskin, Coot, Moorhen, Gadwall, Redwing Fieldfare, Jay, Lapwing Magpie, Pochard, Cormorant, Carrion Crows, Blackheaded Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Great Crested Grebe, Feral Pigeon, Coal Tit, Blackbird, Starling, Canada Goose, Heron, Green Woodpecker.
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