Brief Visit to Middleton Lakes

I paid a quick visit to the RSPB reserve at Middleton Lakes in the Tame Valley yesterday afternoon.

The herony was a hive of activity - I counted at least 14 nests. The feeding station was full of birds - chaffinches, blue, great and coal tits, blackbirds, dunnocks, house sparrows, greenfinches, goldfinches, robins and a reed bunting.

As I walked through Mill Plantation Wood there were lots of chaffinches, robins and blackbirds and a flock of long-tailed tit were feeding near a small reed fringed pool. Dandelions and lots of dog's mercury in flower and from the amount of bluebell leaves shooting through there will a good bluebell display in a few months time. The rookery in the wood was very noisy with several birds bringing in twigs and sticks to add to the nests.

I didn't have time to look round Fisher's Mill meadow or do the whole wetland trail but the first pool after Fisher's Mill Bridge had mallard, canada goose, coot, mute swan, black headed gull, tufted duck, lapwing and shoveler.

When I arrived back at the car park there were several pheasants nearby and dozens of redwing feeing on pasture as I drove out.

I managed to see 26 species in an hour and a quarter and greenfinch, reed bunting, lapwing and shoveler were new species for the year. Sorry no photos - it started to rain as I arrived at the car park! One of these days I will get some more photos of this reserve although I think bird pictures are unlikely as the birds are just too far away. Hopefully, they will build a hide there soon which might make photography easier.

Here at home - saw my first bumble bee of the year today but it whizzed past the kitchen window so fast I couldn't tell which species it was. After chasing away other robins who tried to intrude on his/her territory over the winter the resident garden robin has now paired up with a female as two birds were feeding amicably together today.