Sunday 24 October 2021

RSPB Middleton Lakes :: 16 October 2021

We arrived at the RSPB Middleton Lakes car park at 7.50am, just before it was scheduled to open - we'd made good time from Banbury and only taken 50mins in convoy. In under 5 minutes an RSPB member of staff drew up, opened the gate and we followed them in. As instructed, we used the machine to issue “Member's" parking tickets so that they can keep track of how the reserve is visited.

We stopped at the feeding station and watched as the rats started to reappear - the lady member of staff having just been in to fill up the feeders. The usual tit species showed, as did moorhen on the ground. A nuthatch came in frequently, throwing some moves on the perch - some full 360s. We were soon on our way along the woodland path and saw several goldcrests in the trees and had multiple redwing flocks over; my first of the autumn.

We stopped at the wooden decked viewpoint and watched some chiffchaff and tits in the reeds beeyond. A Cetti's warbler called to our left and I watched to see if it flew - it didn't. A great tit and then a nuthatch dropped onto the posts beside us but left before I could get a photo. I turned back around and spotted a Cetti's warbler hanging from a reed at some distance, but in view. I snapped off a few photos and reached for my bins - it stopped long enough to get a nice view. It then called and flew out across the reeds, diving down out of view. Happy with the views we’d had I announced to Kevin Heath that we could go home now - I had a Cetti's day in the bag. A nuthatch then dropped onto the post again and allowed a couple of photos, although into the shade beneath the tree.

Cetti's warbler
Cetti's warbler
Nuthatch

Approaching the bridge over the canal we found another showy nuthatch checking out the posts - we surmised that people must drop seeds here and that is why these birds show so readily.

Nuthatch

Pressing on we passed Fisher's Mill Pool seeing the usual waterfowl on the water but then a raven overhead - we heard and then had a fleeting view of another Cetti's warbler. From the West Scrape Screen a kingfisher cut through at speed and out to our right we could pick out a great white egret but too distant for a photo - it remained that way all morning with these egrets. We then came across a few Konik ponies out on the scrape. Konik ponies are a wild breed of horse (the name Konik is Polish for 'little horse') originating from Poland and are an extremely hardy breed, making them a fantastic grazing animal. They were introduced as a management tool to graze parts of the site that they would struggle to get machinery into.

Raven
Konik pony

Kev mentioned the lack of grey herons and seconds later we saw several and had one on the wing. It was amazing timing.

We met one of the volunteers and they let us know that they were planning some management work on North Pool from mid-morning and so we made for there. On the way we picked out two very distant drake pintail and while standing talking to a regular visitor, a black-tailed godwit dropped in. There was a distinct lack of waders out on the Jubilee Wetlands and East Scrape.

Pintail
Pintail
Black-tailed godwit

We made it to the Lookout Hide and from there were treated to a sea of wigeon on the water. Amongst them we picked out a single drake pintail - it may have been a juvenile given the appearance of its head. Kestrel, great white egret, little egret, and teal all showed well. The work party duly arrived and we prepared to set off, Kev striking up a conversation before packing up. As we left Kev rescued a black slip wasp (pimpla rufipes) from the hide window and placed it safely outside. Showing Kev the photos, he thought that he really should have a manicure!

Pintail
Black slip wasp - pimpla rufipes
Black slip wasp - pimpla rufipe

We stopped to talk with a couple of birders when many of the wigeon and other duck species took to the air from North Pool, filling the sky - presumably flushed by the work party. We asked if anything had appeared and were treated to a tiny dunlin far out on the scrape; too far for anything but a record shot.

Dunlin

We circled back, crossed the footbridge, and scanned the water known as the Dotshill Nature Reserve. Other than calling Cetti's warbler, little egret and a great spotted woodpecker, we didn't find anything of note. On the return around the eastern edge of the Fisher's Mill Reedbed we stopped to listen to some chiffchaff, giving the family group out dog walking some space to get ahead.

Back at the entrance to the path though the woodland we could see that someone had indeed dropped seed on the posts. The birds were making the most of it with the nuthatch filling up with regular visits.

Nuthatch

It had been a good visit with 54 species noted and as we changed back out of our walking boots, a distant jay flew along the treeline.

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