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A party of 9 set off on a lovely sunny Winter's morning along a narrow wooded track along the railway line towards Twin Lakes. Along this track, we saw many smaller bird species such as Blue and Great Tits, Robin and Chaffinch flitting amongst the branches. Reaching one of the Twin Lakes, we had some good views of Great Crested Grebes eager to make the most of the fish in the fishing lake, as well as a group of Canada Geese.
Moving on from the lake we came to a group of fields near the sewage works, flooded by the recent rains and had a variety of Gulls making the most of this. Herring, Lesser Black-Backed and Black-Headed were all present and a large flock of presumed finches were in the treetops in the distance. Our smallest bird species the Goldcrest was also briefly seen here, refusing to stay still for us whilst foraging for insects in the Conifer trees.
Carrying on, we continued along tracks through farmland and fields along Moss Lane, seeing Hares and a group of at least 15 Moorhen near Moss House Farm. A large pond here provided an ideal home for them, but it was their apparent lekking-like behaviour along the margins of the pond the grabbed our attention.
We stopped outside the farm for lunch, and were treated to a flock of Tree Sparrows feeding nearby.
After lunch we headed down Sumner's Lane and Carr Lane through more farmland, getting a nice view of a female Yellowhammer.
We eventually made our way back to the bridge over the River Yarrow, before retracing our steps back to the car.
Canada Goose 7 T
Mallard 5+ T
Grey Partridge 2
Little Egret 1
Great Crested Grebe 2 T
Common Buzzard 1
Kestrel 1
Moorhen 15+
Oystercatcher 2
Black Headed Gull 100+
Lesser Black Backed Gull 5+
Herring Gull 10+
Wood Pigeon 10+
Collared Dove 5+
Carrion Crow 20+
Jackdaw 20+
Raven 2
Magpie 5+
Goldcrest 1
Blue Tit 2
Great Tit 2
Coal Tit h
Long Tailed Tit 1
Wren h
Starling 5+
Robin 2
Blackbird 2+
Song Thrush 1
Fieldfare 30+
Dunnock 1
House Sparrow 5+
Tree Sparrow 10+ (Moss Farm)
Pied Wagtail 2
Greenfinch (male)
Goldfinch h
Chaffinch h
Yellow Hammer (female) 1?
T = Twin Lakes
h=heard only
Moving on from the lake we came to a group of fields near the sewage works, flooded by the recent rains and had a variety of Gulls making the most of this. Herring, Lesser Black-Backed and Black-Headed were all present and a large flock of presumed finches were in the treetops in the distance. Our smallest bird species the Goldcrest was also briefly seen here, refusing to stay still for us whilst foraging for insects in the Conifer trees.
Carrying on, we continued along tracks through farmland and fields along Moss Lane, seeing Hares and a group of at least 15 Moorhen near Moss House Farm. A large pond here provided an ideal home for them, but it was their apparent lekking-like behaviour along the margins of the pond the grabbed our attention.
We stopped outside the farm for lunch, and were treated to a flock of Tree Sparrows feeding nearby.
After lunch we headed down Sumner's Lane and Carr Lane through more farmland, getting a nice view of a female Yellowhammer.
We eventually made our way back to the bridge over the River Yarrow, before retracing our steps back to the car.
Canada Goose 7 T
Mallard 5+ T
Grey Partridge 2
Little Egret 1
Great Crested Grebe 2 T
Common Buzzard 1
Kestrel 1
Moorhen 15+
Oystercatcher 2
Black Headed Gull 100+
Lesser Black Backed Gull 5+
Herring Gull 10+
Wood Pigeon 10+
Collared Dove 5+
Carrion Crow 20+
Jackdaw 20+
Raven 2
Magpie 5+
Goldcrest 1
Blue Tit 2
Great Tit 2
Coal Tit h
Long Tailed Tit 1
Wren h
Starling 5+
Robin 2
Blackbird 2+
Song Thrush 1
Fieldfare 30+
Dunnock 1
House Sparrow 5+
Tree Sparrow 10+ (Moss Farm)
Pied Wagtail 2
Greenfinch (male)
Goldfinch h
Chaffinch h
Yellow Hammer (female) 1?
T = Twin Lakes
h=heard only