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| Barn Owl (J Wharton) |
Middleton Lakes RSPB Reserve
13th May 2023
Weather: Cloudy and cool in the morning, sunny and warm in the afternoon.
Members and friends: 29 Driver: Glenn
Twenty-nine members and friends set off from Stockport for our May trip, not to the expected destination of Anglesey but instead, to Middleton Lakes RSPB reserve in the midlands. This was due to a closure over the weekend of the M56 whilst a new bridge was slid into position. Attempting to circumnavigate the closure would have only resulted in the coach being stuck in traffic for prolonged periods.
A comfort stop at Norton Canes services allowed Glenn to acquire the free coach pass for the toll road and society members to stock up on provisions for the day ahead. The very large reserve has limited facilities so refreshment planning was crucial.
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| Sedge Warbler (A Barrett) |
Arriving at the reserve our party set off to explore, having 6 ½ hours to attempt to cover all the area (which ultimately proved to be impossible!). By the small visitor centre, we quickly picked up the songs of the commoner warbler species, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler and Blackcap could be heard. A Great Spotted Woodpecker drummed close by and a procession of Grey Heron flew over into the adjacent woodland where nest sites were hidden in the treetops. A Green Woodpecker was heard calling.
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| Chaffinch (J Wharton) |
Taking the Woodland Trail, we made our way past the derelict farm buildings. Swallows flitted in and out of abandoned buildings and a Barn Owl was watched both in flight, and later in the day at roost in one of the barns. In the woodland commoner species such as Blue and Great Tit were present as well as Chaffinch and Treecreeper. We passed by the noisy rookery and viewed the first of many pools. A Common Tern was fishing and we found Reed Warblers in the reedbeds. We walked on through the woodland, with its carpet of Ramsons (wild garlic) and Bluebells, accompanied by newly fledged baby Robins.
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| Great-crested Grebe (A Barrett) |
We passed over the Birmingham and Fazeley canal onto the main body of the reserve with a patchwork of large pools, reedbeds and scrub. A Cetti’s Warbler gave its distinctive gunfire shots of a song and we then added Sedge Warbler to our list. The pools held small numbers of Mallard, Gadwall, Tufted Duck, Great Crested Grebe, Coot and Moorhen with noisy Black-headed Gulls nesting on some of the islands. We recorded a couple of pairs of Shelduck and there were a handful of Cormorant loafing around on the islands.
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| Pied Wagtail (J Wharton) |
In the hawthorn scrub adjacent to the pools, we identified Garden Warbler singing, with birds giving good views. Common Whitethroat were found in the bramble briars and there were one or two locations where we identified Lesser Whitethroat singing. A single Grasshopper warbler was recorded, which took our total species of true warbler for the day to ten (plus Goldcrest).
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| Reed Bunting (A Barrett) |
Over the pools a sizeable number of Swift congregated, with smaller numbers of House and Sand Martin. When the sun appeared so did the Hobby’s, with six to eight birds being seen throughout the afternoon. They gave excellent views and quite a spectacular sight with so many in the air at one time. A Kestrel and a distant Buzzard were the only other raptors noted.
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| Robin (J Wharton) |
A walk adjacent to the field of rapeseed in the northwest of the area produced excellent views of a male Yellow Wagtail. The bird flew up to a small elm tree and sang repeatedly. Squadrons of baby Canada and Greylag Geese followed their parents through the grass and slid into the pools and ditches when we approached. We had Reed Bunting singing from the reedbeds and Mute Swan feeding in the pools. A smart male Linnet was exploring a nettle patch.
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| Barn Owl (J Wharton) |
We had a couple of views of Kingfisher on the River Tame that ran to the east of the reserve and we ticked off Greenfinch, Goldfinch and Bullfinch in this area. A solitary Little Egret fished by the bank. Returning to the woodland, as we left the wetland area, a male Bittern started to boom. Disappointingly the only waders seen on our visit were a handful of Lapwing and couple of Oystercatcher. It had been a long, but enjoyable, day and we ended with 79 species recorded.
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| Barn Owl (A Mossman) |
Birds seen;
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| Reed Bunting (J Wharton) |
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