Willow SculptureThe Bees good luck has returned! What a relief! We enjoyed warm temperatures, clear skies, sunny intervals and good light for our outing to Adwick Washlands and Old Moor Reserve today. Adwick Washlands was a new venture and provided some navigational challenges but also for John and Sue a birding triumph.!
The Washlands are an area of wetland with several large lakes situated in the flood plain of the River Dearne. It is managed by the RSPB and is attractive to ducks, geese and waders. We crossed paths with several "twitchers"returning from a spot of a rare North American vagrant- the Pectoral Sandpiper. Both John and Sue were smitten and went in hot pursuit. They were given considerable help by other birders who had telescopes trained on the little brown job feeding in the company of two Ruff.
Ruff The remainder of the party of 10 enjoyed watching a large group of Goldfinch flying between the reeds and the nearby trees before following a route on top of a bund (with excellent views) back to the car park.
The remainder of the day we spent at the Old Moor Reserve, enjoying birds, butterflies, dragonflies, flowers and shrubs in fruit and the cafe.The bird count was 50, plants in flower or fruit 77, (Old Moor), dragonflies 4, butterflies 5. There were good numbers of Teal, Gadwall, Great Crested Grebe, Cormorant, Mute Swans and Heron. A Kingfisher was seen on a perch. The most interesting hide was the Wath Ings hide where a large flock of Golden Plover and Lapwing had gathered. I was looking forward to seeing the "goldies" in flight following a disturbance by a bird of prey however they stood stationary throughout.my visit. Several Green sandpipers were seen. A Great White Egret (rare in the UK) was seen fishing from the Fieldpool East hide.
Mute Swan There are several dragonfly ponds and species seen included Common Darter,Common and Migrant Hawker and Common Blue Damsel Fly. Butterflies included a White at Adwick, Tortoiseshell, Speckled Wood and Holly Blue.The hedgerows were dripping with berries and fruit. There was a superabundance of seed heads of flowers such as Figwort and Knapweed. No doubt these will be stripped as the forthcoming winter descends but what a supply of grub for the birds!
Tuesday was a pleasant day out with a lot of interest for our group. Thank you for your company and support.
Margaret.