What did we see at St Aidan’s today? Well, as we set off from the visitor centre to explore the route around the reedbeds, we weren’t particularly hopeful of seeing anything. The thick fog had no intention of lifting and was going to challenge our views, as well as the comfort of our fingers.
All was quiet as we walked down to the lower areas of the reserve, the Canada Geese gathered high on the pasture giving us our first view of birds. The next on the list was a small flock of Moorhens busily feeding on the wet grassland. We watched male and female Stonechats perching on the fence posts, and saw the rest of the flock as they took flight when the geese were spooked and took to the air, creating quite a noise. There were thrushes in the hedge rows. We positively identified Fieldfare, but couldn’t be sure if there were Redwing amongst them.
Once we were in view of the channels and lakes we started to see more species. Tufted Duck, Gadwall, Coot and Mallard were on most of the water bodies. Whilst we peered into the murk at Astley Lake, in the vain hope of seeing the Bitterns, we heard the Cetti’s Warbler just over our shoulder, and saw quite a few Cormorants sitting proud on the railings. As we stopped for a brief lunch by the benches, a single Curlew flew over. It was too chilly to stop for long, so we continued on our route towards the western reedbed.
It was at this point that we had our only pause for fungi, as a striking white mushroom standing proud in a pile of horse manure caught our attention. Later confirmed by John as a Snowy Inkcap, it was a first for us all. As well as its colour, the habitat was a give away (though it's not fussy about whether horse or cow). The other pathside vegetation included Greater Knapweed, Yarrow and a few daisies. The gorse was particularly vibrant on a dull day, and made a great framework for the droplet-covered spiders’ webs.
We took time to watch the Great Crested Grebe and the Pochard, noting the difference in their winter plumage. A Goldeneye intermittently surfaced on the Main lake, giving us enough opportunity to admire and enjoy it. Not far away were 3 Dunlin, feeding enthusiastically to the backdrop of the vocal Lapwings. The Shoveler and Wigeon on Lemonroyd lake were less active, but close enough to give a good view.
We made our way up back to the centre, and warmed up with a hot drink before our journey home. What could have been a rather disappointing day turned out to be the opposite, and a reminder that is always enjoyable to out and about in nature even on a murky day. Despite the poor light, there are some photos in the gallery.
Julia