Birding Group Visit to Moore Nature Reserve 3rd May 2011
This weeks visit of the birding group was to Moore Nature Reserve again. It was a lovely day – the weather has been very good for a while now – so we had a very pleasant stroll through the woods. Our previous visit had been on 18th January when we had quite a good morning. This time we started by walking down Lapwing Lane past the hide overlooking Lapwing Lake and then down to the feeding station which was disappointingly quiet. There were a couple of Pheasant and a Moorhen wandering around but on the feeders there was just the solitary female Reed Bunting and a couple of Grey Squirrels.
We came back up Lapwing Lane and crossed into Lapwing Wood where we saw a Song Thrush and a Kestrel, the latter perched on a fence post and flying down to the grass to pick at something. It did this a few times giving me a chance to get a fix on it with my scope so we ended up with quite a good view of it and could make a definite identification. As we walked through he Birch Wood we saw a couple of buzzards above but, although we could see many Woodpecker holes in the trees – some of them new, we could not see the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker that we were looking for. Indeed we did not see any Woodpeckers – unlike last time.
From the hides overlooking the ponds we saw a number of water birds including a Black Swan, several Little Grebes, a couple of Gadwall, a Shelduck, an Oystercatcher and some other of the usual suspects. On our return walk we again passed though the grassy patch where we had seen the Kestrel but this time we saw two Mistle Thrushes rooting around on the ground. Walking back we saw a Treecreeper scurrying around and a Chiffchaff on a telegraph wire. There were also Peacock and Brimstone Butterflies flitting about.
Bird List
| Species | Count |
|---|---|
| Blackbird | 4 |
| Black-headed Gull | 8 |
| Blue Tit | 8 |
| Buzzard | 2 |
| Canada Goose | 10 |
| Carrion Crow | 4 |
| Chiffchaff | 1 |
| Coot | 6 |
| Gadwall | 4 |
| Great Black-backed Gull | 2 |
| Great Crested Grebe | 4 |
| Great Tit | 6 |
| Grey Heron | 1 |
| Greylag Goose | 8 |
| Jackdaw | 2 |
| Kestrel | 1 |
| Little Grebe | 6 |
| Magpie | 2 |
| Mallard | 10 |
| Mistle Thrush | 2 |
| Moorhen | 1 |
| Mute Swan | 6 |
| Oystercatcher | 1 |
| Pheasant | 2 |
| Pied Wagtail | 1 |
| Reed Bunting | 1 |
| Shelduck | 1 |
| Song Thrush | 1 |
| Treecreeper | 1 |
| Tufted Duck | 10 |
How To Get There
Getting there is simple. You get onto the M56 and come off at Junction 11, take the last exit off the roundabout onto the A56 (Chester Road) in the direction of Warrington. After a few miles you turn left onto Hobb Lane, then right onto Runcorn Road, the left onto Moore Lane (there is a sign for the recycling plant and Moore). You go over the canal and there is a car park straight ahead.
Click Here For A Site Map.
Click Here For A Location Map.
Google Earth Location 53°22’00.29″ N 2°37’35.19″ W