Visit to Woolston Eyes 16th July 2013

Visit to Woolston Eyes 16th July 2013

We had previously been to the “open day” at Wooston Eyes on the 30th of June but we were keen to return there when the reserve was a bit quieter. We were told that they had four hundred visitors that day and it certainly felt like it. We had been so impressed with the site that we joined the conservation group and got our membership card and keys to the barriers on the same day. Having got back from the Azores to find the UK in a heatwave we thought we would go back there to see the site at greater leisure.  We opened the main barrier ok and drove down to the parking by the bridge that takes you over to Bed 3. As we got there we ran into a chap who was trying to fix a problem with a padlock on the gate that controls access to bed three. He had called out some engineers to fix the problem so we had no difficulty gaining access and we discovered that this gentleman was Brian Martin, the recorder for the conservation group. We got talking to him and he was very interesting and informative and we kept running in to him throughout the day which was very useful for us as he described some of the history of the site and the birds that they had there.

The most noticeable thing on this day – apart from the searing heat – was just how much had changed in two weeks. Apart from the incredible growth of vegetation everywhere, there were many more juvenile birds. There were several large clutches of Tufted Ducks and lots of young Gadwall and Lapwing. House Martins and Swallows flew over the water and we could hear lots of Reed Warblers singing everywhere. We also saw a pair of Reed Buntings and there were several young Whitethroats bobbing around in the shrubbery. In general I think it was probably too hot for a lot of the woodland birds and they were probably lying low. Surprisingly we did not hear any Song thrushes that had been so loud on our last visit.

As regards Grebes, well we managed to see three types of them – Great-crested, Little and Black-necked. adults of the latter were more hidden away that previously but in the end we got really good views of a couple of adults feeding their you. In fact there were so many young at different stages of development that it was interesting considering their development. It was clear that at this stage many of the young were capable of feeding on their own and were doing so quite happily. Perhaps some of the adults have already left the site.We spent a good morning here but as early afternoon came along we decided it was far too hot and that we needed some refreshment. For a change we drove over to Lymm Dam and had a great lunch at Aiden Byrne’s Church Green Bar and Restaurant at Lymm. I had possibly the very best cheese and ham toastie I had ever had. The food is perhaps a little pricy but we all thought the food was great and worth the extra over a normal pub lunch. To assuage our guilt we had a nice walk around Lymm Dam where we saw a very hot Cormorant trying to cool down and a female Great-crested Grebe still apparently sitting on a nest presumably containing eggs even though there were several juveniles around already – perhaps a second brood ?

Bird Sightings : Woolston Eyes