The Valve Tower
A change of scenery this morning as I headed for the peace and quiet of Stanford Reservoir. Well, if you think Draycote Water is low have a look at the following images from around the site! Water is pumped from Stanford to Draycote in times of need! Drought? What drought?
To visit Stanford Reservoir you will need a permit which gives you the gate key codes and is available free if you are a Wildlife Trust member from:
http://www.wildlifebcnp.org or 01604405285
Parking at the dam, I walked the south shore (Northants) as far as the inlet stream. All the expected common waterfowl were confined to the sparse areas of open water. The hedgerows held good numbers of Tree Sparrows, mixed tits & finches and Fieldfare but interestingly, no Redwings. I scanned the large expanses of mud in the hope that the Spoonbill (? Draycote bird) was still present, but I was to be disappointed. With large areas of mud, I expected some good wader numbers but apart from c200 Golden Plovers, I located two Snipe, five Dunlin and one Curlew Sandpiper. Whilst at the inlet stream end, two Ravens circled over, with Buzzard and a Kingfisher flew out of the stilling ponds.
Golden Plover
Stanford Reservoir has an active ringing group and it was nice to meet a few and chat. Several nets were up and tapes were being played but birds seemed to be avoiding them. A good source of reference is their website:
Todays Sightings:
Rook; Carrion Crow; Jay; Jackdaw; Wood Pigeon; Pheasant; Red Legged Partridge; Collared Dove; Mallard; Long Tailed Tit; Coot; Mute Swan; Wigeon; Moorhen; Cormorant; Robin; Gadwall; Shoveler; Black Headed Gull; Great Crested Grebe; Teal; Grey Heron; Lapwing; Wren; Pied Wagtail; Chaffinch; Skylark; Tree Sparrow; Tufted Duck; Blackbird; Green Woodpecker; Fieldfare; Bullfinch; Common Gull; Starling; Magpie; Blue Tit; Reed Bunting; Dunnock; Goldfinch; Yellowhammer; Golden Plover; Dunlin; Snipe; Curlew Sandpiper; Linnet; Kestrel; Buzzard; Raven; Kingfisher.
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