St Aidans Nature Reserve is a huge area of wetland and reedbed, fringed by woodland. It's so vast that wildlife tends not to congregate in just one spot, and you really need a birdwatching telescope properly to see what's there. I had my binoculars and managed to identify a few ducks, geese, cormorants and waders as I wandered the labyrinthine paths. There was reputed to be a great white egret but I couldn't find that, and a couple of herons in trees turned out to be decoys placed there to encourage real herons to nest! Ha!
My best 'spot' was the little bird below. The image is a heavy crop (my lens, at 135mm max, isn't suitable for serious bird photography) but this is a black-necked grebe (Podiceps nigricollis). I knew these rare little diving waterbirds now breed at St Aidans but I didn't expect to see one at this time of year. They are quite a sight in their summer plumage, with dramatic golden feathers around their red eyes; in winter they are more monochrome. (See HERE) They are pretty uncommon in the UK, believed to be less than 50 breeding pairs and only about 130 birds overwintering in the whole of the UK, so to see this one was pretty special. (And I did double-check the ID with both the reserve sightings list, the local birdwatching group website and a couple of birders at the lakeside!)
I also spotted some great crested grebes, much more common but still a lovely sight.
There are few flowers or bursts of colour at this time of year so it was nice to see white dead-nettle (Lamium album)
Talking of bright yellow, I didn't expect to find a mini minibus there either! I hope there isn't a heartbroken small child somewhere...
Very peaceful this time of year.
ReplyDeleteFlowers are a treat at this time of year!
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