The opportunity to go birdwatching after work soon diminishes as the evenings get dark earlier (and the clocks go back next month) so I visited the reserve this evening. I parked on Cottage Lane, Collingham and soon found a little owl perched on a hay stack in the field next to the start of the Sustrans route. Further on there is a small field of sunflowers near the reserve wood, which have looked spectacular and are good for birds, as you'd expect. In addition to the expected linnets and chaffinches, there were at least three chiffchaffs flitting in to the crop from the adjacent hedge, giving their presence away by their distinctive 'houet' call.
Emerging from the gloom of the wood, I was greeted at the first lagoon by a kingfisher and a grey heron. The hedge looks even more autumnal than on my last visit with the leaves changing colour and the boughs laiden with fruit. Another sure sign (sound) of autumn is the robin starting to sing again and a couple were giving an evening performance along the hedge. It's good to hear them singing again but the song at this time of year seems more mournful and wistful, as though the birds are lamenting another summer that's been and gone. Flying from fence post to fence post in front of me was a colourful jay, its large white rump obvious in flight. It's a bird I don't see very often in the Trent Valley, but they tend to wander in the autumn. On the largest lagoon there was a flock of 12 shovelers, the males still in eclipse plumage.
On Phase 1 reedbed, there was another shoveler with a group of five teal. A pair of kestels flew over as did three little egrets and a green sandpiper. Another kingfisher was heard but not seen as it flew along a reedbed channel and a few reed buntings were dropping into the reedbed to roost.
On Phase 2 there were six snipe, a green sandpiper, eight teal, a male gadwall and three little grebes. Walking back, the wood was a cacophony of raucous sounds - yelping 'jacks' from jackdaws and 'caws' from rooks as a they flew in to roost.