I had a walk to the reserve from Cottage Lane on an autumn afternoon when the sun was shining through the misty murk that has been hanging over the Trent the last few days. There were several species of fungi growing in the wood (see photo of one species in the gallery), but I've never really got to grips with identifying fungi. Parties of long-tailed tits were noisy as they moved through the wood and along the hedgerow. The eastern hedgerow provides fantastic cover and food for a range of species and today it had the usual suspects of blackbird, robin, dunnock, wren, chaffinch, great tit and blue tit along with three smart bullfinches and a few goldfinches. A redpoll flew over calling and a kestrel flew out of a hedgerow tree. Collared doves are scarce birds on the reserve so it was good to see one fly north over the silt lagoons.
Tufted duck was the most numerous duck species on the silt lagoons with up to 30 present, along with a few pochards and mallards, and two great crested grebes. Three green sandpipers were on Phase 1 and a flock of about 50 lapwings flew over the sheep fields to the east of the reserve. On Phase 2 there was a kingfisher, a snipe, 13 wigeons, 10+ teal, 4 + meadow pipits, several reed buntings and a hunting kestrel.
As the light began to fade, bird movements over the reserve started - small numbers of gulls (mainly black-headed gulls) were flying north (probably to roost on the lakes at Girton); corvids (crows, rooks and jackdaws) were flying into the wood to roost for the night; flocks of thrushes (mostly fieldfares with small numbers of redwings) were flying to hedges and it was the fieldfares that 'chuckled' - their characteristic flight call. Starling numbers are starting to build up and about 300 flew in to roost in the willows at the back of silt lagoon 6. A sparrowhawk made a single dash along the hedgerow and through a flock of starlings.
Walking back, a Cetti's warbler was singing from bushes by silt lagoon 3 and three water rails were calling (the 'squeals') from the reedy fringes of the silt lagoons. It was a mild afternoon with a migrant hawker dragonfly still active and in flight over the eastern footpath and a bat (probably a pipistrelle species) was flying over the footpath at dusk.