70 all out

Nope, we are not analsying the England cricket score, (they probably would have got less going on their recent performances!), this is in fact the total number of bird species that we counted on Sunday!

It was a beautiful day on Sunday, the birds were singing, the butterflies were flying and the car park was full. There is no better place to be when it is sunny than on a nature reserve and Middleton Lakes really produced the goods this week.

So enough waffling and onto the sightings...

The prize for highlight of the day goes to the adult Mediterranean gull that is using the reserve regularly. The bird is slightly larger and stockier than our Black-headed gulls and its black head is much darker and extends further down its neck. Its main giveaway when it is around though is its call, you can hear it pretty much from all corners of the site. It produces a high pitched 'yark' call that really stands out from the Black-headed gulls that it spends most of its time harrassing!

Adult Mediterranean gull. Note the white wings, jet black head and deep red bill.

Second place goes to... 2 Avocets! They were feeding on the East scrape before moving onto the North Pit and spending most of the day on the islands. A Middleton 'tick' for me!

A well deserved 3rd place highlight of the day goes to, well, it goes to the feeders. As a collective of birds, the spectacle of the feeders is really a place where you can see the time dissappear as you watch the Tits, Finches and Buntings go about their feeding. However, a couple of birds really stood out. There was a lovely female Brambling that is leaving it late to head North, fingers crossed she's got another couple of weeks left in her, and an absolutely stunning Mealy redpoll. This almost ghoslty white bird appeared on the feeders with the Lesser redpolls and put on a display and was seen by a number of people through the day.

Heading the list in a long line of runners up include a 'raft' (it was almost like sea-watching) of 12 male and female Goldeneye. They had grouped together and since then, have not been seen in these numbers so it looks like they have headed North to their breeding grounds. Waders have been on site in good numbers and Sunday was no exception with over 10 Redshank, 2 Dunlin, 4 Little ringed plover, 2 Ringed plover and Snipe spread out accross the North Pit, Jubilee Wetlands and Fishers Mill.

Blackcaps seem to have moved into the Midlands in good numbers in the last week and there were at least 4 dotted around the site, particularly through the Rookery woodland. We have our first Heron chicks of the Spring with 4 in one nest. There are probably more but as of yet, they arent big enough to show themselves. A Peregrine was seen a number of times causing chaos on the wetlands, the Cetti's warblers are stretching their vocal chords to the max bursting the song out from the scrub accross the site, Sand martins are being seen regularly now, feeding over the pools and the Little egrets continue to enjoy the Jubilee Wetlands.

Other birds that were seen included Kingfisher, Green woodpecker, Nuthatch, Linnet, Meadow pipit, Skylark, Goosander and Shelduck among good numbers of more common birds.

It wasnt just the birds that offered a spectacle through the day. Small tortoiseshell, Brimstone and Peacock butterflies are now spread out accross the site, the Bluebells have started to flower and Dogs mercury and Wild garlic is carpeting the floor of the woodland.

So what to look out for in the next few weeks. The later migrants should be passing through with Willow warbler, Swallow and eventually Swift to name a few. Keep an eye to the sky for a passing Osprey as well. The woodland will become awash with colour soon so look out for the Wood anemone and Marsh marigolds and butteflies such as Orange tips and Green veined whites as they become more prevalant.

Finally, I will leave you with a picture of some Celandines. These can be seen throughout the woodland and offer a real splash of colour in early Spring.