This is a monthly summary, so if you want more recent nature sightings, please click on the recent sightings tag on the RSPB Middleton Lakes web page.
The first month of winter started with cold mornings, blue skies and some cloud, some showers and wet nights. The frosty days continued with icy pools and then there were mild spells with rain and flooding. It was a wet Christmas.
Birds over the site:
Ferruginous duck (possible pochard hybrid) and a long-tailed duck (different bird from November) were seen on Dosthill big lake.
We had 2 buzzards catching food in the horse grazing field, usually early morning.
Woodcock moving from Villa Wood towards the heronry, sparrowhawk flying down the bridleway.
A Cetti's warbler was at the bridleway silt pool, with little egret, which were making use of the flooded meadows.
The rooks were active along the bridleway.
A dunnock and a robin was at the canal meadow wooden bridge. A robin was reported as flying between a visitor's legs – they were long legs.
Thanks to the contractors permission for our monthly winter waterbird count.
Our tough, sure-footed, keen-eyed, hardy winter volunteer WeBS surveyors counted, mid-month, (including RSPB Dosthill): black-headed gull (16), Canada goose (61), coot (212), cormorant (16), gadwall (43), goldeneye (9), goosander (3), great crested grebe (3), grey heron (5), kingfisher (1), lapwing (86), little egret (5), little grebe (2), mallard (146), moorhen (12), mute swan (32), pochard (2), shelduck (1), shoveler (34), snipe (1), teal (113), tufted duck (158), wigeon (8).
Wetland trail also had buzzard, Cetti's warbler, chiffchaff, fieldfare, goldeneye, goosander (on the river), green sandpiper, grey heron, jack snipe, jay, kestrel, kingfisher, lapwing, little egret, little grebe, meadow pipit (Dosthill), raven, redwing, redshank, reed bunting, ruddy duck, shelduck, skylark (Dosthill), snipe, starling, stonechat, water pipit (Dosthill), water rail, woodcock (Dosthill), yelllowhammer.
Meadow trail had fieldfare, green woodpecker, jay, little egret (in the flooded meadow waters), redpoll, redwing.
Play meadow, car park, woodland edge trail (and canal) had blackbird, brambling (around the feeders), bullfinch, buzzard, Cetti's warbler, chiffchaff, dunnock, fieldfare, goldcrest, great spotted woodpecker, green woodpecker, grey heron, jay, long-tailed tit, mute swan (flying over), redwing, robin (friendly, feeding from a hand at the canal meadow bridge), rooks, sparrowhawk, treecreeper, water rail, waxwing (Dosthill), willow tit (along the canal), woodcock (out of Villa Wood), wren. And the usual tits and finches at the feeders.
The year was officially the wettish one in over a hundred years.
With a great thank you to everyone for your nature sightings – keep them coming in. You can use the car-park sightings board, phone or email. Contact details are on the maps – a copy of which can be downloaded from the RSPB Middleton Lakes internet page and also available in the car-park.