Busy day brings rewards

Occasionally I get the chance to take a walk around the reserve and yesterday was just one of those days.

The idea of meeting at 6.30am on a Sunday morning is not very appealing to most people but to a hardy few it was the best time of the day. We were taking part in the Central Rivers Initiative Festival of Birds and our visitors had come to experience the dawn chorus. Setting off from the car park we were treated to the full spectrum of birdsong from blackbird, song thrush and robins through to our summer arrivals, chiffchaff, blackcap and whitethroats.

Over the two hours we spent on site we listened and learned as our volunteer guide, Nigel, told us stories of why, where and when the birds sing. All this played out to a backdrop of heckling herons, boistrous rooks and squawking gulls, depending on where abouts on the reserve we were. A great introduction to early morning bird behaviour.

Following a hearty breakfast sandwich at the Courtyard Cafe, I was out again with our volunteer walk leaders, Dave & Lynn, who organise the monthly 'Birds for Beginners' walks. We set off past the heronry and noted 31 nests with 69 young herons this year, this could be a record. The bridleway and woodland contained the usual suspects, treecreeper, blackcap, reedwarbler & sedge warbler but it was out on the wetlands trail that we had our most success.

One of our many summer migrants to Middleton Lakes is the grasshopper warbler - this is usually a difficult bird to spot as it prefers to lie low and keep it's head down only giving away it's location by a distinctive song. Not today, we obviously have a showman on the reserve, there he was sitting proudly on top of a plant, singing his head off and quite unconcerned by us lot peering at him from only a few yards away. Ordinarily we'd have have been very happy with this sighting but further on round the wetlands trail we were treated to a pair of short eared owls hunting in the middle of our lakes. Superb and in view for ages. What a day.

I suppose the fact we saw a hobby, barnacle goose, gadwall and great crested grebe and found fresh otter spraint, added to the excitement but for me the owls were just terrific.