Middleton Lakes is looking like a very literal term at the moment, although it should be a singular lake!
However, despite the large amounts of water on the reserve at the moment, there are still some great birds to see and you don't need to break out the wetsuit.
The feeders are currently alive with birds throughout the day, but if you get to the reserve early then there is a constant hive of activity as the birds are waking up and coming down for breakfast and they're morning brew, (consisting of muddy pond water). There are many Great tits, Blue tits and Robins, we are getting regular Siskin, Great-spotted woodpecker, Reed bunting and Nuthatch sightings and if you are really lucky, as I was this morning, you may get to see Lesser redpolls or even a Water rail venturing out from the reeds.
Keep an eye out from the boardwalk, in the trees to the left, as the Herons have started taking an interest in the nests in the Heronry. It won’t be long before they start bringing nest material and getting ready for the coming Spring, (I have been promised there is one coming!).
The wetlands are still pulling in some nice birds with the wildfowl putting on a great show with Fishers Mill and the North Pit being the best. Mallard, Tufted duck, Teal, Gadwall, Wigeon and good numbers of Shoveler are making use of the large amounts of water. Look out for the Goldeneye, the males are looking particularly striking at the moment and they can be seen bobbing their heads as they display to the females, with very limited success from what I have seen!
Little egrets are being seen daily with some coming into roost to the Heronry on an evening, Cetti's warblers are making their presence felt as they occasionally send out a tune from one of the bushes; the scrub on the river side is one of the best places to start looking for these.
Other birds that have been seen recently include Pintail, Chiffchaff, Goosander, Shelduck and Stonechat and if you are still around at dusk, why not spend a few minutes overlooking the silt pool, it looks like the Starlings have moved onto here to roost with around 2000 present on Thursday evening.
So despite the water levels, there are still some great birds to see, just remember, if you do come for a visit, bring your wellies!