I'm on duty today and the reserve is fairly quiet so I took the opportunity to have a walk around the reserve accompanied by Alf, one of our regular Saturday volunteers. The weather is dry but there's a chill breeze picking up.
Birdlife was surprisingly sparse, maybe the weather has forced birds to take cover. We spotted a thrush (couldn't decide if it was a song or mistle), saw a redwing fly overhead, a jay darted across the reeds and we startled a few snipe from the island - did we really do that?!
The lake had goosander, teal, tufted and possibly gadwall, but we couldn't be sure. There was a great deal of activity at the slipway - free bread on offer.
We missed the redpoll & siskin which were seen near Forge Mill Farm by a visitor.
Back to the SPA for a hot drink and a mince pie - Merry Christmas.
See you on the reserves,
Best regards,
Chris Edwards