Good evening, all. On Saturday July 13th I made my first visit to RSPB The Lodge on a day that turned out to be the hottest day of the year so far - phew! It looked like it had a nice variety of birds, with the additional attraction of having ravens breeding there for their second season. I couldn't resist this so I decided to investigate.
This is the visitor centre & shop. I liked the style of the building so took a quick snap!
This dear little wren showed itself on my way to the north-western corner of the reserve where I was told the ravens were lurking. After I passed him I eventually reached a bend in the path and there, flying up in front of me, were two massive black birds with diamond-shaped tails - YESSSSS! Sadly they both got out of sight before I could get any decent shots of them with my camera but I was delighted to have seen them anyway. I then spotted a bird in a tree off to my left:
I did get quite excited when I saw this bird but I think the beak is a bit thin for a raven so it's probably a crow. Still a handsome bird, though.
On my way towards the old quarry this magpie popped up - it was actually a very quiet day bird-wise so it was nice to see this attractive, black-and-white rogue.
It was blessedly shady at the foot of the path to the quarry so I stopped for a while - this robin popped up and flitted about for a bit, but turned his head at exactly the wrong time!
Climbed up the path and then turned aside to visit the (only) hide. The feeders were completely deserted at first but then someone appeared. I can imagine all of the smaller birds keeping to the shade on a day like this.
Back in the garden at the visitor centre, another crow appeared. The sun shone on his feathers but his beak remained open - you could almost hear him panting! He soon decided that some shade was called for:
Aaaahhhhhh! That's better.
I'd like to pay another visit to this reserve when the temperature is more civilised - I really enjoyed the wild feel of it and the woodland is just lovely.
Our herring gulls are red listed birds. Think about that the next time you hear some flaming idiot calling for a cull of them.
Sorry Clare, i've only jsut found this, great trip report! The reserve has some great sun traps and on a hot day it just scorches! It's been a decent year for wildlife at the lodge with ravens, hobbies and spot flys the main avian attractions although we've had some cracking days for butterflies and bee fans are well catered for now the heather is in flower, plus the borders in the gardens are usually frantic. Definitely come back!
Warden Intern at Otmoor.
Thanks, Ian. I do hope your ravens will be a permanent feature of The Lodge - it was very special seeing them. Perhaps in the future I'll manage to get a picture or two!