Weather: blustery but bright, cool to dusk. Fro 6:40pm.
I wanted to check-out this venue in the evening after reading about recent corncrake reintroduction attempts. Although I had no information regarding 2009 I also figured it was also a chance to visit another RSPB reserve. Once Kim & I found the un-signposted reserve, the washlands it features were impressive & I had an enjoyable walk along the dyke wall (out of sight of the washes) as the light dimmed. Occasionally I would pop up onto the wall to view across the washes but I also looked into the mixed scrub area surrounding a small lake opposite.
Along the wall & its adjacent dyke & lake-scrub area: Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Jackdaw, Magpie, Swift (in good numbers over the hedgerow next to the lake), Swallow, Common Tern, Woodpigeon, Lapwing, Marsh Harrier (hunting the washes), Pheasant, Crow, Mute Swan, Stock Dove, Reed Bunting, Greylag Goose, Green Woodpecker (undulating into the lake-scrub).
At the farthest extent of the wall I walked I stood atop the wall at a style & peered into the wind to see a couple of duelling or courting Hobby, before turning back.
On the way back I switched from one side of the wall to the other as sights & sounds caught my interest. From the washes side: Mallard, Cormorant, Tufted Duck, Coot, Sedge Warbler, Grey Heron. From the lake-scrub side: Chaffinch, Great Tit, House Martin, Mistle Thrush, Robin (heard), Blackbird,
Whitethroat (heard), Roe Deer (2), Chiffchaff (h), Canada Goose, Lesser Whitethroat (heard).
I then crossed to the other side of the carpark & continued along the wall for a few hundred metres: Great Spotted Woodpecker, Brown Hare, Starling, Black-Headed Gull, Rook (at a distant rookery).
No corncrakes & no breeding godwits either which are another speciality but a nice location so I'll try again.
33 species.
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