The second half of January at Woolston Eyes saw the weather move from freezing to relatively mild dry conditions. When all the beds were frozen, large numbers of wildfowl moved onto the river, producing the highlight of 545 Tufted Ducks reported above the Weir Basin on the 18th, with a female Mandarin also there on the 20th. The latter had no doubt drifted from the flock of 20 which are regularly noted at Bollin Point. Other regular sightings of note have included up to three Stonechats on Bed 4, a handful of Jack Snipe on Bed 1, male and female Marsh Harriers which hunt across the whole Reserve, a male Peregrine which haunts Bed 4, small numbers of Woodcock on Beds 3 and 4 and at least a couple of wintering Chiffchaffs on each these beds. Yesterday it felt as if spring wasn’t too far round the corner, with plenty of birds in song, including Willow Tit, Song Thrushes, Great Tits and Robins, plus 7 Little Grebes returning to the Bed 4 wetland, ready for the breeding season. The next milestone should be the welcome, if raucous, return of our breeding Black-headed Gulls, which usually occurs during the second half of February.
Photo of a Common Buzzard Cheers David Bowman

Nice to wake up this morning to a fresh fall of snow, though the freezing conditions inevitably affect the wetland bird populations at Woolston Eyes. Since the last spell of freezing weather, wildfowl numbers had slowly built up again and we recorded nearly 2,200 ‘water-birds’ during Saturday’s Wetland Birds Survey (WeBS). Today both Beds 3 and 4 were almost completely frozen, with wildfowl working hard to keep a couple of small pools open on the latter. While significant numbers have moved off, no doubt moving to the coast, we still managed a decent count, with: 4 Pintail, 5 Wigeon, 5 Snipe, 7 Little Grebes, 1 Pochard, 54 Shoveler, 60Teal and 235 Coot. Other sightings of note included: 2 Stonechats, 1 Willow Tit, 2 Chiffchaffs, 1 Marsh Harrier, 1 Peregrine, 10 Fieldfares, 20 Redwings and 42 Skylarks. Photo of a Robin Cheers David Bowman (with Dan Owen)

Its always nice to start thenew year with a sur prise or two and such was the case this morning. Firstly, it wasn’t raining as I wandered on to No.4 bed at dawn to review the work which has been done to install sluices and a new bund. These will enable us to control the water level in our wet woodland which, allied to a coppicing regime, should produce ideal conditions for breeding Willow Tits. We’ve had so much rain over the last month or so that all of the lagoons are full to the brim and some of the paths are flooded. The main surprise, though, was the Short-eared Owl which flushed from under my feet as I walked around the bed to check the sluices. Back in the 1980’s Short-eared Owls were regular winter birds and we would often see five or six hunting over the bed but they are now, unfortunately, a less-than-annual visitor. In addition, two Marsh Harriers were actively hunting and flushing hundreds of wildfowl. Then it was down to No.1 bed to review progress with our coppicing program for Willow Tits, which is going well, before finishing with some birding, turning up highlights of 5 Jack Snipe and 2 Woodcocks. Photo of a young Mute Swan Cheers David Bowman