Friday 13 April 2018

Adel Dam & Golden Acre

Up early on Sunday for a walk around the park before it got too busy. A Goosander was on the main lake at Golden Acre along with Mallard,Tufted Duck, Moorhen, Coot and the stroppy farmyard goose that was pecking shoes last time.

Robin


Tufted Duck



Goosander


We could hear Chiffchaff, Blue Tits, Dunnocks and Robins, there were a few Nuthatch around too.

Nuthatch


Dunnock


This American skunk cabbage grows around the edge of the water and I quite like it, it's managed so it doesn't spread as it's an invasive species.


Onto Adel Dam and we saw more Nuthatches. At the first hide we chatted to a guy already in there, we the first people he'd seen so far this morning. A couple of Mandarin were around with the usual small birds at the feeders. 

Mandarin



From the lake hide we saw quite a few Greylag Geese, Teal,Little Grebe, more Mandarins and overhead a Red Kite and a couple of Buzzards

Greylag Goose


Moorhen


Teal



At the side of the hide where the feeders are a Reed Bunting flew in, i've not seen one here before.

Reed Bunting



Blue Tit


We carried on and walked through the woods stopping for a while to watch a Treecreeper fly around the trees. Further along the path a bird flew up out of the undergrowth - a Woodcock! Then a few minutes later another, again a new bird for me here and a bit of a surprise....although probably more so for the poor birds!

Treecreeper



6 comments:

  1. Good morning Pam your photos are awesome today. Glad the woodcock gave you the surprise view.

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  2. Interesting post, I've never even heard of American Skunk Cabbage before!

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    1. It's a delightful name isn't it! I've only ever seen it here though funnily enough it was tweeted into my timeline on twitter earlier this week, only the 2nd time i've heard of it outside of Golden Acre!

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  3. It’s ironic that the world’s stronghold for Mandarin is now Great Britain. As for the Skunk Cabbage the yellow-flowered version is found in the west and it does indeed have the odour of skunk at a certain point in its development.

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    1. Yes, they are certainly spreading quickly now, it wasn't that long ago we had to travel an hour or so in hope of spotting one pair now we can see a dozen half an hour down the road. So far i've managed to miss the smell of the plant!

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