Thursday 10 January 2019

Adel Dam

On Saturday morning we took the bus to Golden Acre for a nice but cold walk around the park and Adel Dam. The Gulls were barely awake (just like my daughter!!) and still huddled up on the grass. The ducks of course were straight up to have a nosey.

Mallard


Black-headed Gull


Mute Swan


Tufted Ducks



We walked straight through to the dam and went the 'wrong' way round, we always start off by going to the hide and then on in a circle via the lake hide, my daughter suggested going the other way for a change, which worked in our favour really as there were some big cameras heading towards the Marsh hide, which is quite small, they were gone by the time we'd worked our way there.

In the woods we saw a couple of flocks of Bullfinch in the trees. It was not a good day for photos, very dull and grey! We also saw a couple Jays and Great Spotted Woodpeckers too.  We had the lake hide to ourselves. As we walked in a Robin was sat on a bench in the hide and a Sparrowhawk had been sat right in front of it (the hide not the Robin), it flew across the lake.

Distant Bullfinch!


Robin


Jay


We watched, Teal, Mallards and a Shoveler on the water and off to the side at the feeders Long-tailed, Great, Blue and Coal Tits, 6 Robins - there were a few ructions there! A charm of Goldfinch flew over the lake.


Blue Tits


Shoveler


Blue Tit


Moving on we stopped at the marsh hide, all the usual birds were at the feeders plus Nuthatch too. Lots of squirrels were around the bottoms of the feeders. We didn't see any Mandarins today, which is unusual.

Walking back through Golden Acre we stopped at the little feeding area for a while, more squirrels, Chaffinch, Tits and up in the trees Jay and Woodpigeon. Eventually everything was scared off by several dogs so we made our way out of the park.

We did see some fungi as we walked around including Dead Mans Fingers, spotted by my daughter, the first time i've seen it.





8 comments:

  1. It is interesting that you start this account with a Mallard, a bird about which I have been thinking frequently of late. The male is truly stunning, but under-appreciated by almost everyone. I think we sometimes get blinded to the familiar in the search for the unusual or exotic. Mallards deserve our attention too. They have enlivened many a walk for me and I vow to pay them more attention. It is their due!

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    1. They are a beautiful bird and yes you're right, I think some of the more 'common' birds do get overlooked.

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  2. A great walk with some good sightings. I love the photo of the Black-headed gulls standing in a line :) The Dead Man's fingers are spooky!

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    1. The Dead Man's fingers are the oddest thing, quite fascinating to see! I love the gulls, you can see the slight variations in the plumage when they are lined up, almost like they're ready for inspection!!

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  3. What a super walk. You saw some lovely birds. I love the term 'charm of goldfinches' good to see the shoveler and like RR like the line of gulls:)

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    1. It's delightful isn't it and the perfect way to describe them!

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  4. A good idea to reverse the course, gives it a different feel. I enjoyed seeing bird photos and the fungi.

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    1. It definitely did, we should do it more often!

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