There are two hides on the site, one overlooking The Pol and one overlooking an area of the lake called The Shallows. The one at The Pol seemed a little overlooked by a lot of people as it was hidden down a boardwalk, which was fine by us! It was pretty quiet with a couple of Moorhens and a few dragonflies, we did hear we had just missed a Water Rail though.The Shallows hide was a great spot and is in a reserve area of the lake where some of the land is restricted, our friends told us that part of the are was cordoned off earlier this year when the birds were breeding.
As we walked to it there was quite a few Swallows overhead, they turned out to be nesting nearby and we actually saw 3 or 4 chicks with their wide open mouths being fed by one of the adults. Our little one loved seeing that the best I think.
From the hide we saw many Lapwing and Canada Geese, both with lots of youngsters. Three Cormorants sat on a raft and a fourth flew in while we watched. There were Crows and Starlings by the waters edge too. A Heron stood on the furthest island with it's back to us the whole time! Again there were Moorhens, with Mallards and Coots too. We saw a pair of new birds for us - Greenshank.
Our walk also produced House Martins, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Great Crested Grebes and a lone Pied Wagtail.
We will definitely be back, it will be interesting to see what other birds may turn up in The Shallows over the winter months.
Here are some of the other things we saw.
Not sure what this caterpillar is but we saw them at Rodley too.
Ruddy Darter (?)
Plenty of flora too
Our walk also produced House Martins, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Great Crested Grebes and a lone Pied Wagtail.
We will definitely be back, it will be interesting to see what other birds may turn up in The Shallows over the winter months.Here are some of the other things we saw.
Not sure what this caterpillar is but we saw them at Rodley too.
Ruddy Darter (?)
Plenty of flora too
