After 5 heatwaves the weather finally broke and on the morning of the 27th August there was a considerable amount of rain as we set off for the Reservoir. A number of group members were unable to join us on the walk due to other commitments, and on the day a couple more dropped out due to the potential inclement weather. In the end 3 of us went round the reservoir, and after a brief stay in the Visitor Centre the rain eased. Whilst in the centre we watched birds come and go on the feeders, mainly blue tits and great tits, but also robin and to our surprise a great spotted woodpecker. We walked to the first of 4 bird hides on the reserve overlooking the reservoir. The first thing we noticed was the severe lack of water in the reservoir, no wonder our area has a hose pipe ban. Due to the poor weather and the time of day the reserve was largely empty of visitors which meant we had the hides to ourselves. Feeding along the shoreline were a number of black tailed godwits, and whilst some were in their orangey-brown summer plumage many had already gained their duller winter coat. Whilst in the first hide we observed a number of swallows flying low over the water in order to catch insects to feed on before their flight back to Africa.

At this time of year male ducks moult and look very similar to the female of the species. This is intentional, in order to hide them, as at this time the males have shed all of their flight feathers and therefore cannot fly. Later on, they moult again into their lovely colourful winter coat, females, on the other hand only moult once. It is therefore quite difficult to identify ducks at this time of year, although there are still some prominent characteristics. For example, the drake mallard keeps its yellow bill.

There were big flocks of coots swimming and also great crested grebes. A large number of cormorants were also seen. We moved from hide to hide, and the bird count increased until at the end we had seen 30 species of bird.

In the second hide we saw two great white egrets, which while they used to be a rare migrant in the UK, are now becoming frequent visitors, if not resident in some places.

The last hide we came to was already occupied by a couple of birders who told us about a buzzard that was on the ground after having been hunting. We watch that for a while and the birders also told us of a couple of good spots, a grey plover and a ringed plover. These were both running along the shoreline. I also spotted an Egyptian goose and a pintail duck.

Coot	Wood pigeon	Blue tit	Black Tailed Godwit
Black headed gull	Common Sandpiper	Great tit	Mallard
Lapwing	Mute swan	Great crested grebe	Tufted duck
Robin	Great spotted woodpecker	Cormorant	Swallow
Carrion crow	Great white egret	Greylag goose	Magpie
Little grebe	Buzzard	Egyptian goose	Grey plover
Ringed plover	Pintail	Grey heron	Little egret
Great black backed gull	Herring gull

Please note that there will not be a walk in September as I am on holiday. The next walk will be on the 22nd October 2026.

Terry Smith