Page 4 - Wildlife News Dec 2017
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Nature reserve walks Ypopruloartcmeecestmslikmbeeatrghsihecisapel
Greenham Common
on a crisp, snowy day.
(Adrian wallington)
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Bright, crisp days present the perfect excuse to pull on your walking boots and get outside.
Here are a few ideas to help you make the most of the winter wonderland that awaits
FOWL PLAY by Tim Watts, volunteer warden at Calvert Jubilee
On a cold, crisp winter’s day there are few better places to be Feeding and loafing wildfowl are the main attraction on the
than Calvert Jubilee, Buckinghamshire. Even a fleeting pre- lake, along with the cormorant flock. Hide one offers a great
lunch trip can offer wildlife sightings to be cherished forever. The vantage point. Many years ago I put forward the idea of cutting
lake is the main focus at this time of year, although a stroll in the sections in the reedbed to provide feeding areas for the birds
surrounding wooded area is also recommended where you may and better viewing for visitors. This has been very successful
stumble across a woodcock – a plump, rufous bird that zigzags and is now done every autumn, giving close-range views of the
away through the trees when it’s disturbed. secretive bittern as it walks among the cut channels. There can
be two to five bitterns present at once, so visitors have a good
Bitterns stalk the reeds. chance of seeing one at any time of day from December to March.
(GRAEME TERRY)
Water rails are seen daily – their distinctive ‘squealing pig’ call
betrays their presence. Cetti’s warblers and kingfishers also use
the channels. Small migrating flocks of the enigmatic bearded tit
have visited but haven’t stayed the winter as yet. As we clear more
scrub from the fringes of the reedbed to make it ever bigger I
think they will eventually decide to stay longer.
Hide two provides good views of wildfowl sheltering from the
wind. This is the optimum spot to view the assembling gull roost
of up to 12,000 birds – quite a spectacle when they take flight
together. The lake has a very good record for attracting unusual
wildfowl, such as long-tailed duck and great northern diver, and
even sea birds like gannet and storm petrel have been known
to drop in. A modest-sized starling flock roosts in the reeds and
performs its flight display around the lake.
Visiting Calvert Jubilee during the winter, any time from dawn
to dusk, will certainly provide the intrepid wildlife watcher with
something of note.
4 Wildlife news / December 2017
