We looked out the window and for once it was a beautiful dry and sunny day so we wasted very little time getting our gear ready and headed off to Mere Sands Wood which we have been meaning to go to – without the addition of snow or rain – for a while now and it turned out to be a lovely day for a walk round the woods taking in most of the hides and although there wasn’t anything special on show it was as if spring was actually threatening to arrive for the first time this year.As we walked around the perimeter path we encountered more Robins than you could shake a stick at\u00a0 – in fact we usually had one in view no matter where we went. We also saw a Wren and a Song Thrush and the air was filled with bird song. On the lake it was the usual subjects really, with a Little and Great crested Grebe, Lots of Cormorants in a big roost of around 30 birds and smatterings of Goldeneye, Tufted Ducks, Teal and good numbers of Shelduck. We saw two Jays and heard a Great Spotted Woodpecker but could not see it.<\/p>\n
Not a spectacular list of birds but a nice morning walk in the woods.<\/p>\n
| Species<\/th>\n | Count<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n |
|---|---|
| Greylag Goose<\/td>\n | 4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Canada Goose<\/td>\n | 16<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Shelduck<\/td>\n | 30<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Gadwall<\/td>\n | 4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Teal<\/td>\n | 20<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Mallard<\/td>\n | 20<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Shoveler<\/td>\n | 6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Pochard<\/td>\n | 3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Tufted Duck<\/td>\n | 12<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Goldeneye<\/td>\n | 4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Pheasant<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Cormorant<\/td>\n | 30<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Little Grebe<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Great Crested Grebe<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Moorhen<\/td>\n | 4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Coot<\/td>\n | 8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Lapwing<\/td>\n | 20<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Common Gull<\/td>\n | 6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Lesser Black-backed Gull<\/td>\n | 6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Woodpigeon<\/td>\n | 6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Jay<\/td>\n | 2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Jackdaw<\/td>\n | 4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Carrion Crow<\/td>\n | 6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Blue Tit<\/td>\n | 6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Great Tit<\/td>\n | 6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Long-tailed Tit<\/td>\n | 2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Wren<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Blackbird<\/td>\n | 10<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Song Thrush<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Robin<\/td>\n | 20<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Dunnock<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Tree Sparrow<\/td>\n | 4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Chaffinch<\/td>\n | 12<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Bullfinch<\/td>\n | 2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Reed Bunting<\/td>\n | 4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Visit to Mere Sands Woods 6th April 2013 We looked out the window and for once it was a beautiful dry and sunny day so we wasted very little time getting our gear ready and headed off to Mere Sands Wood which we have been meaning to go to – without the addition of snow … <\/p>\n |