Gentle morning walk at Stover Country Park

A very cold but sunny morning outside the Stover Park Visitor Centre and leader Cilla welcomed the 28 people who had turned up, some new to the group. Co-leader Richard led half the group, which went in the opposite direction around the lake. It was a lovely morning and a good introduction to one of our outdoor events for the “new faces” in the group.

Cilla gave a brief introduction to the work under way to save the lake and improve the Park, the most obvious being clearing a lot of conifers ready to take much of the accumulated silt from the lake and plant more deciduous trees.

Then our ensemble moved down towards the lakeside for the parting of the ways. But before we split, we were welcomed by a lively group of robins, blue and great tits, blackbird, the first group of many nuthatches we were to see, and a very close tree creeper. What a start. This end of the lake is well known to the resident water birds as a good spot to anticipate food from visitors, so we got close views of black-headed gull, tufted duck, mallard, moorhen, coot (just look at the size of those feet!) and a mute swan before we wandered round to the wooded area on the northern shore.

The reeds had been cut back so there was always something to see on the lake but most of our time was spent scanning the trees to see what we could add to our list, and the highlight was probably a marsh tit. However, a small group of long-tailed tits came a close second. At the eastern end of the lake, we did a loop round the old canal which, amongst other things, added a nice pair of Mandarin duck to our haul. Back to the lake we paused before the return to the car park and, as well as more ducks looking for opportunities, there was a nearby statue-like heron lurking in the reeds (later we spotted another in the treetops at the western end). But looking further across the lake Cilla spotted some very smart goosanders and pochards, which were a very welcome bonus. The lake may not be in prime condition, but it still manages to support a good range of life.

Next we walked along the aerial walkway with the birds flitting around us giving amazing close views.

And it didn’t end there. A quick visit to the hide near the Visitor Centre added a pair of wrens and brief but clear view of a water rail. The anticlockwise group missed out on our water rail but they got a jay instead, so all’s well that ends well.

Thanks to Cilla & Richard for arranging a great morning, for both weather and birds (and Paul for the bird food!). Definitely a worthwhile trip.

Melanie and John Parker

38 bird species (37 seen, 1 heard – H): Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Mandarin Duck, Wigeon, Mallard, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Goosander, Feral Pigeon, Wood Pigeon, Water Rail, Moorhen, Coot, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Cormorant, Grey Heron, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Jay, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Coal Tit, Marsh Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Goldcrest, Wren, Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush (H), Robin, Dunnock, Pied Wagtail, Chaffinch, Greenfinch.