Stover Country Park, 25th March 2025

Fourteen of us met outside the upgraded Visitor’s Centre in Stover Park on a bright and sunny morning. We were slightly apprehensive about what we would find because of the extensive de-silting and conifer reduction programme which has been taking place in Stover for over a year, as part of the Restoring Stover Park Project. 

As anticipated, there were fewer bird species and numbers than have been seen on previous visits. However, we had very enjoyable stroll around the lake, watching Coots and Moorhens busy about their nestbuilding and we all appreciated the good weather. We saw some beautiful Mandarin Ducks, a pair of Great Crested Grebes who were also in the process of nest building, and some Tufted Ducks. The various feeding posts and the main feeding station had the best collection of Nuthatches, Coal, Great and Blue Tits and of course Robins, with the rest of the area being very quiet. Dave led us on a detour around the interesting Children’s Trail on the side of the lake where we heard both Great Spotted and Green Woodpeckers, but didn’t manage to see either of them.

By the end of the walk we had seen 29 species, excluding the Woodpeckers. Our impression was that, while improvements in habitat are definitely being made, it may take years to see the results of the project in terms of bird numbers and variety. 

Jane had kindly booked a table at the nearby “Welcome Stranger” pub and 7 of the group enjoyed a very good, reasonably priced lunch and chat after the walk. We all decided it was a place we would like to visit again in future.

Claire Savaryn

31 species identified (H – heard only)

Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Mandarin Duck, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Stock Dove, Woodpigeon, Moorhen, Coot, Great Crested Grebe, Herring Gull, Cormorant, Buzzard, Great Spotted Woodpecker (H), Green Woodpecker (H), Magpie, Carrion Crow, Raven, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Chiffchaff, Wren, Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Robin, Dunnock, Chaffinch.