Moor Green Lakes – Berkshire (18 January 2023)

I’m just thawing out after a very chilly trip to Moor Green Lakes. This was a new venue for most of our 16 strong group. It was a lovely place with some nice birds, especially Goosander, and had a much appreciated, cosy little café with wood burner. It was -4°C when we arrived and didn’t warm up much, but it was brilliantly sunny. The lakes were even more frozen over than when we did the recce two days previously which was an advantage in some ways because the wildfowl were all clustered together in a couple of areas of open water. Not so good for the birds. However, many of the lakes had absolutely nothing on them and were just solid ice.

We started at Horseshoe Lake Sailing Club and saw Goldcrest, Long-tailed Tits, Nuthatch, Blue Tit, Blackbird and a flock of Siskin high in the Alder trees before we’d even left the car park! The patch of open water on this lake was stuffed with birds including 15+ Goosander, both males and females looking stunning in the sunshine, Wigeon, Gadwall, Mallard, Canada Geese, Mute Swans, Black-headed Gulls, Common Gull, a Lesser Black-backed Gull, Coot and Moorhen. A Buzzard mewed as it flew over and later chased a male Kestrel off the top of a bush.

Our next stop was Moor Green Lakes Nature Reserve. Here Colbrook Lake and Grove Lake have been carefully restored from old gravel pits. They form part of a chain of gravel workings which follow the flood plain of the Blackwater. Car park feeders, and a horse paddock gave us Goldfinch, Chaffinch and Redwing with Jay and Dunnock just up the path. A pair of Red Kite circled overhead their plumage illuminated in the bright sunshine. Again, the waterbirds were clustered in a strip of water, this time around Tern Island. The different water depth here meant that the above-mentioned ducks were joined by Pochard, Shoveler and a couple of Little Grebe. After Colbrook Lake we turned right along the Blackwater to look at the area of gravel workings which are still being restored. All the pools were iced over and the only birds on view were a lone Egyptian Duck and fleeting glimpses of Skylark and maybe a Meadow Pipit. A bridge over the river attracted Dunnock and a Wren. Fly over Little Egrets were spotted by some.

Returning to the reserve we walked along the river until we had a view over Grove Lake. Apart from some Mallard in a fragment of open water this was deserted but we all agreed that it had been a beautiful walk along the river. Returning to Colbrook Lake we headed for the hide but were stopped by another group of Siskin and Long-tailed Tits. Overhead a neat skein of geese with a quiet honk and pale heads and bellies were spotted. Barnacle Geese we thought, and this was confirmed by a man in the hide who saw them land and take off. They may be feral, but they are very attractive. From the hide we finally spotted the lone Shelduck, a Grey Heron and one of the elusive Little Egrets. Heading back towards the car park we saw a Song Thrush on the path and a Roe Deer watched us from the vegetation. The afore mentioned man pointed out a Barn Owl box to some of us, but we were at the wrong angle to see its occupant. By now we were all looking forward to the cosy café and spent some while there having lunch and admiring the lakes again. Our last bird was a Mistle Thrush, seen by those hardy people eating their sandwiches outside! A really enjoyable trip despite the cold and a venue we will return to.

by Rebecca Dunne