After a day of continuous rain it was something of a surprise when the walk leader, Paul Beard, set off in search of “plenty of mud”. The dire predictions proved to be wildly overstated and all of the 20+ party remained upright throughout the walk to Brackenfield via Carr Lane. The return via Millers Lane and Brackenfield Church was also uneventful and the whole walk yielded a good total of 51 species.

Blackbird, Black-headed Gull, Blue Tit, Brambling, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Buzzard (max. 8 together), Common Snipe, Coot, Cormorant, Dunnock, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Goosander (12), Great Crested Grebe, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jay, Kestrel, Lapwing, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Linnet, Long-tailed Tit, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Nuthatch, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Reed Bunting, Robin, Rook, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Teal, Treecreeper, Tree Sparrow, Tufted Duck, Willow Warbler/Chiffchaff, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.

Nigel Cater stood in for our regular leader and set out with a large party of 27, on a sunny but rather cold day, for the complete circuit of the reservoir in the usual anti-clockwise direction.
This report currently lists the 40 species seen for the section to Bottom Farm (Brackenfield).
Blackbird, Black-headed Gull, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Buzzard, Coot, Cormorant, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Crested Grebe, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Grey Wagtail, Jackdaw, Jay, Kestrel, Lapwing, Little Egret, Long-tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Nuthatch, Pheasant, Redwing, Robin, Starling, Stock Dove, Teal, Treecreeper, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon.
In addition, Peter Faulkner, returning on his own along the West Bank, picked out a Pink-footed Goose amongst the Greylags, and found 10 to 12 Waxwings in a tree in the garden of the house opposite the entrance to the West Bank Car Park.

The first walk of 2017 took place on a mild, dry day. Paul Beard led a group of sixteen adults and two children to Brackenfield and back. A total of 48 species were seen.

Species: Blackbird, Buzzard, Black-headed Gull, Bullfinch, Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Canada Goose, Coot, Coal Tit, Cormorant, Carrion Crow, Dunnock, Gadwall, Goldcrest, Goldeneye, Goosander, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Great Crested Grebe, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Jackdaw, Jay, Kestrel, Lapwing, Long-tailed Tit, Little Grebe, Lesser Blacked-back Gull, Mistle Thrush, Magpie, Moorhen, Mallard, Nuthatch, Pied Wagtail, Robin, Reed Bunting, Shoveler, Snipe, Song Thrush, Starling, Treecreeper, Tufted Duck, Teal, Wren, Woodpigeon, Willow Tit, Yellow Wagtail.

Philip Needham

Paul Beard lead the way on the Brackenfield loop; anticlockwise for most of the participants this month. Windless conditions meant it was relatively pleasant for December. The sheer abundance of birdlife between the West Bank car park and the church was noteworthy, and the species total respectable at 50. Opinion varied on both the number of starters and number of finishers on the walk, 16 being the average.

Species: Blackbird, Black-headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Coot, Cormorant, Dunnock, Fieldfare, Gadwall, Goldfinch, Great Black-backed Gull, Great Crested Grebe, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Greylag Goose, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Kingfisher, Lapwing, Linnet, Little Grebe, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Nuthatch, Pied Wagtail, Pink-footed Goose, Redwing, Robin, Rook, Shoveller, Song Thrush, Starling, Stock Dove, Teal, Treecreeper, Wigeon, Willow Tit, Woodpigeon, Wren.

Peter Faulkner