Farm Trail and Visitor Centre
October 7th
With the rain at last letting up I made tracks for the Valley early afternoon, I had decided on a walk round the Farm Trail and then the Glades. I had Ring Ouzel in my head given we are now in October, they have always been a hard bird over the Valley with only a handful of records.
With the new Visitor Centre for the Essex Wildlife Trust now open, I made a note at the end of the walk to drop in for a coffee.
Lots of Game Crop this year for the shoot, so it should again pull in Finches/Buntings in numbers as per past years, to emphasize this, 6 Yellowhammers were already present in the adjoining bushes.
The glades was quite productive and gave up more Goldcrests and also Chiffchaffs along with a single Redwing and Siskin, Green Woodpeckers seemed to be everywhere.
Alas no Ring Ouzel anywhere but some good birds were seen, the viewing area was only full of Mallards, easily 80 birds but I did have 4 Snipe flying around.
Highlights from the walk were
Goldcrest – 10
Blackcap – 1
Swallow – a late bird over the Farm Trail
Bullfinch – 3 calling
Chiffchaff – 7
Rook – 5
The top paddock is now gone unfortunately and is set to become a Landfill eventually, nothing is ever left alone, pounds notes will always take over.
On a brighter note the new Centre was worth the wait when I arrived after the walk, I can see it becoming the place to meet for local birders.
On a cold winter’s day, it is going to make the long walks a lot easier with a hot chocolate and a cake waiting at the end of it.
Bloody waistline will take another bashing though, just too much temptation everywhere you go these days.
With the rain at last letting up I made tracks for the Valley early afternoon, I had decided on a walk round the Farm Trail and then the Glades. I had Ring Ouzel in my head given we are now in October, they have always been a hard bird over the Valley with only a handful of records.
With the new Visitor Centre for the Essex Wildlife Trust now open, I made a note at the end of the walk to drop in for a coffee.
 |
| New Centre |
It was quite apparent early on that there were good numbers of Goldcrest around with singles frequently calling; I even had one out on the Farm Trail.
Lots of Game Crop this year for the shoot, so it should again pull in Finches/Buntings in numbers as per past years, to emphasize this, 6 Yellowhammers were already present in the adjoining bushes.
The glades was quite productive and gave up more Goldcrests and also Chiffchaffs along with a single Redwing and Siskin, Green Woodpeckers seemed to be everywhere.
Alas no Ring Ouzel anywhere but some good birds were seen, the viewing area was only full of Mallards, easily 80 birds but I did have 4 Snipe flying around.
Highlights from the walk were
Goldcrest – 10
Blackcap – 1
Swallow – a late bird over the Farm Trail
Bullfinch – 3 calling
Chiffchaff – 7
Rook – 5
The top paddock is now gone unfortunately and is set to become a Landfill eventually, nothing is ever left alone, pounds notes will always take over.
On a brighter note the new Centre was worth the wait when I arrived after the walk, I can see it becoming the place to meet for local birders.
On a cold winter’s day, it is going to make the long walks a lot easier with a hot chocolate and a cake waiting at the end of it.
Bloody waistline will take another bashing though, just too much temptation everywhere you go these days.
 |
| Inside the centre |
 |
| The view out over the Marsh - wader scrapes are planned |
No comments:
Post a Comment