Andy Harding is a former county Bird Recorder for Buckinghamshire.
Keith Gander also provided his telescope and experience including helping to ring birds at the reserve.
Ten of us gathered in the car park at 8.00am on a sunny and warm morning. After brief introductions, we moved away from the car park. It was one of the mornings when the group of BTO bird ringers had set up in the yard and we could hear their sound recordings intended to lure birds into the nets. This made it a bit difficult to distinguish real from artificial songs of Cuckoos so we walked on a little further along past the Sand Martin bank.
There weren’t any martins flying in view although apparently they had been showing some interest in the nesting holes. A Cetti’s Warbler sang out its distinctive call very close but as usual it remained hidden in the bushes. A group of Goldfinches were singing in the trees. We were interested to see that one of the ringers’ mist nets had caught a bird. It was hanging immobile upside down and didn’t seem anxious so we got close enough to identify it as a Reed Warbler. Sedge Warblers also nest in the reeds but they have streaked backs, unlike the plain Reed Warbler. A Cuckoo calling in the distance was probably the real thing.
Swifts were swooping around the sky high above the lake, presumably finding plenty of flies and other insects drifting up in the wind. From the first hide we had good views of a couple of Common Terns, arrived from the tropics for the summer to breed here. They usually nest on small islands in the middle of lakes so these two would be just feeding up. The bird ringer Kenny Cramer is currently building a tern raft which he will donate to the reserve so we might attract breeding pairs next year. They are already not far away at Willen Lake.
From the hide we could see a few birds on the lake. Great Crested Grebes had paired up and one was sitting on a nest of vegetation among the reeds bordering the strip of land known as the “Bund”. It has been very dry recently but if there is a lot of rain the nest might get washed away. The nest is often almost floating to prevent this regular occurrence, just tied to reeds with a few strands of vegetation.
Also on the bund seemed to be a Little Ringed Plover dotting around the muddy edge with two Pied Wagtails, but we were hoping for a better view from another hide later. Songs of Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps and Robins serenaded us as we moved along. Janice showed us the area recently managed by The Parks Trust volunteers as a habitat to attract and protect reptiles. Grass Snakes are often seen in the summer basking in the sun, and Great-crested Newts have protected status because of their national rarity but are rarely seen. We passed an impressive stand of Russian Comfrey plants already attracting many species of bees to their pretty violet flowers. A Banded Demoiselle damselfly was seen and a Red Fox loped ahead of us. A Blue-tailed Damselfly landed on Janice’s sleeve.
A couple of Gadwall ducks were on the small more hidden lake. We will be keeping an eye on the lake to see if they will breed there, as they are a scarce breeding bird in the UK. Many more arrive in winter and it’s well worth trying to see their intricately patterned plumage close up.
We arrived at the Heronry Hide, close to the island where several pairs of Grey Herons had been nesting. One young bird seemed to be still on a nest. Cormorants also nest on the island and may be restricting breeding by herons, although herons usually nest earlier in the year. A few Tufted Ducks were swimming around. Andy explained that originally the reserve was an area for gravel extraction destined for the concrete of Milton Keynes, and eventually a project was set up using the flooded lakes to allow research into the ecology of water birds. The idea was to find how best to manage new water bodies for shooting, in particular the effects of fish on the availability of food for ducklings. Thankfully shooting has never been allowed on the reserve although it is on other lakes nearby.
We watched close views of the terns catching flies, and had good views of Little Egret through the telescopes. There are often visits by Great White Egrets, but not today.
On the way back to the Woodland Hide we saw Blue Tits going in and out of a nest box. From the hide there didn’t seem to be much activity, apart from Grey Squirrels loafing on the bridge. Peter put out some bird food on the tree trunk table and within a few seconds Great Tits and Blue Tits had arrived. A Jay flew across in front of us. Janice also spotted the resident Bank Vole peeping out of a crevice.
We moved on to the Otter Hide and finally had good views of the Little Ringed Plover we saw earlier. They have bred a couple of miles away at Floodplain Forest reserve but Linford Lakes doesn’t have any suitable stony areas to suit them.
As the sun warmed up during the morning, some of us spotted some butterflies: Brimstone, Orange Tip, and Speckled Wood.
As we walked back to the car park, Andy included some anecdotes of the time he was leading bird tours overseas. We stopped at the bird ringers’ stand and were invited to look at the birds they were processing. One of us accepted the offer to release a bird from his hand.
The group thanked Andy for being such a helpful and interesting guide. Keith Gander also provided his telescope and much information on the bird ringing activities at Linford Lakes. Thanks also to Pauline and Neil Studman for being in charge of First Aid equipment.
Warbler Walk Species List
Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Cetti’s Warbler, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Common Tern, Coot, Cormorant, Cuckoo, Gadwall, Garden Warbler, Goldfinch, Great-crested Grebe, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Jackdaw, Jay, Little Egret, Little Ringed Plover, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Pied Wagtail, Red Kite, Reed Bunting, Reed Warbler, Robin, Song Thrush, Swift, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon, Wren
36 spp
