Patch Under Water!
I was home from uni for the weekend and took the chance to visit Willington in case of a really early Wheatear or Garganey, but mostly just to see how it was getting on and what was about.
I knew the River Trent was flooded along most of its course and packed wellies ready for some flooding. What I wasn't expecting however was knee-deep water even before the car parking area. The entire entrance to the lane was connected to the river and too deep to drive through. Without waders, it would be completely impassable and even then it might be a challenge.
This certainly explains the dearth of reports online from Willington online lately and is quite concerning. Who knows how the resident birds will have fared, as the main lake might now be connected to the Trent! I'd be really interested to know if anyone has attempted to get down there and assess the situation, hopefully it's not as dire as it seems from the entrance track.
Gutted that we couldn't visit Willington, I made the best of the situation and headed to Calke Abbey National Trust to look for some woodland birds and maybe even a pair of Brambling that have been reported on Twitter from the car park hide recently.
Arriving mid-afternoon on what had turned out to be a beautiful day, I was expecting it to be busy and sure enough the entire circular walk from the Severn Trent Round Car Park, past the lake to Calke Abbey and back along the drive was full of people.
Few birds were present but it was a lovely walk and the Red Deer were showing really well, including a nice stag. The hide (in the north-east corner of the NT car park) was heaving with the usual birds but no sign of the Brambling sadly. Possibly this was to be expected with the numbers of people and time of day - I think a morning visit is necessary. Nuthatch and Stock Dove were the highlights.
This hide is fantastic and over the years I have seen Marsh Tit, Brambling, Siskin, Nuthatch, Great Spotted Woodpecker and even Little Owl was once regular in the trees here.
I knew the River Trent was flooded along most of its course and packed wellies ready for some flooding. What I wasn't expecting however was knee-deep water even before the car parking area. The entire entrance to the lane was connected to the river and too deep to drive through. Without waders, it would be completely impassable and even then it might be a challenge.
This certainly explains the dearth of reports online from Willington online lately and is quite concerning. Who knows how the resident birds will have fared, as the main lake might now be connected to the Trent! I'd be really interested to know if anyone has attempted to get down there and assess the situation, hopefully it's not as dire as it seems from the entrance track.
Gutted that we couldn't visit Willington, I made the best of the situation and headed to Calke Abbey National Trust to look for some woodland birds and maybe even a pair of Brambling that have been reported on Twitter from the car park hide recently.
Few birds were present but it was a lovely walk and the Red Deer were showing really well, including a nice stag. The hide (in the north-east corner of the NT car park) was heaving with the usual birds but no sign of the Brambling sadly. Possibly this was to be expected with the numbers of people and time of day - I think a morning visit is necessary. Nuthatch and Stock Dove were the highlights.
This hide is fantastic and over the years I have seen Marsh Tit, Brambling, Siskin, Nuthatch, Great Spotted Woodpecker and even Little Owl was once regular in the trees here.
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