Anglers Country Park and Wintersett, 13 March 2010.
“SPRING IN THE AIR”
Fresh, bright weather greeted members of the Rochdale Field Naturalists’ Society on their latest coach excursion to the Anglers Country Park near Wakefield. The large expanse of water that forms the centre of the park was previously the deepest opencast mining site in the country, happily now only a memory.
As members scanned the varied flocks of wildfowl, it was clear that the bird mating season was beginning in earnest, with the male ducks busily going through their display rituals to impress potential new mates. Wigeon, Pochard, Gadwall, Teal, Tufted Duck, Goldeneye and Goosander were all present in large numbers. But the two stars undoubtedly were a Scaup and a rare Ring Necked Duck, the latter either a migrant from America or, perhaps more likely, an escapee from a local wildfowl collection.
In the afternoon the group moved on to the nearby Wintersett reservoir and surrounding woods, which revealed another good variety of birds, often in full song in their endeavours to attract their mates. A small flock of Yellowhammers and a skulking Water Rail brightened the walk, together with some Great Crested Grebes, with the males splendidly living up to their descriptive name.
The group then walked on to Haw Park Wood, once part of the Waterton Hall estate founded in the early 19th Century by Charles Waterton as, in effect, the world’s first nature reserve.
The Crossbills that live in the wood proved elusive on the day, but nevertheless several tree loving species were spotted, such as Goldfinch and Long-tailed Tits, plus a number of fungi and flower species such as Jelly Ear and Blushing Bracket, and Coltsfoot and Lesser Celandine. The sighting of a fox loping across the fields and a Smooth Newt also added to the variety of natural history encountered on a very enjoyable and satisfactory day.
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| Chaffinch | Tufted Duck | Mute Swan |
Images by Peter Francis
