Phew...it was a a really busy weekend at The Lodge and we are just getting our breath back! Over 2,800 visitors came to the reserve to visit the Christmas Fayre, enjoy the trails and spot some good birds in mostly sunny conditions.
The osprey was seen on both days, on one occcasion directly over the Gatehouse car park, where the noisy ravens made it very unwelcome and it was then seen again over the hillfort area. With a change in the weather to colder and wetter conditions and some northerly winds forecast this week, it will be interesting to see if it does finally move on . A green sandpiper has been visiting the pools down at the hide, a bird that I've never managed to see on the reserve, so I'm going to head down later to see if I can get it on my Lodge list. Green sandpipers are a scarce bird at The lodge, but are recorded annually and can stay around for a number of weeks, you just have to be lucky to be in the hide when they pop in. Several woodcock are now taking up residence, one flew over the road near the reserve entrance as I drove out on Saturday evening.Others have been seen around the new heath over the last few days.
We'll be keeping our eyes peeled for any waxwings that may arrive over the next few weeks, small numbers are heading down the east coast, with a few inland records as well- so we may be lucky!