Bird Watching at Adel Dam

The second outing I organised for #LUUBRS - our student nature recording group - was a bird watching session at Adel Dam nature reserve in Leeds. This was planned in the run up to the RSPB's big garden bird count which is taking place at the end of January, to enable people to get some practice and support with identification skills before the big day.  The trip also provided the opportunity for me to try out my new camera lens, providing extra zoom on my DSLR.

An elite group of three of us turned out on a very cold winter's day, the freshly fallen snow making for a very picturesque scene. Our first stop was the meeting point at the underpass near the car park. Several ducks had congregated by the bridge, and a robin and nuthatch teased us through the branches of a fir tree.

Moving through the park, we stopped at the main lake in Golden Acre Park. This held a congregation of ducks and geese. The black-headed gulls had us confused - in their winter plumage they do not have black heads! - but were figured it out and were soon also able to identify first wintering juveniles. There was a thin layer of ice at the far side of the lake, and a pair of mute swans were valiantly trying to battle through.

We were confused by a couple of ducks that didn't seem to be any particular species - further research revealed them to be what is colloquially known as "manky mallards" - hybrids that display a variety of colours and patterns (http://10000birds.com/manky-mallards-domestic-feral-or-just-plain-odd-mallards.htm). One of those seen was almost black (see photo above right), another white with pale brown patches, and a third that looked very much like a male mallard but had a large white bib.

Next, we moved into Adel Dam Nature Reserve. There was little to see in the woodland, and it became clear when we entered Marsh Hide that this was because all of the birds were congregating around the bird feeders and making the most of the snacks provided. We spent some time here looking at the different species. Small and cheeky coal tits are a bird I rarely see, but they were here in abundance competing with the more common blue and great tits. A great spotted woodpecker visited the bird feeder, taking his time to feast on the peanuts; a gaggle of colourful mandarin ducks made their way from the stream into the marsh; and a colourful Jay put in several appearances.

On our way to the next hide we saw movement in the trees and identified a tree creeper, aptly named for its behaviour of creeping acrobatically up tree trunks, its vivid white chest clearly visible.

Lake Hide provided much of the same including nuthatches and tits feeding, but here we also had open view across the lake. A grey heron worked its way slowly across the lake, and a sparrowhawk passed by overhead. We took some time to talk to the friendly volunteers, kindly giving up their time to educate novices like ourselves, and obviously passionate about the nature reserve they help with.

The volunteers from Adel Dam Nature Reserve were friendly and helpful during their 'guide in the hide' session: they have a wonderful area to work in.

We managed to log 24 species during the visit, and I think we all learnt something new. I'm looking forward to a repeat visit this weekend when we will hopefully see a few more new species.