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The year started cold with the lagoon iced over but this didn’t stop a pair of Ravens displaying along the valley and Great Spotted Woodpecker drumming close to the hide. The fields around the reserve held good numbers of Lapwing, curlew and winter thrushes as well as Brown Hare. As the temperature increased mid-month open water appeared on the lagoon and the wildfowl moved in with up to nine Pintail on one occasion while Water Rail was heard calling from the reedbed. During February the peanut feeder in front of the hide continued to attract a variety of woodland species as the cold weather returned to re-freeze the pool. The surrounding fields again provided good sightings with a flock of fifteen Golden Plover feeding with the Curlew amongst the snow. By March it looked as if Spring was beginning to show with many of the tits taking interest in various nest boxes, Treecreeper building in the corner of the hide and up to six Buzzard displaying overhead. Two pairs of Canada geese arrived towards the end of the month and by early April this had risen to three pairs but conflict with the resident Mute Swans ensured they didn’t breed. By mid-month there was lots of singing on the reserve and migrants had started to appear with Chiffchaff and Blackcap present and butterflies in the form of Orange Tip, Small White and Peacock were on the wing in the meadow by the entrance. By the end of the month one pair of Coot had chicks and plenty of other migrants had arrived. As May arrived things were in full swing with warblers everywhere, the Treecreepers in the hide had chicks and many of the nest boxes had eggs and then young. This proved to be a bumper year for Blue and great Tits in the area with a large percentage of eggs resulting in fledged young – a situation repeated across the country according to BTO reports. Cuckoos were heard on a number of occasions but seldom seen. As Summer moved on young Mute Swan, Mallard, Tufted Duck and Coot appeared on the lagoon, sightings of single Hobby were reported and a young Badger gave one lucky observer good views close to the hide. By the end of August the swans still had six cygnets, Mallard numbers were up to sixty plus and Coot to over twenty, presumably a mix of adults and this season’s young. The presence of two Common Sandpiper on a nearby pool and the lack of birdsong in the woods indicated autumn was on the way and as the year came to an end the lagoon again froze over and the attention turned to the peanut feeder where a variety of woodland birds gathered to feed and entertain anyone braving the cold to visit the reserve.
The following table lists the average eggs, chicks and birds fledged per nest. These records are returned annually to the Cheshire & Wirral Ornithological Society for inclusion in county records.
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