We arrived as the only other person there was leaving the reserve so we had the place to ourselves :) The feeders at the car park were mostly empty so we topped them up with a mixture of seed and suet pellets while placing more on the fallen trees near the feeders.It was instantly appreciated by the Dunnocks, Blackbirds, Chaffinches and Great Tits who all quickly descended from the nearby trees to take advantage of the food.
The rafts in Grebe Lake were still empty as the Common Terns were yet to arrive but a Sparrowhawk zipped across the tree tops in front of us and out of sight.Chiffchaffs could be heard in various locations and we eventually ended the visit with 8 Chiffchaff sightings.
Chiffchaff
6 Treecreepers were dotted about the Pine and Birch trees along with the acrobatic Long-tailed Tits and a pair of Goldcrests.
Treecreepers
Long-tailed Tit
The second lake at MSQ (photo by Majella Fox)
Most of the action was on the main lake, Goldeneye, Pochards, Shelducks and Tufted Ducks passed close to the hide.
Goldeneye
The clouds closed in and the weather turned for the worse.We were happy to stay in the hide away from the downpour while watching 40+ Sand Martins that had completed their journeys back from Africa and were now happily feeding over the water on the early insects.
The rains coming in over the main lake.(photo by Majella Fox)
During a break in the rain, we made our way around to the next hide.The Black-headed Gull colony,currently around 160-180 strong were their usual rambunctious selves.A Redshank and a pair of Oystercatchers were caught among the hive of activity.
Oystercatchers among the Gull colony.
The Gulls searched for nesting materials, fought and displayed, real life drama(much better than watching Eastenders ;))
A Gulp of Cormorants kept to the far edge of the island along with some juvenile Gulls.
The call of a Buzzard could just be heard as it circled the lake , inadvertently becoming mobbed by a couple of Crows.
Common Buzzard
A walk through the woods brought more Chiffchaff and Long-tailed Tit sightings as well as Great Tits, Blue Tits and Wrens.
Wren(photo by Majella Fox)
On returning to the car another Buzzard appeared from behind the tree line, followed by a 2nd, then a 3rd, 4th and 5th. 5 Buzzards all drifting on the wind together over the adjacent field, a spectacular sight to end the 3 hour visit to Messingham Sand Quarry :)
We will return again soon.Thanks for taking the time to read my blog.I thank all 6 of you ;)
http://www.lincstrust.org.uk/reserves/Messingham-Sand-Quarry
Good selection of birds there! A gulp of cormorants? Excellent collective noun for them!
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