Visit to Rostherne Mere – 12th September 2017

By | October 20, 2017

This was the group’s first visit to Rostherne Mere and was attended by eight members of the group.  Access to the reserve is by permit only and we were guided on this visit by two of the volunteer wardens, Dave Clarke and Phil Dell.

A varied site with woodland and meadow habitats as well as the mere and a total of 28 species were recorded (for a full list of sightings click ‘Continue reading’ below).

A sighting of particular interest was a pair of Egyptian Geese.  This species of African origins is now established as a breeding bird in the UK and other European countries.  According to recent BTO surveys there are around 1,000 breeding pairs in the UK mostly in the Thames Valley and East Anglia but with scattered populations in Northern and Western England.  As these birds were on the far side of the Mere it was not possible to get a good picture, the photograph shown here was taken in Germany last year.

 
Species Number Seen Comment
Barn Owl 1 In nest box
Blackbird A few  
Blackcap 1 male Pete G
Blue Tit A few  
Bullfinch 1 juvenile Tony
Canada Goose Many  
Carrion Crow Several  
Chiffchaff 1  
Coal Tit Several  
Coot A few  
Cormorant Several  
Egyptian Goose 2  
Great Crested Grebe Several  
Great Tit A few  
Greenfinch Heard only  
House Sparrow A few  
Jackdaw Many  
Jay Heard only  
Lesser Black-backed Gull 1  
Mallard Several  
Moorhen 1  
Mute Swan 4  
Nuthatch 1 several more heard
Robin 1  
Stock Dove 2  
Swallow 1  
Woodpigeon A few  
Wren Heard only

What we were looking at – the Owl can just be seen at the nest box entrance.

Looking for the Barn Owl

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last Updated on October 20, 2017