Willington Nature Reserve

Our first outing of the year. The weather was dry and bright with a light breeze about but ground conditions were very wet and sticky. As we gathered in the car park we spotted blackbird, blue tit, great tit and a goldfinch. We then set off up the lane towards the first viewing platform.

We didn't have far to go before seeing a group of long tailed tits busily foraging in the hedgerow. A great spotted woodpecker also flew in and gave us a very good view as it gazed down on us. 

Great spotted woodpecker

We pressed on further up the lane, dodging the many muddy puddles. We then spotted a distant swan on the bank of the River Trent. It looked bigger than a mute swan and had a very distinctive yellow area above its bill- a whooper! An unusual sighting.

We eventually arrived at the first viewing platform, tufted duck, coot, mallard and cormorants were seen.  Also, fly byes of crow, wood pigeon, grey heron and jackdaw.  

As we neared the main hide we could see a lot of activity around two feeders. The usual culprits mainly, except for a tree sparrow and treecreeper. The tree creeper was feeding on the spill off from the feeders- very unusual.

From inside the hide we could see oystercatcher, lapwing, a large number of greylag geese, Canada geese, no less than four snipe, pochard, mallard, reed bunting, gadwall and shoveller, to name a few.

Pochard

We left the hide and continued on to the last viewing platform on the site. We heard the call of a Cetti's warbler coming from the nearby reed bed. 

During our conversations as we walked along the path 'sexing' of robins cropped up, the males and females are almost identical and they both sing. This makes it difficult to tell them apart. During the breeding season the female does all the brooding so a nesting robin is most likely a female. There is however, a small detail that can distinguish them if viewed close enough, and preferably from above. 

Male robin

Female robin

The two pictures above show the brow hairline is straight in the male and the female has a 'widows peak'. This is generally not easy to see but sometimes it is more obvious.

We eventually returned to the car park and went off to the nearby Mercia Marina for refreshment.

The tally: 35 species

Blackbird, blue tit, robin, great tit, goldfinch,  black-headed gull, wood pigeon, long tailed tit, great spotted woodpecker, whooper swan, crow, mallard, coot, tufted duck, cormorant, mute swan, jackdaw, heron, chaffinch, tree sparrow, treecreeper, lapwing, pochard, greylag goose, Canada goose, reed bunting, oystercatcher, gadwall, snipe, shoveller, magpie, great crested grebe, greenfinch, house sparrow and dunnock.