On the 1st of april i had a late walk at colwick park for the first time since january, wasn't there very long due to the fact i had to get to work, but i saw some pretty decent wildlife and it was reasonably nice weather too. i seem to have lost my field notes for this walk though, so i'll just list the highlights!
The first thing i noticed was the profusion of small passerines singing as i entered the park, mainly blue tits and great tits, but also some chiffchaff, goldfinch and greenfinch. Also seen was a very light plumaged female mallard At the lakeside near the carpark there were the usual waterfowl, as well as a light variant Muscovy Duck and a sleeping Mandarin. There were several cormorants sunning themselves on the rocks too.
Walking around the lake further i noticed some movement just above the water... SWALLOWS!!! There were a lot flying over the main lake hunting midges and it was a joy to see them, first of the year! Also among the swallows, in even greater numbers were my first Sand Martins of the year too. Backed by the sound of more chiffchaff, it was like being in migrant heaven! The woods were quite quiet, with nothing of note, apart from some oyster mushrooms growing on an old birch tree.
The path between the two main lakes produced a nice surprise, around 16 pied wagtail feeding in the sodden grass, accompanied by several White Wagtail, a year and life tick, and 2 or 3 Meadow Pipit. There wasn't much else around on the lakes except the resident Black Swan. However, the feeders behind the marina supplied a good variety of species, with all the 'usual' passerines, as well as a Song thrush, several Goldfinch, a surprise Reed Bunting and more Chiffchaff. All in all a good day had with some new birds for the year, confirming the fact that Colwick Park is a valuable habitat for birds and a joy to visit (despite my friend Fred constantly badmouthing it!)
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