Birds you may catch sight of .....

Don't forget your binoculars!

Water birds such as tufted duck, shoveler, gadwall, coot and great-crested grebes may be seen at any time, although numbers are highest during the winter months. In the winter if you are very lucky you may catch a glimpse of the secretive bittern or hear the eerie “squealing” of a water rail.

It is spring when the Quarry Walk reedbed comes alive. The reed bed is filled with the songs of reed warblers and sedge warblers, newly arrived from their long migration journey from Africa.

Cetti’s warblers, a species which first bred in the UK in 1972, may make their presence known by their loud explosive, calls from the dense wet scrub surrounding the reedbed and lake. But be warned, they are very secretive and you will rarely see one!

The surrounding farmland and scrub offers the chance to see tree sparrows, long-tailed tits, lapwing and golden plover. In the summer the scrub is full of whitethroats and blackcaps singing.

High above birds of prey such as buzzards and kestrels circle and hover as they keep a watchful eye for vulnerable prey. At dusk, the resident barn owl quarters over the fields and reedbeds.