Breary Marsh and Adel Dam

Another guest post from Andrea from her journeys through Breary Marsh and onto the nearby Adel Dam Nature Reserve where she spotted lots of woodland birds and took some very nice shots of Wren, Treecreeper, Nuthatch, Long Tail Tit and more Wren against some interesting backdrops.

Treecreeper

I found the next three shots interesting, as all birds were feeding on the trunk of an Oak. English Oak trees in particular provide habitats for a wider range of organisms than any other tree in the UK. The older the tree, the deeper the fissures in the bark, the greater number of potential microhabitats for sheltering invertebrates, the greater the food source for birds. The surface patterns of the bark also provide a distracting backdrop that has the effect of camouflaging the visiting birds.

Nuthatch

Long Tail Tit

Jenny Wren 

Treecreeper

Thank you Andrea

Mandarins at Adel Dam Nature Reserve

On Tuesday afternoon we visited Adel Dam Nature Reserve next to Goldenacre Park. Small birds flew back and forth between the feeders and surrounding vegetation, Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Great Tit, Robin, a pair of Nuthatch, Long Tail Tit, Dunnock, joined briefly by a Great Spotted Woodpecker. A single female Mandarin duck fed on the outskirts of the pond, whilst a couple of male Mandarins kept their distance near the stream at the back of the clearing. After 10 minutes a brightly coloured handsome male marched towards the pond followed by more and ending up with a total of 12 Mandarins.

Adel Dam Nature Reserve

On Sunday afternoon we jumped on the bus to Goldenacre Park, how cold it was or rather how cold I was, words cannot convey. Discomfort aside we headed for Adel Dam, a local Yorkshire Wildlife Trust reserve. The Marsh Hide feeders were busy with smaller woodland birds including of a pair of Bullfinch, Nuthatch, Robin, Blue Tits, Long Tail Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit, along with a sorry looking Magpie, Blackbird, a pair of Moor Hen, and 6 Squirrels, though sadly no sign of the Great Spotted Woodpecker today.

From the second hide, overlooking Adel Dam, only the far reaches of the dam remained unfrozen, kept clear by the current of the inflowing Adel Beck. An assortment of footprints were visible across the frozen surface.

From the left, flying low, heading directly for the unfrozen patch of water zipped the electric blue of a Kingfisher, our first ever sighting of the bird here at Adel Dam. This pic is taken at a distance, but its plumage colouration is unmistakable, it perched here for a few minutes before heading off, hopefully with better luck elsewhere, according to the RSPB website they're particularly vulnerable to hard winters. 

As the Kingfisher made its exit, on the far bank we could just make out the profile of a Roe Deer, well camouflaged amongst the snow and bare branches.

 

Having endured enough of the cold temperatures made worse by sitting still in the hide for a few minutes, we followed the woodland trail back through the reserve and found this fungi.  I'm guessing its Pleurotus sp. Buff coloured, convex cap, the gills are cream coloured and decurrent, growing in abundant clumps on a deciduous stump. Any help with the ID would be greatly appreciated.

Adel Dam and Breary Marsh

Visits earlier in the week to Adel Dam and Breary Marsh brought views of Great Spotted Woodecker. On the Breary Marsh side we spotted a couple of males and from the 1st hide at Adel Dam this female, lacking the red on the back of the head.

This was one of two males spotted high in the treetops.

At a distance, a fox in nearby fields, spotted us and continued to the stone wall and leaped over and out of sight.

There were plenty of woodland birds, this Chaffinch, Robin, Wren, Coal Tit, Blackbird, Long Tail Tit, Blue Tit, Wood Pigeon.

From the 1st hide at Adel Dam this Nuthatch enjoys a rather fatty looking snack.

Wildflowers in bloom included Lesser Celandine, Wood Sorrell and Bluebells. These ones grew against a moss topped fallen trunk, the horizontal fissures resembling the lines of a musical stave and the flowers the musical notes.

Adel Dam Nature Reserve

On Saturday morning we took Maureen along to Adel Dam Nature Reserve. After hearing that she'd never seen a Woodpecker we thought it the most likely place to strike lucky. Good call....we could hear one as we approached the reserve and within a minute a Great Spotted Woodpecker was overhead, we observed it for a moment before it flew off and another appeared in a treetop less than a minute afterwards, mission accomplished.


So with the pressure off and time on our side, we spent a wee while in the first hide where we spotted three Peacock butterflies alternately basking in a Willow tree and landing on the ground in front of us, although nearer they were too obscured by foliage to get a decent pic. I remember seeing one or two Peacocks last year in the same spot. Also on the feeders, Blue Tit, Coal Tit, Chaffinch, Robin and an unexpected Reed Bunting which I haven't seen here before.



We walked round to the lakeside hide where a handful of Teal, Mallards & Coot occupied the lake, and a Long Tailed Tit was busy collecting nesting material in front of the hide. Continuing on through the reserve we spotted this woodland songbird that we think might be a Chiffchaff. I understand the warblers are difficult to identify by sight, so having listened a recording I'm pretty confident it sounded most like the bird we heard.

Adel Dam

On a recent trip to Adel Dam next to Goldenacre Park, a Great Spotted Woodpecker graced us with its presence. Not too much else apart from the usual suspects, a pair of Nuthatch, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Moor Hen, Blackbird.

We made our way over to the Dam hide moments before the heavens opened and we settled ourselves in the hide for 20 minutes or so to see out the storm. Even the handful of Teal and Mallards left the water to seek shelter on the margins. The wait was worth it though as the rain receded, and the surrounding vegetation glowed against the grey moisture heavy sky.

Adel Dam Nature Reserve

Popping out to Adel Dam Nature Reserve adjoining Goldenacre Park we enjoyed good views of a Great Spotted Woodpecker at the Marsh Hide feeding station & despite low light we managed some shots.

In the immediate area Grey Squirrels attempted to carry away whole slices of bread before settling on a more leisurely approach and snacking on the spot. Moor Hen, Blackbird, Great Tit, Nuthatch, Coal Tit, Blue Tit all visited the feeding station. At the rear of the feeding station the stream runs from right to left into Adel Dam & through gaps in the vegetation we noticed a couple of Teal travelling upstream.

We didn't stop for long at the second hide which overlooks the dam but long enough to spot a Fox and a Roe Deer on the opposite bank.

Adel Dam Nature Reserve

We visited Adel Dam for the first time on Saturday, what a lovely woodland reserve & surprisingly peaceful on a busy sunny day when neighbouring Goldenacre Park was full of visitors. You can find a handy map at Yorkshire Wildlife Trust .

Marsh Hide Feeding Station overlooks a small pond brimming with lush vegetation & surrounded by a variety of mature mixed woodland. The close proximity to the pond provides a fine view of the inhabitants. The plentiful feeders attracted a steady procession of small woodland birds Coal Tit, Great Tit, Marsh Tit, Robin and a Nuthatch appeared intermittently. A couple of Magpies arrived prompting expectation that they'd hog the feeder but didn't stay long presumably full from an earlier feed.

A Grey Heron appeared & settled imposingly on the diminutive pond. It skulked round the margins of the pool successfully hunting small fish. We watched as a dragonfly darted foolishly over the Heron. It coolly kept its beady eyes on the insect, suddenly extending its long neck & darting its beak skywards to pluck the dragonfly out of the air & with a crunch made a tidy snack of it.

Gotcha...

A Treecreeper spiralled up a Willow trunk probing for insects.

The Nuthatch didn't stay for long before it was off again, this was the best I could manage.

The second hide overlooks Adel Dam, a much larger body of water. The water level is low at the moment & the birds were scarce, mainly Coots, Mallards, Moorhen. Here's the view.

A Red Kite soared overhead.

At the water's edge a fox crept through the thicket contemplating duck for tea no doubt. It mooched around for a minute dissappearing into the trees.

Ten minutes later we spotted a flash of colour to our right & a fox darted out of the undergrowth & trotted away from us through the waterside vegetation.

It appeared a few minutes later at the opposite bank quickly slipping out of view into the trees. Then we became aware of its reflection in the water as it settled near a flock of waterside birds waiting unnoticed for an unsuspecting bird to stray nearby.