On 3rd May there was a guided birdwatching walk around the Park. It was requested by Mark Evison, the Park manager, who hopes that it may become a regular feature. It was the first guided walk for a few years. About ten people showed up, which was a good number. In the past I’ve led walks where only two or three people show up!
As part of the event there was a bird ringing demonstration, down in the Cricket Scrub area, kindly provided by Gerry Rawcliffe. It proved to be very popular with everyone, providing a rare chance to see small birds close up. Five birds were caught, 2 Great Tits, a Blue Tit, Wren and Common Whitethroat.
The two species of the day (for the walk) were Yellow Wagtail, found by John Murray and Hobby, which unfortunately, was a quick flyover, and was missed by most people in the group. Notwithstanding, over 40 species were observed by the group, which was a decent total.
However, the total number of species seen in the Park on the day was 56, by all observers. There was a Peregrine seen from the Park, but it was over a mile outside the border of the Park, so can’t really be considered to be a Park tick (sorry Bob!).
Overall, the day was a success and I thoroughly enjoyed leading walk and would like to thank everyone involved. Hopefully, we can do another early autumn.
Andrew
