RSPB Old Moor- 13th August 2012

I had a trip over to RSPB Old Moor on Monday with my nephew and niece. We managed to see a good range of birds and insects and I added 2 new species to my Year List; Greenshank and Green Sandpiper.

Greenshank

The first hide we went into was Wath Ings at the far end of the reserve. At this time of year the water levels are dropped and there is a large area of mud, perfect for the many passage waders that are passing through. It was here that we spotted a total of 9 Green Sandpipers and a couple of Greenshanks as well as dozens of Lapwings,  up to 8 Grey Herons, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Canada Geese and the first Teal and Wigeon of the winter!

Next stop was the Wader Scrape hide, where a large flock of Goldfinch and Linnet were feeding, and 5 Common Terns, including a juvenile bird, were flying about.

Linnet

Walking back to the centre we spotted a few dragonflies including Common and Ruddy Darter.

Common Darter

Before going home we decided to have a go at pond dipping and look at the birds on the feeding station. We spotted a juvenile Great- spotted Woodpecker on the peanuts and managed to catch a Diving Beetle and some type of dragonfly larvae, posssibly a hawker species.

Great-spotted Woodpecker

Diving Beetle

Dragonfly larvae

Year List:

150 – Greenshank

151 – Green Sandpiper