Rudyard Lake - near Leek, Staffordshire

Himalayan Balsam

Bird Report Spring/Summer 2008
A good number of the nest boxes that we put up this spring have been used, mostly by Blue Tits with a few Great Tits here and there. The most successful area has been below the dam and along the feeder towards the station. It takes only a few minutes to access these wonderful areas from the dam head car park, to observe a wealth of nature in relative peace and quite. Look out for the Kingfishers as they are often to be seen fishing for fry in the feeder.

Thanks go to all the people who sponsored the bird boxes, we now have twenty plus at the south end of the lake, most of these will be good for next year except for the ones damaged by squirrels. I will clean them all out and repair where possible in the autumn. Next year we plan to install more boxes along the railway side and at the north end of the lake.

On the lake itself I observed a good number of Mallard ducklings, Coots and Moorhens bred in the ponds on the far side of the railway and there were again good numbers of the same on the shallows at the north end. Our pair of Swans were a disappointment. The Pen built a nest in an excellent location away from public access. She sat for a few days and then abandoned the nest, for what reason we’ll never know. I did manage to get a few shots of this on film but even with my long lens she was still too far away for me to see a lot. I suspect mink may be the problem as I have spotted quite a few this year especially near the caravans at the north end. This is an attractive area for them as there is no public access and the vans are only used in the summer and a few weekends.

Little Ringed Plover

The Little Ringed Plovers were in evidence again and attempted to nest on the sandy spit near the old golf course. Unfortunately they were subject to disturbance by people in canoes landing near to the nest site. These persons are of course just enjoying a good day out and are blissfully unaware of the damage that they may cause. The lake Rangers have done their utmost to advise canoeists not to land in these areas but it proves very difficult to control as many of the canoes are launched from other areas of the lake as well as the Dam Head.

I will appeal through this column for people to please understand that Little Ringed Plovers are rare birds and subject to Schedule 1 conditions. This means they are protected by law, it is illegal to approach or disturb their nest site in anyway. A license is also required from English Nature to photograph them at the nest. These are wonderful little birds that run very fast across the shoreline and feed mainly on crustaceans they find in the mud flats. I have been lucky enough to observe them recently at the north end of the lake as the water level has dropped leaving a good area of mud flats exposed. I don’t know if any chicks were successfully raised, but I’m sure the local birdwatchers will.

Black Tern

Keeping on the subject of rare birds, in late April Ray spotted a pair of unusual birds swooping up and down very close to the water. These appeared for a few days around the wide area of the lake. After consulting a local bird watcher whom I have met on a number of occasions, he identified these as Black Terns on their spring passage. Evidently they originate from the Baltic States and Russia.

It was great to see them; they put on a spectacular display for us.

What to look out for during the next few weeks.
Without doubt the place to be is the north end or shallows of the lake. The water level has dropped and a good number of waders mainly Lapwings have started to flock to the exposed mud flats. There are lots of Herons and also the odd Curlew, Oystercatcher and Sandpiper. You may also be lucky enough to spot the Little Ringed Plovers. Don’t forget your binoculars and you never know what may turn up here in the coming weeks. Mind you as I write this column the water level is rising due to all the summer rain and the canals which Rudyard feeds are getting more water than they require.

Featured Bird for Summer

The Lapwing

This wading bird is unusual in that it has three names! As well as Lapwing it is known as the Green Plover due to its colour and Peewit owing to its call. It is of black and white appearance with lovely iridescent green plumage on the wings and a splendid crest.

Lapwings are found on farmland all over the UK. They breed on open ground in meadows and fallow fields and also on wetlands with short vegetation. In late summer and early autumn they move to ploughed fields and mud flats, where they search for worms and insects.

At Rudyard many congregate at the shallow north end of the lake especially at low water levels. The flight is wavering and the familiar high pitched “peewit peewit” call easily identifies this bird. Over the last 25 years the Lapwing has suffered significant decline probably due to the change in farming methods. It is now on the “Amber List” of British birds mainly because of the importance of its U.K wintering population. There are estimated to be around 156,000 breeding pairs in the U.K, whereas the over wintering population is something like 1.5 to 2 million birds!

I must apologise for this report being a little late due to other commitments. I am a wildlife film maker and have spent so many hours behind the camera that spare time has only become available now the breeding season is over. It has been a fantastic year for most birds and mammals. I have been filming Herons which were very successful and following a Kestrel family who raised five chicks due to the excellent supply of mice and voles which shows that the warm wet weather suits many species. My badgers also had four cubs which are now as big as their parents.

Most of these, although not at Rudyard itself are within a few minutes drive from the lake. I hope to put some links on this website soon so that you can view some of my wildlife films when the editing is finished.

Until such time please take a look at my short film 'Autumn Reflections at Rudyard Lake', which can be see below.

Peter J Durnall