Garden winter visitors are shipping out, with birds such as the
Reed Bunting moving into the countryside, and Bramblings returning to Scandinavia to nest.
Recent wildlife surveys carried out on Bridewell Common have found it is already home to a wide variety of creatures including critically-endangered water voles, butterflies, dragonflies and birds including snipe, stonechat and
reed bunting. Cranes have also been observed at the site.
Reed bunting They feed on insects, worms and berries, standing very upright and moving forward with purposeful hops.
Reed bunting The UK population of
reed buntings fell by 31% between 1970 and 2007.
Summer breeding birds include
reed bunting, kingfisher, teal, mute swan and buzzard.
Winter is with us and our bird table is busy - house sparrows, dunnock, siskin, greenfinch, chaffinch,
reed bunting, great tit, blue tit, coal tit, blackbird, robin and wren.
Mr Davidson said: "Five birds in total were found in the aviary - there were four goldfinches and the fifth was a
reed bunting.
It stopped us in our tracks and we stood there for several minutes taking in the view and listening to the sounds of the blackheaded gulls before we continued round to the river walk, picking up reed warbler, willow warbler and
reed bunting as we went, and just after passing the viewing screen, a cuckoo did a fly by for us.
CRUISING the canal at sunset through woodlands and fields, glass of wine in hand and with no sign of traffic or a sound of city, I could easily imagine living on our
Reed Bunting.
Herons, woodcock,
reed bunting, lesser redpoll, snipe were all recorded, while numbers of brambling, siskin and goldfinches also increased.
WATER VEIW: Cruising in the
Reed Bunting narrow boat on the Trent and Mersey Canal through Cheshire.