Here are the details of our planned outdoor trips. For general information on outdoor trips please visit the outdoor trips page.
Leave Blaby at 7.30am We were looking for Springtime migrators on our last visit here. An Autumn trip should throw up migrators heading in the opposite direction. No café (being rebuilt after storm damage, but a mobile catering van should be on site). Facilities Gibraltar Rd, Skegness PE24 4SU £2.50 Leave Blaby at 7.30am We can’t go wrong with this wonderful reserve on the north Norfolk coast. Café. Facilities PE31 8BB £2.50 Leave Blaby at 7.30am The waterfowl numbers should be swelling with more migrants flying south at this time of year. Hen Harriers, Short-eared Owls, Peregrines and Merlins hunt over the washes and surrounding farmland. No café. Facilities Counter Wash, Chatteris, Cambridgeshire PE15 0NF £2.50 https://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/seenature/reserves/guide/o/ousewashes Leave Blaby at 9am A nearby reserve where we can make the most of the short winter days. Bitterns show themselves periodically. Always good numbers of waders and waterfowl found on the lagoons. Facilities: Café and Toilets. Café – If you plan to have a meal in the café, they would like advance notice to help their caterers. Post Code: CV8 3ET Cost: £5.00 (or £2.50 if WLT member – card required) Leave Blaby at 8.00am A visit to our neighbouring county to see what old gravel pits can be turned into for the benefit of our feathered friends. Bitterns bred here last year. Should see good numbers of waterfowl. Facilities: Café & toilets Post code: NG9 6DY Cost: £2.50 Leave Blaby 7.30am Previous visit was in the Autumn. This tidal reedbed is the largest in England and is important for its breeding Bearded Tits, Bitterns, Marsh Harriers plus various waders and waterfowl Facilities: Toilets Post Code: DN14 8HR Cost: £2.50 Leave Blaby at 7.30am March gives us the best chance of seeing the elusive Goshawks. We could even witness Goshawks displaying. Plenty of other birds to find too: Crossbill, Siskin, Brambling, Woodlark… Facilities: Toilets Post Code: For Nunnery Lakes IP27 0TJ Cost: £2.50 Leave Blaby at 7.30am An amble along a rolling moorland road, alongside water and woodland in early Spring. What’s not to like… There are no facilities at main car park, however there is a toilet at the south end of the valley Post Code: SK17 6GJ this is actually for the Errwood Sailing Club, which is just around the corner from the Car Park. Cost: £2.50 Leave Blaby at 8.00am Annual “Bird Race” – on arrival names will be drawn to produce teams with a minimum of 3 people per team. Each team will be issued with a blank bird list and it is then up to each team to decide which route they take around the reserve. The team with the highest points wins. The scoring system is 1 pt for each species seen and a 1/2 pt if only heard. Facilities: Visitor Centre and Toilets Post Code: LE15 8BT Cost: Free to members Leave Blaby at 7.30am Travelling by coach to this magnificent seabird colony, we will not know which way to look as there is so much activity at this time of year – Gannets, Auks… Facilities: A new visitor centre opened Spring 2015 – light refreshments available. Toilets Cost: £25.00 www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/seenature/reserves/guide/b/bemptoncliffs/index.aspx These saltmarshes and freshwater pools by the Wash rarely disappoint us. There should be good numbers of passage waders, ducks and geese. PE20 1AY Facilities: Toilets. Cost £2.50 www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/seenature/reserves/guide/f/framptonmarsh/index.aspx A guided walk around an avian-friendly farm in the morning. 94 species of birds have been recorded here to date. We will head off to nearby Fineshades Wood in the afternoon and hopefully see some of the Red Kites that roost overnight at the farm. NN17 3AU Facilities: Toilets. Cost £5.00 www.homefarmlaxton.co.uk On the northern side of the causeway there are 7 hides dotted around the wooded shallow end of the reservoir. There should be large numbers of waterfowl and diverse waders Facilities – Toilets. Cost £5.00 The development of the Soar Valley continues to grow and improve nature conservation. Our avian population benefits from the changes and as a consequence we should be able to see more species of birds Facilities. Toilets. Cost £2.50 http://www.leicscountryparks.org.uk/watermead-visitor-information We have visited this WLT reserve at various times of the year & never been disappointed. Always a good chance of seeing the elusive Bittern. New Visitor Centre opens Dec 2016 & a hot meal at lunch time can be booked. Facilities: Café & toilets. Cost £6.50 or £2.50 for WLT members – cards will be req’d The 2nd Earl of Leicester planted the distinctive belt of pine trees in the 19th century to help stabilise the dunes. So it’s time we reinforced the city connection & enjoyed a trip to the North Norfolk Coast. We hope to see plenty of Geese and Waders Facilities: Toilets at nearby Wells. Cost £2.50 A first visit to this site close to Stafford Town Centre . Small lagoons, a good mix of shrub & hedgerows, and plenty of reed beds cater for many species of birds. Marsh Harriers visit regularly. In the afternoon we will take a walk through woodland along the shore of Blithfield Reservoir. Facilities: at a nearby Supermarket. Cost £2.50 This Bucks WLT Reserve has a good mix of habitat. Plenty of Waders and summer visitors at this time of year. If there is time we will also visit nearby Ivinghoe Beacon. NB: Trip is a week later than usual due to Easter Facilities: Café. Cost £2.50 Annual Bird Race for the coveted “Swift Trophy”. Free to all members. This is a great site for raptors, such as Hobbies, Marsh Harriers & Peregrines. There will be plenty of Warblers & we may also be lucky to see Bearded Tits. RSPB cards required Facilities. Toilets. Cost £2.50. A Hawk & Owl Trust site that has been developed since the club’s last visit in 2009. Boardwalks will make for easy perambulating and there are 5 hides in all. A new aerial walkway climbs to a platform 4 metres above the site, giving spectacular elevated views over the fen and reed bed. They have Tawny & Barn Owls here and we should still see summer visitors enjoying their last few days in this country. Time permitting, we will stop off at Eldernell Lane, Whittlesey on the way home for more Owls! Two reserves close to each other in Hertfordshire. Amwell was formerly gravel pits but is now an SSSI, with 3 hides overlooking the reserve for us to view waterfowl and tardy migrants. Rye Meads has reed beds, so we should see a wide range of birds on the day. NB 1 week later than normal. One week away from the shortest day of the year, we need to make the most of daylight hours. Where better than this wonderful reserve with so many hides to choose from, less than an hour’s drive away. Our nearest RSPB Reserve is now 10 years old and continues to improve. Our last visit was Sept 2014, so it will be interesting to see it in the middle of winter. There will be good number of waders and ducks. We should be able to see Harriers and Owls too. Facilities: Toilets. Cost £2.50 One week later than normal to benefit from early afternoon high tide. A WWT site of renown. Whilst there is the captive collection, it is the birds that migrate here for the winter that we want to see: numerous wildfowl and waders. New hides since our last visit (Autumn 2011) will afford us some cover (and comfort?) to enjoy the birds over lagoons and the Severn estuary. Facilities: Café. Cost £11.00 (or £2.50 if you are WWT member. M/ship card req’d) *************TRIP CANCELLED ************ At this time of year, RSPB’s finest Yorkshire Reserve will enable us to see drake ducks in their prime and plenty of birds in the bushes and trees before the leaves start to sprout. Barn Owls are a possibility over the meadows too. Facilities: Café, Cost £2.50 Whilst this is a site we return to often, it is a long time since we saw it in potentially the best month of the year. There are many different types of habitats for us to enjoy a real variety of birds. Facilities: Café. Cost £2.50 A new reserve for our group. Derbyshire WT have created an interesting site with different habitats and a viewing platform looking down over several lagoons. Hobby is a strong possibility. Carsington in the afternoon to see what is on and around the Reservoir. Facilities: None at Carr Vale. Café and toilets at Carsington. Cost £2.50. http://www.derbyshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/reserves/carr-vale-flash On our last visit here 3yrs ago, we started the day off with a Spoonbill fly-by. There were plenty of waders such as Black Tailed Godwits, Greenshanks and Golden Plover. We would also hope to see migrating birds such as Wheatear and Whinchat heading south. Facilities: Café & Toilets. Cost £2.50 There is a 9am high tide at Snettisham on this day. It should be well worth a very early start to see murmurations of thousands of waders in the air and also “marching” on the mudflats. We can then have brunch before heading to Holme to see what birds are passing the observatory. Facilities: Café & Toilets (£4.50 or £2.50 if you are NOA member. M/ship card req’d) https://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/reserves-a-z/snettisham/ Our planned trip in March this year was cancelled because of dire weather conditions. Hopefully, there will be no repeat on the re-planned visit. Winter wildfowl should be flocking back and there could be a chance to find Bittern in the pool areas. Facilities: Café & Toilets. Cost £2.50 https://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/reserves-a-z/dearne-valley-old-moor/ This relatively local nature reserve will enable us to make the most of available daylight hours. Great White Egret, Bittern and Water Rail are all strong contenders for good sightings around the reedbeds. We can also expect plenty of waterfowl and a mix of Finches in the wooded areas. Facilities: Café & Toilets. Cost £2.50 Close enough to home to make the most of the short winter days, but always good for waders, gulls and “lbjs” flitting through the trees. If we get lucky: Bittern, Siskin, Water Rail, Owls…. Facilities: Café and toilets Cost £3.00 (plus Wildlife Trust charge – free to Trust members – card required or additional payment on entry of £2.50 or £1.50 for over 60’s.) We should find plenty of water fowl on the reservoir and then check out the margins for waders. We may also find good numbers of finches and tits in the woods and shrubs Facilities: Café and toilets £3.00 https://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/reserves-a-z/carsington-water/ A change to the original plan to visit the Ouse Fen, as there are no hides or facilities and a lot of walking! We will travel to the Ouse Washes, which have proved successful in the past. Marsh Harriers and plenty of varied water fowl are present all year round. We will also visit the Nene Washes which have produced Cranes and Short-Eared Owls in the past. Toilets at Ouse Washes. £3.00 https://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/reserves-a-z/ouse-washes/ https://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/reserves-a-z/nene-washes/ Lots of reedbeds, shallow water and big open skies should enable us to see a wide range of birds on this Yorkshire site. Bittern, Kingfisher and Tree Sparrows are regular sightings. Hopefully there will be several different raptors Facilities: toilets. £3.00. https://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/reserves-a-z/fairburn-ings/ A different time of year to last year’s visit which was in the Spring, so we should see plenty of newly fledged birds before they disperse to their various wintering grounds. Let’s hope there is not too much wind, so we can find Bearded Tits and possibly Bitterns Facilities: Café and toilets. Cost £3.00 https://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/reserves-a-z/titchwell-marsh/ A first visit to this Yorkshire site, on the outskirts of Leeds. Waders pass through the Aire Valley on their migration. Green Sandpipers and Black-tailed Godwits are seen in large numbers. We may also see Bittern and Short-Eared Owls there Facilities: Visitor Centre has light refreshments and toilets. Cost £3.00 https://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/reserves-a-z/staidans On the outskirts of Rickmansworth, the River Colne runs through mature gravel pits and defunct watercress beds. Established willows and alders alongside a canal create a diverse habitat for waterfowl including Goosander and Smew and we might see Bearded Tits and Bittern Facilities: Café and toilets.. Cost £3.00 https://www.hertswildlifetrust.org.uk/nature-reserves/stockers-lake With more hides than anywhere else that we visit and a variety of lagoons hosting waterfowl and waders, we never fail to have a good count of birds even though it will be one of the shortest days of the year Facilities: Visitor Centre sells hot drinks. Toilets. Cost £3.00 (plus £4.00 if not a member of Rutland Water – cards will be required on the day) Leave Blaby at 7.30am Northamptonshire’s prime bird-watching location. Around the reservoir’s edges there is a variety of habitat, so we should see LBJ’s as well as plenty of water birds Visitor Centre for café and toilets. Cost £3.00. https://www.wildlifebcn.org/nature-reserves/grafham-water Revised trip to Yorkshire planned for 22nd Feb now CANCELLED. Some footpaths under 8″ of water; more rain expected and high winds. https://www.ywt.org.uk/nature-reserves/potteric-carr-nature-reserve Leave Blaby at 7.30am The management of Sherwood has changed hands in recent years. Reading reviews, dog-walkers and young families don’t seem to be enjoying RSPB’s intervention, but it should be more bird-watcher friendly. Let’s go and see! Visitor Centre for café and toilets. Cost £3.00. https://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/reserves-a-z/sherwood-forest/ ***Note this is FIRST Saturday in the month*** There should be a number of Spring migrants dropping in, having crossed the North Sea from their wintering grounds. If there is any ringing taking place, we may be lucky to see birds in the hand – always a treat! A variety of habitat with pools, trees, sand-dunes, beach & sea, usually result in a good number of birds. Café and toilets at nearby NWT Holme. Cost £5.00 (£3.00 if NOA member). http://www.noa.org.uk/reserves/Holme-new.html Leave Blaby at 7.30am ***Note this is the LAST Saturday in the month*** This is a rich mosaic of wildlife habitats, with beautiful lakes, riverside, meadows, reed beds, scrub and woodland. Warblers should have arrived. We can but hope there are Nightingales amongst them. Visitor Centre for café and toilets. Cost £3.00. Leave Blaby at 7.30am A favourite site for the club and it rarely disappoints. There are shallow lagoons aplenty, reed beds and behind the seawall we get views over mudflats out to the Wash. Merlins, Little Stints and Curlew Sandpipers are regularly seen. Visitor Centre for toilets £3.00. https://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/reserves-a-z/frampton-marsh/ Frampton Marsh near Boston Lincolnshire is an area of lagoons and marshland separated from the Wash by an earth bank. We can expect to see large numbers of waders and geese. Merlins and Peregrines are sighted regularly. There will be a breakfast stop en-route and there are toilet facilities on site. A variety of habitats in the Great Ouse valley should result in a good selection of bird species. Especially, Nightingales are regularly recorded here. There is a visitor centre for food and facilities PE19 6ET We will be accompanied by Nigel Slater on his local patch and will be able to take advantage of his excellent birdsong id skills. All of the summer visitors will be in. There’s plenty to see on the former gravel pit lagoons which run alongside the River Trent nb No breakfast stop Visitor Centre has a café and facilities Bitterns are regularly sighted and we should see Marsh Harriers and possibly a Kingfisher or two. There is a visitor centre for food and facilities S73 0YF nb We have decided to postpone the visit to Holme NOA, as there are already other parties booked in. Instead we will concentrate on finding as many birds as possible at the Sculthorpe site. Much relandscaping and their new raised hide that have been built in the last couple of years will afford plenty of opportunities to watch for a good variety of birds. This is a Hawk and Owl Trust site. For non-members there is a £7.00 entrance fee If time permits on the return home, we will divert to Eldernell Lane and hope to find quartering owls and possibly Cranes Café & toilet facilities Sculthorpe NR21 9GN A much-loved Yorkshire site with a variety of habitat, where we may be lucky to find Bitterns and Kingfishers There is a visitor centre DN4 8DB The nearest RSPB reserve for us has plenty to offer in the way of varied habitat and December can be a very good time to see winter visitors There is a café and toilet facilities B78 2BB To take advantage of the short amount of daylight at this time of year, we will take a short journey to the north of the City to check out the lakes and pools of 2 reserves in the Soar Valley. All ducks will be looking at their best ahead of the breeding season. No facilities Where the River Ouse reaches the Humber Estuary, there are many reedbeds and lagoons. We should be able to see Marsh Harrier and even Hen Harriers. Bitterns and Bearded Tits are here all year round so let’s hope we can find them Facilities: Refreshments & Toilets Nature reclaimed this worked-out chalk quarry and created an outstanding centre for wildlife. Good for ducks, waders and early migrants This is a Wild Life Trust site. Remember to bring your WLT card Facilities: Café & Toilets At this Hawk and Owl Trust site, there has been extensive work carried out over the Covid period, enlarging lagoons and building an elevated hide to create improved viewing over the reserve. Facilities: Visitor Centre Entry is £7.00 unless you are a Hawk & Owl Trust member If there is time in the afternoon we will call in at Roydon Common which is a Ramsar Wetland site for raptor watching. The RSPB has transformed former carrot fields into wetlands supporting Kingfishers, Bittern and Cranes. We should also see the likes of Hobbys, chasing dragonflies, and Marsh Harriers. Facilities: Visitor Centre
RSPB cards required on the day
Facilities: Toilets. Coffee machine only. Cost £6.50
http://hawkandowl.org/sculthorpe
Facilities: None at Amwell. Toilets and Coffee machine at Rye Meads.
Cost £2.50
http://www.hertswildlifetrust.org.uk/reserves/Amwell & http://rspb.org.uk/ryemeads
As the quarry becomes worked out, more of it is being handed over to the RSPB for further development. However, this reserve is already a pleasant site to visit with lagoons and reedbed areas, which have attracted Bitterns, Bearded Tits & Water Rail. A pontoon walkway forms part of the circular path.
We may also visit a Notts Wildlife Trust site at Besthorpe for wintering ducks and geese, and/or Spalford Warren which is a heathland reserve close by.
Facilities: None, but cafés in the vicinity. Cost £2.50
http://rspb.org.uk/langfordlowfields
Facilities: Toilets and coffee machine
Cost £6.50 or £2.50 with valid Rutland Water Nature Reserve pass
http://rutlandwater.org.ukThis trip will be free to all members so why not come along and join us. Full information was sent with the August newsletter or ask any Committee member for details.