Westport Lake: 11 December 2010

Saturday, 11 December 2010

11 December 2010

Firstly too go back a couple of days and news of 4 Whooper Swans at Westport received via RBA, I received a e-mail with photo from the finder today (thanks Paul Thompson), so mystery now solved as too were the report came from and photo included below.

Whooper Swans on main lake by Paul Thompson

News from yesterday from Nick Smith included a female Goosander and a immature male Goldeneye on the main lake.

I was looking forward to a good day out at Westport today with a visit out around Staffs for the rest of the day, sadly a very bad night at work and forgetting too set my alarm clock put paid too that (sorry Nick), news from Nick included 9 species of Duck the highlights being male Gadwall, female Goosander, 5 Teal, 2 Goldeneyes and 3 Wigeon flying around.

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About Westport Lake

Westport Lake consists of a large lake formed by the subsidence of an old Port Vale FC Training pitch. The main lake is the largest body of water in the city and is home to a large number of wild animals and birds. It also has a smaller man made pool created for model boat enthusiasts, with an island at the centre.

At one side of the lake there is a nature reserve, consisting of several small pools and a woodland walk. Running through this is Fowlea Brook.

The main lake is open to everyone including Anglers, however the smaller pools in the reserve are not available for fishing.

In 2009 a visitor centre run by the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust was opened, with a small cafe and shop, information boards and a viewpoint over the main lake.

The site also has a play area and medium sized grass field, which is normally hijacked by feeding Geese!

Birds Of Westport Lake

Westport Lake is regarded as one of the best birdwatching spots in Stoke on Trent, it regularly attracts scarce and rare birds, below I have listed what you can expect to see depending on the time of year you visit and at the end I have listed just some of the more unusual visitors Westport has attracted over the years.

Resident - Great Crested Grebe, Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Coot, Moorhen, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Pied Wagtail, Willow Tit & Bullfinch.

April - September - Little Ringed Plover, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Whitethroat, Blackcap, Garden Warbler, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff.

Passage Waders Inc - Oystercatcher, Dunlin, Snipe, Sanderling, Common Sandpiper, Curlew, Whimbrel, Redshank & Greenshank.

Passage Terns Inc - Common, Arctic & Black Tern on a regular basis

October - March - Little Grebe, Wigeon, Shoveler, Pochard, Goldeneye, Siskin, Goldfinch & Redpoll.

Rarities - Black-throated Diver, Great Northern Diver, Red-necked Grebe, Slavonian Grebe, Ring-necked Duck, Leach's Petrel, Purple Heron, Velvet Scoter, Honey Buzzard, Marsh Harrier, Osprey, Avocet, Kentish Plover, Purple Sandpiper, Grey Phalarope, Arctic Skua, Bonaparte's Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Sabine's Gull, Caspian Tern, Little Auk, Woodlark, Richard's Pipit, Hulme's Leaf Warbler, Yellow-browed Warbler, Siberian Chiffchaff, Great Grey Shrike & Arctic Redpoll.

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Saturday, 11 December 2010

11 December 2010

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