Millichen floods

After the heavy rain of the last few days I decided to visit Millichen yesterday (24 October 2013) and see if the flood plain had actually flooded! And yes it had!

Initially the weather was bright and sunny and I settled down to identify and count the wildfowl, waders and gulls. There were a good range present and indeed a personal first for me at Millichen in 2 Little Grebe. Other wetland species included: 2 Grey Heron, 3 Mute Swan, 91 Greylag Geese, 1 Canada Goose, 37 Wigeon, 1 Tufted Duck, 1 Goosander, c135 Lapwing, 30+ Black-headed Gulls, 15+ Common Gulls, 70+ LB-b Gulls and a few Herring Gulls.

The weather, however, changed and soon clouded over and there was even some rain!

Record shot of Greylag Geese as the weather turned

 

In addition to the wetland birds there was a good selection of other species such as:

2 Buzzards and a Kestrel circling overhead, 66 Collared Dove, a pair of Stonechat, at least 5 Skylark also overhead, a few Meadow Pipits, 20+ House Sparrow, 2 Tree Sparrow, c20 Goldfinch, c50 Linnet and 7 Reed Bunting.

 

Reed Bunting at Millichen 24 Oct 2013

 

In total I saw 40 different species in c3 hours and it was good to see that the area can still deliver an excellent birdwatching experience. 

 

I'll finish with a shot of the flood taken from the path on my way to Hillfoot Railway Station - note the apparent wild bird cover crop in the foreground.