Reading RSPB Group

ON September 20, five members of the group met up for a morning walk round the Thatcham Discovery Centre, a nature reserve, on a lovely day.

The main lake contained three little grebes and eight or 10 great crested grebes, four tufted ducks, two pochard and a wigeon.

There were also a couple of cormorants, a greylag goose and numerous Canada geese as well as the usual mallards, moorhens and coots.

We walked through the Thatcham reedbeds towards Lower Farm and heard a water rail squeal and a Cetti’s warbler’s loud call.

A large tit flock was seen moving through the willows with many long-tailed tits, blue tits and great tits.

A treecreeper or two showed well and a nuthatch was heard but remained elusive. In a shrubby area we heard greenfinches and bullfinches but could not see them.

We crossed the canal and railway line and eventually found the path to the hide at Lower Farm, which is not signposted.

The lake held more little grebes and great crested grebes, more ducks including many shoveler and teal, and a couple of gadwalls.

A green sandpiper was eventually found but a flock of lapwings was much more showy. A roe deer was feeding quietly at the lakeside.

On the walk back we saw a hobby fly over among the buzzards and red kites in the air. A few goldfinches were seen by the railway line and a grey wagtail by the lock on the canal.

The highlight of the day was an otter that was swimming in a pool by a footbridge in the reedbeds.

It quickly dived under the bridge and moved along the channel into the reedbeds.

On a bridge further along the path on a concrete sluice there was some spraint. We also saw muntjac and I recorded 45 species of birds seen or heard.

On September 13, Glenn Duggan gave us a fascinating talk about the colourful and exotic family of tanagers, a large family that is well known for its many colourful species.

He said this was a family that was just lumped together without a lot of research, so it was only now with modern DNA techniques that it was possible to work out what is a tanager and what is not.

On Tuesday, October 11 Steve Magennis will give a talk called “Wings over Wales”.

Meetings are held on the second Tuesday of the month at Pangbourne village hall at 8pm. We also have monthly trips to see birds and other wildlife in the area.

For information, visit https://www.reading-rspb.org/