Brent reservior

actionfinch · #1 (**permalink**) 27-11-2011, 09:42 PM

Hi troops , has anyone been to Brent reservior ( welsh harp ) in London.
I was down at a certain swedish store today and notice the signs for it. Raised an eybrow and thought i might have to check it out sometime.
cheers

RobinP · #2 (**permalink**) 27-11-2011, 10:06 PM

Bill Oddie's old stamping ground, went there once but didn't see a lot.

Robin

aeshna5 · #3 (**permalink**) 28-11-2011, 05:33 AM

Haven't been there for a few years. It's not that far from me as the bird flies, but a pain to get to by public transport from where I live.

It has a dedicated group of birders who visit- daily in some cases + who do a lot of work on visible migration, general monitoring + Conservation work.

Recent highlights there include Med Gull + Jack Snipe, It's produced a few rarities over the years- I remember twitching a Blue-winged Teal there some years back.

Generally a good variety of birds can be found there + is also surprisingly good for butterflies in season given its position.

Deb London · #4 (**permalink**) 28-11-2011, 06:12 AM

I am reasonably familiar with this reserve. I strongly advise you attend the walk on 11 Dec at 10 am (yes it is late in the day, but you can have a walk up to the public hide beforehand where you can sometimes see a bird of interest such as a Water Rail or Jack Snipe). Details here:

Quote:

Notes for Walks
1 Walks will be led by Roy Beddard (Welsh Harp Conservation Group), John Colmans (London Wildlife Trust) and are run in conjunction with the RSPB NW London Group.
2 All walks will start from Cool Oak Lane Bridge. Most walks will last about two hours.
3 Dress sensibly – For winter walks wear warm clothes with waterproof boots and jacket.
4 Bring binoculars if you have some. Roy and John will bring relevant field guides.

The public hide is located on my map (apologies if the position isn't quite right). Unfortunately it has a cold metal seat and although visibility was improved at the weekend, it's not always the best place to see the action.

If you are interested, I can give you the rough location of where the "viz-miggers" stand early most mornings and one of them might be more than willing to tell you what they have seen. They had a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker fly over recently, as you will no doubt know.

But (as I found out recently) the rarer birds are not always reported. For a bit more information, I suggest you attend one of the walks. An added benefit is that you will get access to the "proper" hides for a short while.

In the main hide there is a sheet detailing the famous birders that have walked this "patch" and their Brent lists. And books. And warmer seats. And people that know their stuff. If you don't at least see Common Snipe, Lapwings and a Kingfisher then you have been unlucky.

The Jack Snipe is hidden away (I haven't tried for this). And I've looked twice now for the Med Gull but have not been able to spot it. Although some reeds have been cleared now, you will still do well to see anything without access to the locked hides. And it's better to take a "real birder" with you. The sort that can ID a Green Sandpiper in a split second as it flies by. So I hope you can attend one of the walks Lee.

HTH