Saturday 14 February 2009

Northward Hill

I wanted to go and look for hares around Northward Hill and decided to try the marsh around Swigshole which used to be a place where you could park up and then wander out from but alas not any more and there is no where else to sensibly park. So my next stop was to Bromhey Farm which is now called Northward Hill RSPB reserve. Certainly over the years this area has greatly benefited by having the RSPB around but I guess that it is not an area of priority for them as whilst there are viewpoints to watch over the marsh you just feel that the birds are a little bit distant. A few well placed hides overlooking the scrape and pools would do wonders for the visitor experience, maybe one day when the money for Cliffe Pools is released. Anyway the area is quite flooded at the moment and full of common gulls as a consequence. It didn't really look that good to try and find hares and needless to say I didn't see any. For the first time though I wandered along the heron trail which provides you with a good view of the heronry in the woodland, and there were a few individuals already displaying and one bird that looked as if it was sitting tight on a nest. I've also been told that it is a good trail for grass snakes, so I'll be back another day.

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