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RSPB Middleton Lakes (2 Viewers)

was thinking that, was gonna take my daughter but shes not got any wellies so wondering if kingsbury might be a safer bet today

daz
 
28/10/13 Middleton Hall, mill plantation Willow Tit and Raven over.
Fisher's mill dusk 1000 Starling roosted in the reeds.
Dosthill lake m and f/imm Goldeneye. Little Egret south at dusk.
Also Wheatear Fisher's mill meadow seen by volunteer Peter Herd.


Regards, John
 
Last edited:
Hi All

Had my first walk round Middleton Lakes today since the Great White Egret was present a short while back. Nothing special, and certainly no sightings from me or any of the other birders I met of yesterday's Bittern. In have mentioned at the end, however, a couple of concerns I had today.

Sighting though were all very ordinary, the 'best' being the Water Rail showing alongside the boardwalk near the feeders. Other sightings around the reserve included two Little Egret, Green and Great Spotted Woodpecker, Little Grebe, a fair number of Redwing and Fieldfare, plus a female Sparrowhawk causing a flock of Lapwing a bit of bother before flying off towards Dosthill NR.

Concern No.1 ...
Just after I had arrived, and was walking towards the turn at the corner of the paddock, one of the farm dogs ran up to me growling and snarling. It stopped a yard or so away from me (teeth showing well!)and I quickly pulled out my sandwich and gave it a piece, and one to it's buddy that's often there ... with me walking on at a slightly faster pace ! Buddy-dog, as I'm told he often does, then walked quietly with me almost to the end of the woodland path. I am mentioning all of this because I assume that "snarling-dog" is the one who actually bit the airline-pilot visitor the other day, as mentioned by John Harris.

Concern No. 2 ... Two horse riders road onto the main track beyond the canal bridge and then turned right at the screen, before riding across the reserve and back round behind Fishers Mill Pool. Horse riding surely is not allowed anywhere on the reserve ? If it is, is there a maximum number of riders ... 5, 10, 20 ?

And,yes, I did still enjoy my wander round, but felt it important to mention these issues to other birders, especially concerning the farm dog. I also understand RSPBs Nick Martin does read these forum postings.

Cheers

Andy R.




Even though a chunk of my ham and cheese worked, this has to be a concern.
 
andyr said:
Hi All

Had my first walk round Middleton Lakes today since the Great White Egret was present a short while back. Nothing special, and certainly no sightings from me or any of the other birders I met of yesterday's Bittern. In have mentioned at the end, however, a couple of concerns I had today.

Sighting though were all very ordinary, the 'best' being the Water Rail showing alongside the boardwalk near the feeders. Other sightings around the reserve included two Little Egret, Green and Great Spotted Woodpecker, Little Grebe, a fair number of Redwing and Fieldfare, plus a female Sparrowhawk causing a flock of Lapwing a bit of bother before flying off towards Dosthill NR.

Concern No.1 ...
Just after I had arrived, and was walking towards the turn at the corner of the paddock, one of the farm dogs ran up to me growling and snarling. It stopped a yard or so away from me (teeth showing well!)and I quickly pulled out my sandwich and gave it a piece, and one to it's buddy that's often there ... with me walking on at a slightly faster pace ! Buddy-dog, as I'm told he often does, then walked quietly with me almost to the end of the woodland path. I am mentioning all of this because I assume that "snarling-dog" is the one who actually bit the airline-pilot visitor the other day, as mentioned by John Harris.

Concern No. 2 ... Two horse riders road onto the main track beyond the canal bridge and then turned right at the screen, before riding across the reserve and back round behind Fishers Mill Pool. Horse riding surely is not allowed anywhere on the reserve ? If it is, is there a maximum number of riders ... 5, 10, 20 ?

And,yes, I did still enjoy my wander round, but felt it important to mention these issues to other birders, especially concerning the farm dog. I also understand RSPBs Nick Martin does read these forum postings.

Cheers

Andy R.




Even though a chunk of my ham and cheese worked, this has to be a concern.
Click to expand...

Hi Andy,
Yes it's a quiet time of the year now at the reserve. I have seen the other Collie seems frightened of people he has barked at me a few times but I took no notice of him. I know he chased Chris Cook as he road through the farmyard on his bike.
The pilot went to the RSPB they said contact the Police however he did not. You will know what will happen if the Police have to go.
Regarding the horse riders I should believe it would be the girl from the farm.

Regards, John
 
I too have to voice concerns about one of the dogs that confronted myself and fiancée on my first ever visit during the summer. It was very aggressive and my fiancée was quite frightened, so much so that I missed what I thought was my first green woodie sighting. On a serious note though, I do have concerns re the dog when so many youngsters visit both with school and with family. If he had bitten an adult... Doesn't bare thinking about
 
mtaylor87 said:
I too have to voice concerns about one of the dogs that confronted myself and fiancée on my first ever visit during the summer. It was very aggressive and my fiancée was quite frightened, so much so that I missed what I thought was my first green woodie sighting. On a serious note though, I do have concerns re the dog when so many youngsters visit both with school and with family. If he had bitten an adult... Doesn't bare thinking about
Click to expand...

Agree entirely MT. Even though I am a dog lover but don't own one now, in the split second the dog reached me, and knowing it had already bitten someone recently, I did expect to be bitten myself.
The farm owner has every right to protect the farm property, and I fully respect that, but the footpath around that corner of the farm will only increase in it's usage as the RSPB reserve becomes more and more popular, with all ages using the path.

Andy R.
 
Hi Andy,
I checked on my O.S Map the Bridle way goes along mill Plantation then heads West along the track to the A4091 Tamworth road. It's only the footpath that goes over Fisher's mill bridge.

John
 
It's about time the RSPB got a bit of a grip with the litany of 'issues' regarding this reserve. Floods, Car Parking, Illegal Fishing, Shotgun Use, Horse Riding, Vicious Dogs (incidentally, if it bites me i would certainly take the matter further, its a public footpath for goodness sake), unpopular fencing, etc. It's a wonder the place gets any visitors given the current problems.
 
JHDraytonbassettpits said:
Hi Andy,
I checked on my O.S Map the Bridle way goes along mill Plantation then heads West along the track to the A4091 Tamworth road. It's only the footpath that goes over Fisher's mill bridge.

John
Click to expand...

Interesting, thats what I'd guessed ... the two horseriders (male and female) by the way, without being disrespectful to either, did not appear to be that young. So your thoughts about the lady being the girl from the farm may be a bit off the mark.

And presumably John, if the Fishers Mill Bridge is not a bridle way, there is no access to or exit from the reserve here, so both riders were out of order ?

As the previous poster has said, the RSPB has a few quite major issues to sort out !

Andy R.
 
andyr said:
Agree entirely MT. Even though I am a dog lover but don't own one now, in the split second the dog reached me, and knowing it had already bitten someone recently, I did expect to be bitten myself.
The farm owner has every right to protect the farm property, and I fully respect that, but the footpath around that corner of the farm will only increase in it's usage as the RSPB reserve becomes more and more popular, with all ages using the path.

Andy R.
Click to expand...

I had a couple of run in's with the younger of the two farm dogs last winter but not since then. It's the younger dog that's the problem, snarling and baring it's teeth. It didn't bite me though but was very close to it. I've also seen a horse rider riding through the permitted path off the bridleway. I mentioned it to one of the volunteers who said it was probably someone from the farm and said 'what can you do?' If you notice on one of the wooden walkways the RSPB has put an odd looking height restricter. I believe this is to stop horse riders riding across it as it won't be able to bear the weight. On the plus side, I haven't seen any dog-walkers on the reserve recently and there are some new very visible signs telling them where they can't take their dogs. The fencing doesn't really bother me.

All the best

Steve
 
SteveAtkinson said:
I had a couple of run in's with the younger of the two farm dogs last winter but not since then. It's the younger dog that's the problem, snarling and baring it's teeth. It didn't bite me though but was very close to it. I've also seen a horse rider riding through the permitted path off the bridleway. I mentioned it to one of the volunteers who said it was probably someone from the farm and said 'what can you do?' If you notice on one of the wooden walkways the RSPB has put an odd looking height restricter. I believe this is to stop horse riders riding across it as it won't be able to bear the weight. On the plus side, I haven't seen any dog-walkers on the reserve recently and there are some new very visible signs telling them where they can't take their dogs. The fencing doesn't really bother me.

All the best

Steve
Click to expand...

Nick Martin, Said if the RSPB did not take over the reserve area then it would have most probably been a Country Park, full of dog walkers and Fishermen.


Regards, John
 
Last edited:
andyr said:
Interesting, thats what I'd guessed ... the two horseriders (male and female) by the way, without being disrespectful to either, did not appear to be that young. So your thoughts about the lady being the girl from the farm may be a bit off the mark.

And presumably John, if the Fishers Mill Bridge is not a bridle way, there is no access to or exit from the reserve here, so both riders were out of order ?

As the previous poster has said, the RSPB has a few quite major issues to sort out !

Andy R.
Click to expand...

Hi Andy,
Regarding the older horseriders you mentioned, I know someone who took some photo's of these 2 people riding their horses, never seen these 2 before. if seen again past Fisher's mill bridge you can point out that they are not on a bridle path and the bridlepath continues West from Fisher's mill bridge to the A4091 Tamworth Road.

Regards, John
 
JHDraytonbassettpits said:
Hi Andy,
Regarding the older horseriders you mentioned, I know someone who took some photo's of these 2 people riding their horses, never seen these 2 before. if seen again past Fisher's mill bridge you can point out that they are not on a bridle path and the bridlepath continues West from Fisher's mill bridge to the A4091 Tamworth Road.

Regards, John
Click to expand...

Thanks ... and useful to know that John.

Cheers

A.
 

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