Cotswold Water Park

Cotswold Water Park

Nearly a century of gravel extraction has resulted in a series of more than 100 lakes on the borders of Gloucestershire and Wiltshire in the upper reaches of the Thames Valley. Although the area is heavily used for recreation and by water sports enthusiasts in particular, it is also an excellent birding locality with good numbers of wintering waterfowl. in addition, the area lies on a migration flight path, the Thames corridor, and a wide range of migrants are attracted to the many waters. There are birds of interest throughout the year and there are now several nature reserves in the area. As the pits have flooded and matured they have developed a good aquatic flora and the banks of the older pits now have extensive cover. In addition there are fields that are sometimes flooded and have water-filled ditches, hedgerows and small woodland patches in the area thus adding further habitat types. The park has two main groups of lakes with around 70 at the western end in the Goucestershire-Wiltshire border and more than 30 about 11km to the east entirely within Wiltshire. More than 200 bird species have been recorded in the area and many of the lakes can be viewed from surrounding footpaths and roads.

The Cotswold Water Park holds most ornithological interest during the winter months and numbers of Common Pochard and Eurasian Coot are particularly good with Eurasian Wigeon, Common Teal, Mallard and Tufted Duck also well represented. Also present in winter are Gadwall, Northern Pintail and Northern Shoveler, Common Goldeneye, Goosander and Ruddy Duck. Grey Heron, Great Cormorant and Water Rail are present all year but tend to occur in greater numbers in winter and Great Bittern has become more regular in recent years. In severe winters the lakes may be visited by Smew or a seaduck, the scarcer grebes and even the occasional diver. Flocks of Greater White-fronted Goose and Bewick's Swan may also appear in hard weather. Lesser Redpoll and Siskin can often be seen in alders along the river and winter thrushes occur in good numbers. Peregrine Falcon is becoming increasingly regular out of the breeding season.

Passage periods bring terns, including Common and regular Black and a good selection of waders including Ruff, Greenshank and Green and Common Sandpipers. Scarcer migrants include regular Garganey in spring and Little Stint, Spotted Redshank, and Wood and Curlew Sandpipers in autumn. Little Egret has become more regular in recent years. Migrant passerines include Whinchat, Northern Wheatear and Yellow Wagtail, various warblers, flycatchers and chats.

The less disturbed parts of this area are becoming increasingly important for breeding birds with both Little and Great Crested Grebes, as well as a few waterfowl including Mallard, Tufted Duck and feral Canada and Greylag Geese. Also breeding ferally are a few Red-crested Pochard. Waders such as Northern Lapwing and Common Redshank, and Ringed and Little Ringed Plovers also nested in small numbers and Eurasian Curlew has bred in flooded fields. Reed and Sedge Warblers nest where reedbeds are established and in local scrub and woodland there are various other warblers such as both whitethroats, Blackcap and Garden, and Willow and Common Chiffchaff. Tawny Owl, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Common Cuckoo breed in the area and raptors present in summer include Common Kestrel, Eurasian Sparrowhawk and Northern Hobby. Common Dipper and Grey Wagtail can be seen on nearby streams.

Rarities have frequently appeared at the Cotswold Water Park and have included Pied-billed Grebe, Blue-winged Teal, Squacco and Black-crowned Night Herons and Eurasian Spoonbill, Red-footed Falcon, Gull-billed and White-winged Terns, Kentish Plover, Alpine Swift and European Bee-eater. In March 2003 a Kumlien's Gull was recorded.

Botanists will find much of interest in the park with old meadows with Snakeshead Fritillary Fritillaria meleagris and orchids such as Bee Ophrys apifera, Common Spotted Dactylorhiza fuchsii, Early Marsh Dactylorhiza incarnata, Burnt Orchis ustulata, Early Purple Orchis mascula and Green-winged Orchis morio.

Although many of the lakes throughout the area can be good for birds the best are generally at the western end. A network of public footpaths covers much of the area and Lake 34 in Keynes Country Park has a wheelchair-accessible hide with leaflets and a useful logbook detailing the latest sightings. The walk around this area, beginning at the nature reserve car-park at Spratsgate Lane, off Spine Road, usually produces a good range of the birds to be seen and nearby Lake 77 is good for passage waders. The western lakes of the park can be reached off the A419 Swindon to Cirencester road. To the east one of the better areas is Whelford Pools, a reserve of the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, near Fairford and reached on the minor road to Whelford off the A417 east of Cirencester. There are two hides overlooking one small and two larger pits where waterfowl can be seen in winter and Common Kingfisher nests. This area is also of interest to entomologists with 11 species of dragonfly and damselfly to be seen including the large Emperor Dragonfly Anax imperator and the rather local Red-eyed Damselfly Erythromma najas. Coke's Pit is another Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust reserve with wintering waterfowl including Red-crested Pochard as is the Edward Richardson reserve. This small reserve has two pits and a nature trail with a hide and can be reached from Lechlade taking the A361 northwards for 0.8km then turning left for Rough Grounds Farm.

Birds

Birds you can see here include:

Red-throated Diver, Great Northern Diver, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Red-necked Grebe, Black-necked Grebe, Slavonian Grebe, Great Cormorant, Great Bittern, Little Egret, Grey Heron, Bewick's Swan, Mute Swan, Greater White-fronted Goose, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Common Shelduck, Eurasian Wigeon, Gadwall, Common Teal, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Garganey, Northern Shoveler, Red-crested Pochard, Common Pochard, Tufted Duck, Common Goldeneye, Smew, Goosander, Ruddy Duck, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Osprey, Common Kestrel, Northern Hobby, Peregrine Falcon, Moorhen, Eurasian Coot, Water Rail, Oystercatcher, Little Ringed Plover, Ringed Plover, Golden Plover, Grey Plover, Northern Lapwing, Sanderling, Red Knot, Little Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Dunlin, Ruff, Jack Snipe, Common Snipe, Black-tailed Godwit, Bar-tailed Godwit, Whimbrel, Eurasian Curlew, Spotted Redshank, Common Redshank, Greenshank, Green Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Turnstone, Little Gull, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Common Tern, Arctic Tern, Black Tern, Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, Common Cuckoo, Tawny Owl, Common Swift, Common Kingfisher, Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Eurasian Skylark, Sand Martin, Barn Swallow, House Martin, Meadow Pipit, Yellow Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Common Dipper, Common Wren, Dunnock, Nightingale, Eurasian Robin, Whinchat, Northern Wheatear, Blackbird, Fieldfare, Song Thrush, Redwing, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, Common Whitethroat, Blackcap, Garden Warbler, Common Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher, Long-tailed Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Common Magpie, Carrion Crow, Common Starling, House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Siskin, Lesser Redpoll, Reed Bunting

Content and images originally posted by Steve