Carr Vale Flash

View the latest sightings at Carr Vale

This wetland reserve is a great place for birdwatching. The mixture of open water, marsh, wet and dry grassland, scrub and trees attracts a rich variety of birds throughout the year. In winter large numbers of wildlfowl feed in the wetlands and surrounding grasslands. Large flocks of wigeon graze the banks while teal can be seen preening and feeding on the water's edge. As well as wildfowl, the reserve attracts wintering flocks of finches and buntings, which feed along the field boundaries. A more secretive winter visitor is the water rail, which skulks above the marsh areas. More often heard than seen, it has a distinctive squealing call. Spring and autumn are important times on the reserve, as many birds are on migration and Carr Vale is an ideal place for them to feed and roost. In September, swallows gather in the marsh, in a gigantic roost of between 10-12,000 birds. They usually attract hobbies, birds of prey which are skilled hunters on the wing. In early summer the marsh and scrub are home to a range of breeding birds, including reed and sedge warblers, whitethroat, yellowhammer, moorhen and gadwall. The grassland provides nesting habitat for the nationally declining skylark.