Dunchurch & Draycote Water Walk

Another week and another Reservoir, you can't have enough in my opinion. It has been a very interesting drive over too in the wake of 'Storm Bert'. Driving from Northampton to meet up with a friend at Cold Higham was quite an adventure. Several of the roads had standing water , at times coming up over the wheel arch.Really looking forward to this walk around Draycote Water. I've only been here once and that was fishing off a boat. That didn't end well either as I ended up crashing on the rocks. Our starting point after safely parking up is the village of Dunchurch. About 2.5 miles south of Rugby. It gained notoriety in 1605 as being the place where the Gunpowder Plotters met at the Red Lion to plan their deadly deed.

A very cute Alpaca

It is only a short stroll from Dunchurch to get on the path around the reservoir. This will be the only 'grassy' part of the walk. A good thing really as it is saturated under foot. There is a field of Alpacas , at least that's what I think they are? Too small for Llamas I suspect ? One in particular would register very high on the cuteness register. Once on the edge of the water it is like being in a wind tunnel! It is as though 'Storm Bert' is back again. My friend very reassuringly tells me that we are doing the windy exposed part first. Draycote Water is a 240-hectare reservoir and country park that draws its water from River Leam which then supplies drinking water to Rugby and Coventry.

On the rocks there are a number of Wagtails enjoying the winter sunshine. In the water there are numerous Coots, lots of Tufted Ducks too. Our mission though today is to try and spot the rare 'Ferruginious Duck'' that has been reported as present on the alerts. I'm not totally sure that I would know one if I saw one in all honesty. My companion does have a more comprehensive bird guide than mine and does show the bird in question. A bird that winters in Mediterranean basin and the Black Sea, is a little off course. Very similar in shape to a Tufted Duck but Chestnut and a White eye. We will keep our eyes open.  

Just above us a Kestrel hovers, battling against the wind to hold position. Something of a losing battle too by the look of things. We make our way towards the 'Club House' of the 5 mile circuit. A few hardy bikers are out too on the purpose made tarmac track. It is walkers and Birders though mainly. A poster on the window shows the reservoir as being 83.5% full. This was however dated the 21st October 2024. I would think after the weekend rain it must be well on the way to 100% full.

Boats moored up by the Club House

Turning the corner we have two bits of good news. Firstly the wind has miraculously stopped trying to blow us into tomorrow. It is actually very pleasant now. Secondly a couple of 'proper' Birdwatchers stop to tell us they have spotted the 'Ferruginous Duck. Not only that there is another one further round in 'Rainbow Corner'. The first one is just past the inlay pipes about 30 yards away. We continue with a spring in our step. The only problem being there are all sorts of other bird-life around the pipes. After a couple of minutes of searching the water we found our bird.

We did also see the other Ferruginous Duck they told us about at 'Rainbow Corner'. The picture above is the best we could. It hardly does the beautiful creature justice though. We had also been told that there was a female ' Scaup' located close to the Bell Tower. On our way in that direction, a graceful 'Goosander' comes floating past. Sure enough the aforementioned 'Scaup' hasn't moved from where it was originally spotted. Scaup are diving ducks with a resemblance to Tufted Ducks. Females are brown, with characteristic white patches around the base of the bill. In flight, they show white patches along the length of the back edge of the wing. Only a handful breed in the UK every year, making them our rarest breeding duck. 

It has been a superb walk  today , difficult in the wind for sure. But some interesting sightings as we have made our way around the circuit. 

The reservoir was created in the 1960s and was opened in 1970, with a new pipe and pump installed in 2012. It has a capacity of up to 5 billion gallons (23 million m³). and a maximum depth of 70 feet (21 m). Being an 'artificial reservoir' it has no natural inlets, its water being obtained by pumping from the nearby River Leam and Stanford Reservoir. .

Pitsford Reservoir Nature Reserve Walk (Seasons End)

I'm back at one of my favourite places in the Count Pitsford Reservoir Nature Reserve. Or the quiet side as I like to call it. Back in November 2021 I had the idea of capturing the walk around the perimeter in every season. ( Did manage to get a winter scene in January 2023). That particular Autumn day was cloudy and overcast and not very Autumn like at all. Today however, is more like Autumn as I would imagine it to be. Although we are close to Winter there is still good colour on the trees and bushes. We have had some snow too this week which has mostly all gone. Jack Frost has been busy overnight creating a beautiful contrast in conditions. Where the sun has broken through the trees it is soft underfoot and bright reflections.Hopefully the picture on the left will illustrate exactly what I mean? It is a fantastic light for walking and taking a few photos. Probably the best part of being on this side of the reservoir is the abundance of wildlife. Largely undisturbed there is a far greater chance of seeing and getting closer to all sorts of creatures.Already I have seen numerous Herons. Red Kite, Buzzards, A woodpecker and a few Muntjac Deer. On the water there is the cry of the Wigeon amongst the many Cormorants. I will let the photographs largely tell the story of the walk today. 

A place to sit and reflect

Cormorants drying their wings in the Autumn sun

It has been an anti-clockwise walk around the circuit today. I normally walk clockwise. I think I enjoyed it better this way. It has been a really peaceful and enjoyable walk. The only other people I saw were volunteers for the Wildlife Trust. One of my favourite times of the year , along with the end of Winter into Spring. I think that will have to be my next blog from these parts for sure!