By Leah Mitchell
NATURE lovers roused themselves at 5.30am to join staff and volunteers at RSPB Weymouth Wetlands for a dawn chorus walk aroundRadipole Lake.
The walkers were witnesses to the sounds of warbles and other songbirds in full voice as well as being treated to some unexpected sights.
The Wetlands have been described in the past by the BBC’s Springwatch and Autumnwatch presenter Chris Packham as “a great asset to Weymouth and a brilliantly placed reserve for people”, so encounters with spectacular birds and wildlife are always possible.
The three special visitors that dropped in on the dawn chorus walk were a type of duck called a goldeneye, a bar-headed goose and, most unusual of all, a night heron.
Weymouth Wetlands information officer Luke Phillips, who led the walk, said: “Goldeneye are winter visitors to Britain before heading off to their breeding grounds in Scandinavia so this female is rather late leaving.
“The bar-headed goose is only found in central Asia so this one was certainly a feral bird escaped from a private collection but very striking.
“The night heron on the other hand, is a very rare bird to see here and this juvenile caused a lot of excitement not just in our dawn chorus group but among local birdwatchers too.
“It just goes to show what you can see and hear if you get out and about early enough and our walkers certainly seemed to enjoy themselves.”
The event pulled in people from all over the county, with volunteers travelling from as far as Southampton to make the early start.
Due to its popularity the chance of running more than one next year is highly likely, especially with the £685,000 project to revitalise the site over the next 10 years in its second stage now.
