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Glebe Walk - click on the image to see a larger picture |
Sunday 17th May saw very high winds and rain which put off most members from attempting the fairly long drive to Langford Lakes nature reserve run by Wiltshire Wildlife Trust and situated in the beautiful Wylye valley some eight miles north of Wilton.
Beautiful and Wylye are used so often that a hyphen has almost appeared between them but stopping in the lay-by off the A36 and looking at the view shows exactly why.
The area cannot have always been considered quite so beautiful however as in the early 1960’s the water meadows were used for gravel extraction.
This ceased in 1981 when the area became beautiful again and further extraction was prohibited. The gravel pits have since filled with water producing the three lakes that are seen today which compliment the beautiful surroundings.
Two of our members made the trip and were rewarded by a ‘window’ in the bad weather that lasted for just over an hour when they were able to visit most of the site.
On arrival they were treated to the sight of a moorhen mother with two chicks feeding in the pond near the visitor centre intended for pond dipping.
Several starlings and a solitary Mistle thrush could be seen on the water meadow. Drama was to follow however when they observed nature at its most brutal as a weasel crossed their path dragging a baby rabbit to its lair only to be chased by a carrion crow determined to steal the catch.
At their approach the prey was dropped and the pair made off: too late for the rabbit as they watched its death throes on the gravel.
On returning to the car at the end of the walk they found the half eaten corpse.
Weasels can be distinguished from stoats by the fact that stoats have a black tip to their tails.
The path to the hides is edged by undergrowth and trees which are ideal for singing birds; a chaffinch, wren and blackbird could all be heard and a kestrel was seen flying overhead.
A few Coot, several Canada geese and a pair of Tufted Ducks were seen at the first hide.
They then went to the Education Centre which has a covered terrace with chairs and tables overlooking the Long Pond.
This has excellent panoramic views with dozens of Swift, Swallow and House Martins hawking over the lake; a really thrilling sight.
A resident Robin was seen looking for scraps.
On the side of the building was a donations box and a notice asking people not to put any money in the box in case they disturbed the Blue tits on their nest.
The walk up to the next hide between the lakes passes alongside a reed bed where sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler and a Common Whitethroat could be heard singing.
Further along a Blackcap and Garden Warbler could be heard.
The hide itself showed nothing of further interest but a pair of Canada Geese were escorting their brood of chicks along the pathway.
The return to the car park was along a recently constructed 400 metre path called ‘Glebe Walk’.
The path winds along a small stream which flows in to the River Wylye and Yellow Flag Iris competed with Comfrey to line the banks.
A Heron was disturbed which flew off and caused a pair of Pheasants to panic.
Further along a fenced off field at the side of the path was covered in masses of Meadow Buttercups grazed by a few black and a few white sheep together with domestic duck and geese.
Despite the weather Langford Lakes proved to be a nice quiet walk but walking along the river was not allowed and the site is rather hidden from the beautiful Wylye valley.
Contact the secretary on 023 8089 3803 for membership details.
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