I had my first visit to West Hartford this month late this morning. Amongst the Herring and Black Headed Gull on the main pool was a Lesser Black Backed Gull which soon flew off towards the industrial estate.
50+ Teal were on the pool's edge and a male Stonechat tacked away from the mound inside the metal compound. I could only find two Common Snipe and a female Stonchat in the marshy field bordering the main pool.
Now that all the snow has melted away most of the water has filled up the fields and a lot is probably in the old mine shafts which riddle Cramlington's underground. The snow has taken its tole with a lot of the bare trees now collapsed but it has also had a positive effect. A combination of snow melt and last years rain has increased the amount of reeds and other pool side vegetation. Long grasses now surround the site and two new shallow pools have been formed in the stubble fields.
I now hope that the increased water level in the main and smaller pool will attract more wildfowl and gulls whilst the new shallow pools attract more waders.
Having a relatively new site as your patch means that you will encounter more change until the land settles but WH is a non managed site on top of an old mine so change will always happen.
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