CUMBRIA
Discover a changing Lakeland habitat and its birds
MAX MILES ON FOOT: 5 MIN TIME: 3 HOURS
The National Trust owns the land around the lake, with tenant farmers working it. Some areas are to be planted up with more broad-leaved trees as the payment system changes to encourage more environmental work to take place, and there’s even the chance that there’ll be more wetland areas encouraged in the fields.
WHERE TO WATCH
1 We start the walk at the south end of the lake, where you can look for farmland birds like Pied Wagtail, Swallow and Collared Dove.
2 The lambing fields are also home to two species of geese, with Greylag and Canada taking advantage of the better grass to fill their bellies. Peggy’s Bridge gives you the chance to look for both Dipper and Grey Wagtail. Check the damp areas in the fields for Snipe.
3 These high bracken fells can hold both Stonechat and Whinchat in summer, along with Reed Bunting and Wren. Where the bracken gives way to rock and short turf, look out for Wheatear in the summer. There are Common Sandpipers along the open shores, while a real shock in 2017 was finding a Spotted Sandpiper holding territory with a Common Sandpiper (though no offspring were recorded).
4 The mixed woodland in this area has a wide range of birds to look out for, with Redstarts and Pied Flycatcher needing natural holes in trees, although Redstarts will even use holes in stone walls, while Wood Warbler and Tree Pipit need to place their nests on the ground. Cuckoos will use Tree Pipit nests to lay their eggs in, along with the Meadow Pipits back on the fell. Both Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers are also
