My family and I went to Lopwell Dam for a picnic in the car on 18th December at about 12:30pm and we were amazed at the number of birds we saw during our hour stay! We have been there several times before, but have never seen anything other than some Ducks, Swans and Canada Geese. However, this time we were overwhelmed with birds and at one point we just didn’t know where to aim our binoculars.
In the time we were there, we saw the following –
1 Kingfisher, 1 Shag, 1 Cormorant, 1 Heron, 1 Buzzard, 2 Swans, 1 Pheasant, various ducks and little birds, and an (as yet) unidentified big white bird which was similar to a Swan but was definitely not a Swan.
Undoubtedly for me, the highlight was the Kingfisher as I had never seen one like this before. It was brilliant and we were totally lucky to spot it fly on to a branch fairly close to where the car was parked. I think we even found where it nested as a couple of times it flew across the water and disappeared by the banks to the left of the car park if you are parked up facing the water. My son and I had a walk round opposite the bank to see if we could spot it, but we couldn’t although there were several ideal places for its nest to be. A little while later, whilst sat in the car again, my wife spotted the Kingfisher fishing from a branch on the bank slightly around the corner from where we were. Through the binoculars we could see the gorgeous bird clear as a bell, and when the sun shone briefly, it made its colourings sparkle wonderfully! It was a truly amazing sight and we watched it fishing for a long while before it flew off further around the bank.
The Heron was also great as it suddenly appeared from amongst the trees opposite us and then did a large poo! 😉 whilst circling round and then flying up and over the Dam and on into Dartmoor. My son especially thought that was funny!
The unidentified white bird was a strange one. My wife thought it was a Swan to start with, but it definitely wasn’t as the neck and colourings were different. The neck wasn’t long at all in flight, but kind of squashed up with it having long white legs and orange feet. When it landed, it was fairly tall with a long neck but that was all we could determine from the where we were. Â It may have even looked a bit like a Goose, but it wasn’t. Â If anyone reads this and they have seen a large white bird at Lopwell Dam, please can you comment and let me know what it was! Â It would be much appreciated.
All in all, it was a great hour or so and we will definitely be going back again soon to see if we can see that Kingfisher again! 😉
Birds and Numbers Identified:
Kingfisher – 1
Shag – 1
Cormorant – 1
Heron – 1
Buzzard – 1
Swans – 2
Pheasant – 1
Where:
Lopwell Dam, Dartmoor.