Description
Swithland Reservoir, adjacent to the Mountsorrel quarry is a hotspot for birdwatchers. With rarities such as szirtifecske, Ékfarkú lile and búbos réce, Swithland Reservoir is a great place to birdwatch all year round. In winter, you can expect ducks such as Kerceréce, Fütyülő réce, Csörgo réce, Hegyi réce and other wintering wildfowl. Then in spring, the arrival of Sandpipers and other waders such as Szürke cankó and Erdei cankó can be viewed from the Kinchley Lane railings and the dam. hegyi billegető and sárga billegető can also be seen in low double figures, however the barázdabillegető is the most frequent.
Kis kócsag, Nagy kócsag and occasionally Pásztorgém can be seen from a distance and the very rare, but uncommon at Swithland, Batla can also be viewed. The dam and the Kinchley lane railings are the best spot for watching the birds. Summer announces the arrival of terns such as Kis csér, Küszvágó csér and Kenti csér, which dive and dart around the reservoir. More ducks such as Böjti réce can also be seen in summer. Moving on to autumn and the autumn migration, another great season for birdwatching, much rarer waders such as Apró partfutó and Temminck-partfutó, if you're lucky, can be seen and the much rarer Sandpipers such as Sarlós partfutó and Tengeri partfutó.
Havasi partfutó, Jégmadár and Bíbic can be seen all year round, but autumn and spring the best season for them. Finally back in to winter, on a late evening, you can be rewarded by the obvious figure of a Gyöngybagoly and a Réti fülesbagoly, and occasionally a Erdei fülesbagoly can be seen perched in a nearby tree.
Details
Access
You can drive around Kinchley Lane in Mountsorrel, which will eventually lead to the dam or you can view from Swithland Lane. Parking is available on Kinchley and Swithland Lane, as the roads are quite wide and the dam on Kinchley Lane is probably the best place to park.
