HICK’S LODGE

Relaxed birding around a former opencast mine

North West Leicestershire and adjoining South Derbyshire – the area where I grew up – were coalfields, with much of the later coal extraction being done by opencast mining. While that left large parts of them looking like moonscapes for many years, the sidebenefit for birders has been that many sites have since been restored as country parks and similar.

Hicks Lodge, close to the county border, is one of those, with walking trails making their way round a large lake, past grazing meadows, and between areas of woodland (all recently planted, as part of the wider National Forest).

While there’s only one hide, offering good views of much of the lake and its margins, there’s also plenty to interest the birdwatcher in the rest of the site.

Still, the lake is a good place to start, with regulars including Mallard, Tufted Duck, Coot, Moorhen, Cormorant, Great Crested and Little Grebes, and Canada Geese (the geese also often graze on the fields).

Look a bit closer, though, and there’s a chance of Snipe and Lapwing around the edges at all times but summer, while other waders such as Oystercatchers, Common Sandpipers, Redshanks and Greenshanks have passed through, plus Temminck’s Stint. Little Ringed Plovers should also be seen in spring, and may breed here, with the habitat being managed for them.

In the woodland, you should be able to see all the commoner finches and tits, with Great Spotted Woodpeckers also widespread, but bearing in mind that this is part of a much wider wooded area, keep an eye out for other species, too, with Sparrowhawks always likely. During irruptions, it’s a good place to look for Crossbills.

While the main interest on the fields is often, as stated earlier, the geese, in winter they have regularly played host to hunting Short-eared Owls, while Stonechats can pop up on the adjoining fencelines, and passerine migrants such as Wheatear and Whinchat are also possible during spring and autumn.

Buzzard and Kestrel are the two likeliest raptors, in the absence of any Peregrines breeding nearby, but Hobby is also possible in summer, because of the lake and other nearby bodies of water.