Upon waking up this morning I was very pleased to discover that I’d managed to schedule myself a day off! Between working a stupid number of jobs, chipping away at a number of unfinished projects and practising hard for Phantom of the Opera it’s been something of a challenge to find time to properly relax.
So, I decided that I would go and explore somewhere new while I had the time. Last week I’d had a meeting with a member of staff at the Cumbria Wildlife Trust, and they had mentioned an urban nature reserve in Penrith named Thacka Beck. I have a big interest in urban wildlife conservation, so I figured I would get the train down and have a look.
Thacka Beck gets its name from a small river that flows through the area, which has been prone to flooding areas of Penrith in the past. In 2010 the Environment Agency, along with the Eden Rivers Trust and the Cumbria Wildlife Trust, undertook an ambitious flood alleviation scheme which included an upstream storage basin at the Gillywilly Industrial Estate. It is designed to temporarily store water during flood events, and can hold the equivalent of 30 Olympic swimming pools of floodwater!
As well as providing flood protection, the site at Thacka Beck is now also an absolute haven for wildlife – which is even more impressive when you consider that it is bordered on one side by an industrial estate, and a main railway line on the other. Cumbria Wildlife Trust manages this site carefully, protecting the ponds, scrapes, hedges and hay meadows that provide homes for so many species.
I was pleasantly surprised by the sheer number of bird species I spotted on arrival at Thacka Beck. As well as the usual suspects of mallards, moorhens and gulls, I was greeted by an absolutely incredible view of a buzzard. It was being mobbed by a flock of corvids, but managed to shake them off and took up position on a telephone wire. My attempts at taking a close-up picture of this bird were thwarted by a very noisy dog, although I did manage to snap a picture from a bit further away. I was amazed at how chilled out the buzzard was being so close to people – they weren’t exactly quiet!
I figured that the best plan would be to sit and wait for it to come back so I could try again. I took a seat on a bench, ate my lunch, and sat back to enjoy the birdsong. A small group of blackbirds emerged singing from the bushes and began to hop about on the path near me. Sadly, they were scared off by another dog – I suppose that’s one of the challenges of urban nature reserves, but I think I’d rather that people were engaging with nature like that as opposed to not at all.
While I was eating there was a flurry of movement from by the beck. A bird that may have been a snipe, and a bird that was definitely a kestrel suddenly burst up into the sky. I’m not sure what scared them, but they were both absolutely fantastic to see.
Once I had accepted that the buzzard probably wasn’t coming back, I finished up my lunch and continued my exploration. I reached a beautiful little bridge that crossed Thacka Beck and stopped to enjoy the babbling of the stream. I looked over my shoulder and realised that there was actually a little ford right behind me. So I did what any respectable amateur photographer would do – waded into the shallow water and took a couple of photographs through the bridge. Possibly not my best photograph, but I appreciated the challenge it took to get it.
I stood up straight in the middle of the flowing water and had a quick look at my surroundings.
No way!
There was my buzzard, sat back on his telephone pole. I grabbed my things and quickly, but quietly, headed back over to get my shot. I didn’t quite manage to get the angle I wanted, but I was pleased enough with what I did get. Shame about the cloud cover, which resulted in a very white background, but alas even my powers only go so far.
Continuing on past the ford and through another gate I found myself on a rather muddy path. It was loud, but not with the sounds of the town. No, this place was loud with birdsong. I immediately spotted two rabbits, a number of sparrows and some fieldfare! I’ve never had the chance to get that close to a fieldfare, and I was really pleased that I had decided to slow down and have a proper look – it was a magnificent bird.
I carried on up the path, amazed by this little wildlife corridor that could only have been 100 metres long. I continued added to my sightings list; goldfinch, house sparrow and even a pair of bullfinches!
Sadly, the male didn’t get the memo about looking at the camera.
I completed the circular walk after taking the time to admire some lichens and grabbing some pictures of a clump of snowdrops. I wanted to continue exploring, but the only other field was out of bounds whilst the Trust was doing some wildflower conservation work. It was then I realised that I was on the verge of missing my train if I didn’t leave right away.
But Thacka Beck had one last surprise for me. Just as I was heading out of the reserve, I heard a beautiful song right above my head. I looked up and saw a song thrush staring back at me. A fantastic final addition to the day’s species list.
If you ever find yourself in Penrith and want something to do, I highly recommend spending an hour or two at Thacka Beck. The site is rather extraordinary.
Species List
Mallard
Moorhen
Black-Headed Gull
Carrion Crow
Buzzard
Oystercatcher (heard)
Magpie
Blackbird
Woodpigeon
Chaffinch
Snipe (?)
Kestrel
Rabbit
Fieldfare!
Wren
Dunnock
Goldfinch
Bullfinch
House sparrow
Pheasant (heard)
Blue tit (heard)
Song thrush
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