I spent the day at Silverlake which is the former site of the Woodsford Airfield and is also known as Warmwell Gravel Pits. It is a former landfill and waste collection site which was run by our good friends Viridor Waste Management!
I have visited this site many times but usually at the end of the day as its a few clicks from my home. I have noticed that it turns up some interesting birds including a Long Tailed Duck which is in its fourth day in residence. The pink on the bill indicating a Male bird!
The duck gave me a good excuse to have a thorough walk around the site and establish the best vantage points to view the mix of wildfowl, gulls and passerines that frequent the area.
The site has public footpaths that lead through Knighton Heath Wood where the airfield memorial stone is situated. Warmwell (Woodford) Aerodrome opened on May 1st 1937 and was used as an armament training station No.6 ATC and during the war coastal patrols were flown by Avro Anson's from this airfield. In 1940 it became a satellite fighter station for Middle Wallop. Fighters based here forming No 10 Group played a significant role in winning the Battle of Britain. The airfield was also a target for bombing raids during this period. (ref:Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust)
Before I reached the memorial I noted a couple of female Goosander on what I call the main pit. There was a large gathering of Egyptian Geese the most I had seen but no sign of the Ruddy Shelduck. The gulls were facing into the wind which made sifting through them tricky with a face on wind.
A Peregrine was stirring up the wildfowl and in particular the Lapwings who were present in good numbers.
Over head a Raven was konking its way across the site. This must be a local bird as I saw it several times during the day!
This site oozes birds and features on if I was to adopt another patch this could be on the this is it list! The welcome problem with Dorset is there are many sites that fall into this category and in complete contrast to SVC17 where the top sites are inaccessible which creates a patch situation if you are lucky enough to have access to one! Which I was!
In Dorset I would always be wondering what I was missing elsewhere if I was entrenched in one place! The other side of the coin is I am less likely to find good birds if I am regularly jumping between sites but I guess I will have to work out the weather patterns if I carry on in this vein!
There is still plenty of time to sort out a battle plan and for now I will continue to scoop up the wintering birds that stop of around Portland, Weymouth and closer to home!
When all is said and done It is a good problem to have and the mixture of heath, woodland and gravel pits and paths certainly has put Silverlake firmly on my radar!
Can you tell me how to access Silverlake. Looks like two big gates bar the entrance. Where is the pond located please? Thanks
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