Hollas Lane - Sterne mills

In view of the proposed developments on this site, I thought it might be useful to visit the area to gather a few records.
Okay, it isn't the best time of year to do this, and the weather was pretty wet and miserable, but records are needed from this site to back-up any objections being made to the proposed development on ecological/wildlife grounds.

The area I managed to cover with Nick D, only included the area between the canal and the river as time was limited and access across the footbridge was, as we all know, blocked by galvanised railings.

The "grassed area" to the west of the "hard-standing" was quite boggy with mossy areas and sections of sedge, bramble and scrub. There were bark chippings in various places, suggesting recent shrub/tree removal (?).
Unfortunately, neither of us had wellies, so were not able to do an extensive flush of the wet areas.
Species that I would expect to find would be Snipe and Jack Snipe, but we only managed to flush one Woodcock.
The commoner passerines that we listed included Great Spotted Woodpecker, Woodpigeon, Wren, Robin, Dunnock, Blackbird, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Jay, Carrion Crow with between 4 and 7 Goosander on the river and 30 or so Mallard with the occasional Black-headed Gull passing overhead or on nearby fields. Sparrowhawks hunt in the area as evidenced by a Woodpigeon kill. Moles were also present.

This area may have potential for Willow Tit, Lesser-spotted Woodpecker, Garden Warbler, Blackcap, Chifchaff, Willow Warbler, Dipper and Grey Wagtail so is worth paying more attention to.

Historically, this area, presumably along the railway, was an important Yellowhammer site but none have been reported from here in recent years.

On the south side of the river, there may be habitat suitable for Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler and Water Rail, so is worthy of further investigation.

A couple of Grayling anglers that I spoke to told me that Kingfisher sightings were regular on that part of the river, as were sightings of both, Mink and Otter. They also told me that Newt spp were present in the marshy areas on the other side of the bridge whilst I would not be too surprised to find Common Toad in the area due to the proximity of Washer Lane.

I would be grateful if other birders could give this area some closer attention to discover what we are in danger of losing.

There are many other valid objections being put forward against this development besides those based on its natural history, but if any objections are to made on a natural history context, we do need data relating to those species currently present. So get out there, and get looking.