Latest AWEG visit

Eleven members of AWEG (Audlem Wildlife & Ecology Group) visited Sandbach Flashes on Monday 12th June.

We saw herons, Canada geese, a wigeon, many coots, mallard, mute swans in a nest with fluffy cygnets, great crested grebes, gulls, shelduck and tufted duck. On the feeders near the road was a great spotted woodpecker feeding its chick.

Many plants were in flower and large patches of small yellow button flowers, later identified as button weed in the damp meadows.

We then drove to Westport Lake in Stoke on Trent and enjoyed lunch including Staffordshire oatcakes in the café overlooking the lake. The sustainably constructed cafe building is built of straw bales and has a green roof and solar panels.

We walked round the lakes with diversions to the wildlife pools. We saw sedge warblers, and many of the same water birds we had viewed in the morning.

Large numbers of purple marsh orchids were a memorable sight.

This article is from our news archive. As a result pictures or videos originally associated with it may have been removed and some of the content may no longer be accurate or relevant.