A surprise – a goldcrest at Arundel Mill pond

I went for a walk along the canal near Capel's Mill but on the opposite side to where I normally watch the dippers and kingfishers. I hadn't used the relatively recently opened towpath running between the river and the canal

At Arundel Mill I saw that the work done last year to clean out the mud and silt from the former millpond has worked wonders. The Stroud Valleys Project have established new reedbeds using the old reeds within new boundaries that can be removed once the banks are established.

I stood watching the coots and ducks on the millpond on the far side of the fast swirling river Frome which now flows freely without flooding the adjacent land, down over the restored sluice gates of the original mill race.

The site of the former mill was an early project of Stroud Preservation Trust and you can see some of its history on our website here, some of which dates from medieval times.

I noticed a tiny bird scampering warily amongst the rushes and knew it was a little wren. A wagtail flitted about the mud at the edge of the pond and the sluices. Then my eye caught another tiny bird hiding in the rushes. When I finally managed to focus on it I was delighted to see a gold stripe along its head. I hardly ever see goldcrests so this was a first of the year. I'll go back and hope to watch it again.