Coatham Stob Feeding Station

[Dave-N]

Thanks to the kind permission of the Forestry Commission we have recently opened a bird feeding station here. Please do not approach the feeders too closely; this has been set up to feed the birds throughout the winter and not for us to get closer to them. Too much disturbance and the exercise is useless. The birds must come first.

To find the site:

Leave the car park in the South East corner, signposted Coatham Wood, go through the hedge on your right hand side at the first break (quite muddy here), now with the other side of the hedge on your right hand side, head towards the main road. Follow the track round the 90 degree left hand bend and just past the 2nd Ash tree on your right hand side there is a small clearing to your left, the feeding station is set up in the clearing.

This is only about 100 yards from the car park, but off the beaten track.

[Col W]

An update on the feeding station at Coatham Stob,

As some may be aware, we were victims of theft early in January, resulting in the loss of 7 feeders. This led to some discussion on whether to replace these and retain the feeding station at its present location, or find a suitable new site and set up anew there.


With the arrival of the cold snap, and little time to locate a suitable new site, the decision was made for us and the existing site was restocked, as of yet, with no problems.

Access to the site at the moment is extremely wet and muddy, so wellingtons are a must.

To find the site:

Leave the car park in the South East corner, signposted coatham Wood, go through the hedge on your right hand side at the first break (quite muddy here), now with the other side of the hedge on your right hand side, head towards the main road. Follow the track around the 90 degree left hand bend and just past the second Ash tree on your right hand side, look left and you will see a small clearing, the feeding station is set up in the clearing.

[Col W]

The Coatham Stob feeding station has been allowed to run empty, I removed the feeders and tables yesterday. These will be cleaned and stored ready for later in the year.

Thanks to all who replenished the feeders when they visited the site.

Colin

[Col W]

The Coatham Stob  feeding station has been up and running for the last 5 or 6 weeks, I apologise for the delay in posting this information, but due to the change of location and subsequent passage by/through the site, I wanted to see how things went, up to date, we have only lost 1 feeder, this may have been due to the recent strong winds, although all the feeders are secured with cable ties.

Access to the site at the moment is extremely wet and muddy, so wellingtons are a must.

To find the site:

Leave the car park in the South East corner, signposted coatham Wood, go through the hedge on your right hand side at the first break (quite muddy here), and turn left, after only 30 metres, look to the right, there is a track entering a small copse, follow this and the feeding station is a short distance into the copse.

I do not consider this an ideal location for the feeding station, with viewing all of the feeders/tables from one position not possible , but it again fits the criteria of ease of accessibility and away from the more popular dog walking routes.

Most importantly, it is being well visited, requiring a refill of the feeders every few days.

Colin

[Adam J]

Well done to everyone involved in setting up this feeding station. I placed a sunflower heart and nyjer seed mix on the bird tables on arriving at the site today, after a short walk I returned to find 1x Mealy Redpoll and 5x Lesser Redpoll. I've attached a distant record photograph below.

Cheers,
Adam

[Col W]

The Coatham Stob feeding station has been allowed to run empty, I recently removed the feeders and tables. These will be cleaned and stored ready for later in the year.

Thanks to all who replenished the feeders when they visited the site.

Colin

[Col W]

The Coatham Stob feeding station is now up and running, this year, it is back to its original site.

To find the site:

Leave the car park in the South East corner, signposted Coatham Wood, go through the hedge on your right hand side at the first break and turn right, with the hedge now on your right hand side, head towards the main road. Follow the track round the 90 degree left hand bend and just past the 2nd Ash tree on your right hand side, there is a small clearing to your left, the feeding station is set up in the clearing. For best viewing, walk a little further, entering through the gap between two conifers, this allows viewing of all the feeders and does not disturb the birds already visiting them.

This is only about 100 yards from the car park, but off the beaten track.

Colin.

[Col W]

The Coatham Stob feeding station is again up and running, at its original site.

To find the site:

Leave the car park in the South East corner, signposted Coatham Wood, go through the hedge on your right hand side at the first break and turn right, with the hedge now on your right hand side, head towards the main road. Follow the track round the 90 degree left hand bend and just past the 2nd Ash tree on your right hand side, there is a small clearing to your left, the feeding station is set up in the clearing. For best viewing, walk a little further, entering through the gap between two conifers, this allows viewing of all the feeders and does not disturb the birds already visiting them.

This is only about 100 yards from the car park, but off the beaten track.

As always, the short walk to the feeding station can be quite muddy underfoot, wellingtons are recommended.

If you need to access the feeders, please be aware of the Ash sapling stubs, they can be a tripping hazard.

Colin.