Saturday 30th (06:41 - 09:43) - A strange morning that alternated between looking as if it would clear; or cloud up completely. But did neither until after 09:30 when clouds started to move away and in fact there was a brief (all too brief) red sunrise while it made up its mind. Increasing S breeze, good visibility

Main features of the day were
- 2 Great Crested Grebes again, but these were initially seen together in the NW corner (traditional nest site) before they moved off in different directions and stayed well-apart throughout
- Cormorant seen flying in, but not noted thereafter
- Greylag Goose party heard over pre-dawn; and then a pair later
- 74 Canada Geese logged was just like the old days when skeins left The Flash at first light. 15 of these on the lake
- 7 Aythya-type ducks seen flying off in the direction of The Flash but, unusually, 12 seen arriving
- no raptors seen today
- no gull roost: yet again very moderate numbers before I left: larger passage of Lesser Black-backed Gulls and more Herring Gulls
- the bird-scarers and / or shooting parties seemed to have discouraged Wood Pigeon parties but today they in higher numbers than recent weeks around the lake. And they at least think Spring is on its way: after tow males seen wing-bashing yesterday there were several birds in 'song' this morning; and several more seen doing display flights
- fewer Redwings heard and seen in flight today, with the largest party of 21 birds
- again fewer Fieldfares but again some of these in trees around the lake
- Jay heard
- just corvid seen flying NW this morning. The usual S-bound roost dispersal seems to have coincided with the brief sunrise and I ended with a low count
- very few finches again

The more detailed notes from the lake
- no Little Grebe noted today
- 2 Great Crested Grebes: see above
- 1 Cormorant: adult seen arriving 08:53 but not thereafter
- what appeared to be the same Heron seen several times: first heard in flight well pre-dawn at 06:50
- the 2 resident Swans throughout
- party of at least 4 Greylag Geese heard flying SE at 06:52; later at 07:52 2 seen flying SE
- after several small parties of Canada Geese heard a large party of 37 birds flew E at 07:40, with 5 peeling off to annoy the swans. Later more flew in, all from the direction of The Flash and more small groups seen, including a party of 4 unusually flying S to the E of the lake. A total of at least 74 birds (unseen calling groups assumed to be 2 birds), with 15 on the lake
- 49 Mallard: 35 drakes. Visited the dam before 07:00 but there was no congregation there - just 4! They mostly seemed to be along the S side. Later did a full 'sweep-count' from the dam
- 19 Pochard, again all in the SE area: 11 drakes
- 34 Tufted Duck logged today: 16 drakes
- at least 7 Aythya sp. ducks flew off. The wing-beats of 2 or more birds were heard at 07:22; and then 5 seen leaving towards the Flash at 07:35. Quite what the 12 birds that flew in from the W at 07:50 is a mystery as they landed out of my sight in the NE area, but had moved by the time I could see it properly. Perhaps some of the Pochard and Tufted Duck counted later: perhaps they flew off
- no sighting of any raptors today
- [one of the fishermen reported seeing a Water Rail along the N side, near the main reed-bed, "over the Christmas Week"]
- 7 Moorhens logged
- 60 Coots logged today with the main group on the SW grass comprising up to 50 birds
- gulls today:
- - no Black-headed Gulls roosted. c.30 arrived at 07:29. Very few more arrived and there were only c.75 present by 07:45 when birds started leaving. Later counts on the lake gave me c.85 at 08:00; and c.125 at 09:00. But at least 300 birds were flushed off the grass to the W and appeared over the lake c.08:15
- - no Lesser Black-backed Gulls roosted either. 5 birds arrived at 08:15. Later a single at 08:24. Otherwise 292 logged over-flying with several parties of >30 birds c08:20. So at least 298 for the morning
- - 12 Herring Gulls (5 adults and 7 immatures) were specifically identified today. 4 first winter-types arrived at 08:15 and commandeered the boat-launching platform for the next 30 minutes at least. A party of 5 (3 adults) flew over NW at 08:24 by which time there was also an adult on the lake. 2 singles later
- - no Yellow-legged Gull-types noted today
- - no Great Black-backed Gulls
- no Feral Pigeons
- no Stock Doves
- the first Wood Pigeon was logged at 07:38 when a bird that had been roosting near where I was standing lost its nerve. Next was a bird heard in song at 07:41: A different day with 29 seen in the trees around the lake, including 2 birds singing and 2 more performing display flights; none was on the wires to the E; 7 singles / small groups seen flying E; 11 ditto flying W. No parties were seen over the fields / Wards Rough to the E and none overhead either. So just 47 for the morning
- no Grey Wagtail yet again today
- 4 Pied Wagtails, all heard
- 10 Fieldfare logged, with 3 of these seen flying out of trees along the W side
- At least 4 Song Thrushes logged, 3 of which were in song. But one of these has me confused - either it is unusually mobile around its territory or there are 3 birds in the SW area that are never singing at the same time! Song comes from both sides of the M54, with song from 2 different locations in Stafford Park wafting across the traffic-free M-way. Very confusing
- at least 45 Redwings logged. I noted 6 birds calling overhead while still too dark to see. Later 8 birds seen in the trees around the lake, with the balance of 31 seen in flight, mainly to the E amongst which was a group of 21 birds flying SE at 09:12
- no Mistle Thrushes today
- no Goldcrest today
- corvid passage started normally with 39 Rooks flying S at the late time of 07:53, but then1 Jackdaw and 2 Rooks flying in from the E and continuing W at 07:55. At this time the sunrise colours tempted me and the camera to the lakeside for the reflections during which time a party of just 40 Jackdaws was seen low to the E at 08:08, but I suspect that there were many more low, 'behind the hedges' in Castle Farm Way and below my sight-line. Rather few thereafter and some were passing to the W as well. Totals today were 96 Jackdaws and 62 Rooks
- party of 12 Starlings seen flying SSE over the W end
- 14 finches logged: a slightly better number that included a single Goldfinch. The Bullfinches seem to have disappeared ahead of the 'year-list' tomorrow - they did the same last year and it took me over a week to get them on the year-list!
- 3 Reed Buntings heard, one of which was along the N side

Checked the street lights I passed-by for insects etc. clinging on in the
wind:
- nothing

My complete log of the birds at the lake today was
no Little Grebes; 2 Great Crested Grebes; 1 Cormorant; 1 Heron; 2 adult Swans; >6 Greylag Geese; >75 Canada Geese (15 on lake); 49 Mallard (35 drakes); 19 Pochard (11 drakes); 34 Tufted Ducks (16 drakes); at least 7 unidentified Aythya sp.; no Ruddy Ducks; no Sparrowhawks; no Buzzards; no
Kestrels; no Water Rails; 7 Moorhens; 60 Coots; no waders; >300 Black-headed Gulls; >298 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 12 specifically identified Herring Gulls; no Yellow-legged Gulls; no Great Black-backed Gulls; no Feral Pigeons; no Stock Doves; 47 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; no Great Spotted Woodpeckers; no Sky Larks; no Meadow Pipits; no Grey Wagtails; 4 Pied Wagtails; 19 Wrens; 6 Dunnocks; 33 Robins; 13 Blackbirds again; 10 Fieldfares; 4 (or 6) Song Thrushes; 45 Redwings; no Mistle Thrushes; no Goldcrests; 1 Long-tailed Tit party; no Coal Tits; no Willow Tits; 17 Blue Tits; 8 Great Tits; no Treecreepers; 1 Jay; 15 Magpies; 96 Jackdaws; 62 Rooks; 8 Crows again; 12 Starlings; no House Sparrows; 6 Chaffinches; 7 Greenfinches; 1 Goldfinch; no Siskins; no Linnets; no Redpolls; no Bullfinches; 3 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers; no unidentified Finch flocks

(Ed Wilson)

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Saturday 30th (06:28 - 08:46) - Much better morning with the overnight rain having cleared away and the still gusty wind dying away while I was at the lake. Started to cloud up again later

Main features of the day were
- no gull roost and again very moderate numbers before I left, though proportion of Herring Gulls increasing, and Great Black-backed Gulls again
- immature drake Shoveler on the lake
- seemed to be plenty of ducks on the water before dawn, but 24 Aythya-types seen flying off, not all in the direction of The Flash
- Sparrowhawk and Kestrel seen; but no Buzzard
- several good-sized parties of Wood Pigeons seen
- many Redwings heard and then seen in flight, with one party of >100 birds
- many fewer Fieldfares but some of these unusually in trees around the lake
- Mistle Thrushes seen, but not heard singing today
- Jay heard
- corvids seen flying NW this morning ahead of the usual S-bound roost dispersal
- very few finches and no sign of the reported Brambling

The more detailed notes from the lake
- no Little Grebe noted today
- 2 Great Crested Grebes seen: 1 in NW area; and 1 along E end of N side. Is it possible that the 'other' birds of these are on a nest already?
- no Cormorants seen
- what appeared to be the same Heron seen several times
- the 2 resident Swans
- no Greylag Geese seen or heard
- Canada Geese heard again but not seen
- 45 Mallard: 29 drakes
- the immature drake Shoveler did not associate with the other ducks, preferring to plough through the middle of the gulls on the lake
- 24 Pochard all together in the SE area sleeping off a hard night's diving: 20 drakes
- 37 Tufted Duck logged today: 20 drakes
- 24 Aythya sp. ducks flew off. 14 left at 07:14 and these seemed to fly off SW rather than toward The Flash. 5 more left towards The Flash at 07:16; and then another 5 at 07:31. But there seemed to be many more ducks than this on the surface at 07:00, though it was too dark to see how many might be coots
- a Sparrowhawk seen diving down to the N at 08:30
- no sighting of Buzzards today
- a Kestrel flew S over the lake at 07:46
- only 4 Moorhens logged: with the strong winds it would have been hazardous for these to have inhabited the dam-face, so I guess they were elsewhere in the reeds?
- only 52 Coots logged, but the main group kept changing location in response to dogs and joggers and so was hard to count
- gulls today:
- - no Black-headed Gulls roosted. c.40 arrived at 07:28. Numbers only slowly increased to c.200 by 07:40 when the group broke up and birds started to leave. Later counts gave me c.65 at 08:10; c.270 at 08:30; c.450 at 08:55, though no 'arrival' had been seen
- - no Lesser Black-backed Gulls roosted either. 5 birds arrived at 08:35, increasing to 14 a few minutes later. Later counts gave me 48 at 08:55. Otherwise 116 logged over-flying. So at least 164 for the morning
- - 10 Herring Gulls (8 adults and 2 immatures) were specifically identified today and in with the Lesser Black-backed Gulls at 08:55
- - no Yellow-legged Gull-types noted today
- - 2 adult Great Black-backed Gull, briefly at 08:25 today
- no Feral Pigeons
- no Stock Doves
- the first Wood Pigeon was logged at 07:54: A better day with 13 seen in the trees around the lake, including 2 birds 'sparring' noisily in the trees; none was on the wires in the windy conditions; 28 singles / small groups seen flying E; 34 ditto flying W; and 350 others in large groups, with at least 230 over the Wards Rough trees joined by c.50 others; and a party of c.70 apparently different birds flying SW. So 425 for the morning
- no Grey Wagtail again today
- 7 Pied Wagtails mostly heard
- 20 Fieldfare logged, with 6 of these in trees along the N side
- 2 Song Thrushes logged, all in song
- at least 281 Redwings an excellent count. I noted 27 birds calling overhead while still too dark to see. Later 11 birds seen in the trees around the lake, but the balance of 243 seen in flight, mainly to the E amongst which was a group of at least 110 birds that flew off NW at 08:05
- 2 Mistle Thrushes seen on the lights over the Ricoh Car Park at the W end, but not heard
- 1 Goldcrest heard in the SE area alongside the M-way
- 15 Magpies logged
- corvid passage started normally with 21 Rooks flying S at 07:38, but then went 'weird' with at least 27 Jackdaws and 24 Rooks flying in from the E and continuing W at 07:45 - cannot recall this behaviour in the mornings! Things more or less normal after that with a party of >100 Jackdaws flying S at 07:50 and thereafter smaller parties of Jackdaws and Rooks heading S to give acceptable totals today of 251 Jackdaws and 186 Rooks
- party of 18 Starlings seen flying S to the E
- just 8 finches logged: 4 Greenfinches flying over; and 4 Chaffinches heard calling. Otherwise none!
- 4 Reed Buntings heard

Checked the street lights I passed-by for insects etc. clinging on in the
wind:
- nothing

My complete log of the birds at the lake today was
no Little Grebes; 2 Great Crested Grebes; no Cormorants; 1 Heron; 2 adult Swans; no Greylag Geese; Canada Geese heard; 1 drake Shoveler; 45 Mallard
(29 drakes); 24 Pochard (14 drakes); 37 Tufted Ducks (20 drakes); 24 unidentified Aythya sp. flew off; no Ruddy Ducks; 1 Sparrowhawk; no Buzzards; 1 Kestrel; no Water Rails; 4 Moorhens; 52 Coots; no waders; >450 Black-headed Gulls; >164 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 10 specifically identified Herring Gulls; no Yellow-legged Gulls; 2 Great Black-backed Gull; no Feral Pigeons; no Stock Doves; 425 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; no Great Spotted Woodpeckers; no Sky Larks; no Meadow Pipits; no Grey Wagtails; 7 Pied Wagtails; 17 Wrens; 7 Dunnocks; 27 Robins; 13 Blackbirds; 20 Fieldfares; 2 Song Thrushes; 281 Redwings; 2 Mistle Thrushes; 1 Goldcrest; 2 Long-tailed Tit parties; no Coal Tits; no Willow Tits; 19 Blue Tits; 13 Great Tits; no Treecreepers; 1 Jay; 18 Magpies; 251 Jackdaws; 186 Rooks; 8 Crows; 18 Starlings; no House Sparrows; 4 Chaffinches; 4 Greenfinches; no Goldfinches; no Siskins; no Linnets; no Redpolls; no Bullfinches; 4 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers; no unidentified Finch flocks

Also recorded
Mammals:
- no Rabbits
- no Grey Squirrels
- new molehills noted along S side

(Ed Wilson)

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Friday, 29th (06:28 - 08:46) - A dark, cloudy and often wet morning that found me never straying far from the hut on the SW shore. So all numbers affected by limited viewing. And I gave in when little seemed to be happening

Main features of the day were
- no gull roost and very moderate numbers before I left
- Sparrowhawk and Buzzard seen despite the conditions
- Lapwing in front of me was a surprise
- few passerines in general, but many Redwings heard (or the same few flying around a lot) with at least 13 put up by Sparrowhawk

The more detailed notes from the lake
- the Little Grebe still around
- only 1 Great Crested Grebe seen, but views limited
- no Cormorants seen
- Heron heard only
- the 2 resident Swans
- Greylag Goose / Geese heard flying over but not seen: woke the Swans but they seemed unable to locate the noise either
- Canada Goose / Geese also heard but not seen
- 38 Mallard was a good count from my vantage / hiding place
- 3 Pochard only logged today, but not able to see the usual loafing area
- 10 Tufted Duck logged today: when I was last here the loafing birds were mainly at the W end and therefore ought to have been in the count ?
- 2 Aythya sp. ducks flew off at 08:47
- a Sparrowhawk flying to the NE flushed at least 13 Redwings from the NE trees at 08:21
- 2 sighting of Buzzards today
- just the 2 Moorhens on the SW grass logged
- 49 Coots were feeding on the SW grass: I did not count the rest of the lake this morning
- 1 Lapwing was on the grass in front of me by 08:30: no idea where it had come from; and it was unusually bold and did not fly when I left the hut
- gulls today:
- - no Black-headed Gulls roosted. c.40 arrived at 07:44. Next group seemed to be c.30 birds at 07:54, after which numbers built rapidly to c.500 before dispersal started at 07:59. Later count gave me c.550 at 08:20
- - no Lesser Black-backed Gulls roosted either. 12 birds arrived at 07:57. Later count gave me 35 at 08:30; Otherwise 73 logged over-flying. So just 108 for the morning
- - 2 Herring Gulls, both immatures, were specifically identified today and in with the Lesser Black-backed Gulls at 08:30
- - no Yellow-legged Gull-types noted today
- - 1 adult Great Black-backed Gull, briefly at 08:27 today
- no Feral Pigeons
- no Stock Doves
- the first Wood Pigeon was logged at the late time of 08:38. Just 2 birds seen!
- no Grey Wagtail today
- 3 Pied Wagtails not unreasonable in the circumstance
- no Fieldfare logged
- 3 Song Thrushes logged again, with all 3 in song
- I logged at least 28 Redwings calling (though there may have been fewer individuals involved). Then 13 more (?) flushed out of NE area by Sparrowhawk
- no Mistle Thrushes today
- no Goldcrests again
- 10 Magpies logged
- corvid passage started with a small, low-level Jackdaw party at 07:59; a moderate-sized passage of Rooks a few minutes later; and then several groups of Jackdaws, though I feel I missed the main party in the dark, wet and windy conditions. Totals today were 111 Jackdaws and 81 Rooks
- no Starlings seen
- no finches logged!
- only 1 Reed Bunting heard

Checked the street lights I passed-by for insects etc. clinging on in the wind:
- nothing!

My complete log of the birds at the lake today was ******* did NOT walk around and most of the time I was sheltering in the hut********
1 Little Grebe; 1 Great Crested Grebe; no Cormorants; 1 Heron; 2 adult Swans; 1+ Greylag Goose; 1+ Canada Goose; 38 Mallard (?? drakes); 3 Pochard (3 drakes); 10 Tufted Ducks (7 drakes); 2 unidentified Aythya sp. flew off; no Ruddy Ducks; 1 Sparrowhawk; 2 Buzzards; no Kestrels; no Water Rails; 2 Moorhens; >49 Coots; 1 Lapwing; no other waders; >550 Black-headed Gulls; >108 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 2 specifically identified Herring Gulls; no Yellow-legged Gulls; 1 Great Black-backed Gull; no Feral Pigeons; no Stock Doves; 2 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; no Great Spotted Woodpeckers; no Sky Larks; no Meadow Pipits; no Grey Wagtails; 3 Pied Wagtails; 4 Wrens; no Dunnocks; 11 Robins; 6 Blackbirds; no Fieldfares; 3 Song Thrushes; c.40 Redwings; no Mistle Thrushes; no Goldcrests; no Long-tailed Tit parties; no Coal Tits; no Willow Tits; 3 Blue Tits; 1 Great Tit; no Treecreepers; no Jays; 10 Magpies; 111 Jackdaws; 81 Rooks; 6 Crows; no Starlings; no House Sparrows; no Chaffinches; no Greenfinches; no Goldfinches; no Siskins; no Linnets; no Redpolls; no Bullfinches; 1 Reed Bunting; no Yellowhammers; no unidentified Finch flocks

(Ed Wilson)

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Thursday, 28th (15:10 - 16:30) Evening Log - Missed this mornings outing, but did manage to find time to do an evening watch. It was a pleasant evening for a change, with plenty of blue sky and a setting sun. Something we haven't seen for awhile. As usual plenty of gulls on the water when I arrived and a few other bird species logged as well.

Main features of the evening were:
- 2 Yellow-legged Gulls in amongst several hundred Lesser Black-backed Gulls and a dozen or so Herring Gulls.
- at 3:28pm a flock 13 Lapwing appeared to the north of the lake but were very hesitant as to where they were heading. Eventually they decided on the fields to the NE of the lake.
- A Green Woodpecker called briefly from Wesley Wood at 4:09pm. The first few quite awhile.

The more detailed notes from the lake:
- Just the 1 Great Crested Grebe seen this evening just in front of Wesley Reedbeds.
- A single Cormorant circled the lake when I arrived but didn't appear to land. At the time I was just going through Teece gate and when I got lakeside it wasn't to be seen.
- The 2 resident Swans were at the dam end and were rewarded with their wait when the "Bread man" arrived just after 4:00pm.
- Not too many ducks when around. A legacy it appears from yesterdays canoeist perhaps!
- - However the Mallard were still about to be counted and 48 was a good log
- - The Tufted Duck obviously were put off and yesterdays 22 was now only 15, with 7 drakes.
- - Similarly the Pochard were definitely not amused and there was just 1 drake in amongst the Tufted
- 3 Moorhens around the lake with 2 under the dam
- Not sure where the Coots have gone with only 34 logged, a bit different than yesterdays 86!
- gulls this evening:
- - There were several Black-headed Gulls when arrived with 70 logged.
- - The Lesser Black-backed Gulls roost wasn't as big as past ones, but still quite impressive never-the-less with c.700 logged. At 3:55pm c.200 up and left towards Belvide Reservoir to the east. The next big push occurred when a bird scarer went off in the fields to the east and a flock of c.300 Lesser's came over the lake from the west at 4:05pm. The combination of both was enough to send another 300 or more birds off to the east. Having said that a good number of those from the west decided to drop down for a quick wash and brush up, before they left at 4:15pm, leaving just a 100 birds on the water. At 4:20pm these had had enough and joined another large flock of 150 birds on a fly past and leaving the lake devoid of any gulls.
- - Herring Gulls also figured well, with 16 logged when I arrived. These were bolstered with a further 10 birds which arrived at 4:05pm with the c.300 Lesser's.
- - And yes this evening there were 2 Yellow-legged Gulls on the lake. There was one on the water when I arrived, and a second joined the first bird when those Lesser's arrived at 4:05pm. When it arrived it headed straight for the first bird and gave it a good old nip. Really strange, but there it again it might have a been a pair! and this was its greeting. Both were beautifully clean looking birds with slightly darker grey backs and wings than their counterparts. These two were quite distinct, in that the first bird had a very clean, bright white head with a small dark patch just behind the eyes, very reminiscent of Black-headed gulls. The second bird had a clean head but had a distinct black line running diagonally up its breast. Dirt from somewhere that hadn't been washed off from its bathing.
- - A single Great Black-backed Gull graced its presence by flying past and heading east just after 4pm.
- Not many Wood Pigeon about with only 4 logged.
- 2 Grey Wagtails for a change, with one very vocal bird in and around the RICOH grounds
- Lots of Pied Wagtails heading towards the Town Centre with 12 logged.
- Fewer Robins about with 7 logged, which isn't bad considering I was rooted to the spot. One bird was singing from the reedbeds, a bit unusual!
- 7 Blackbirds seen and heard, with a gathering of 3 or 4 birds chattering away around Teece Gate. Possibly because of all the Magpies that had congregated there for the evening roost.
- 2 Song Thrush heard
- 2 Mistle Thrush seen, with one changing its roost at the eleventh hour. Just as I was leaving at 4:30pm a very fast individual came out from the gloom of Wesley Wood and was making tracks to get to the other side of the M54.
- Not many Redwing with only a handful flying overhead.
- Just the 1 Fieldfare heard calling as it flew east.
- 22 Magpies logged with 12 on the dam squabbling over some food left there. A further 6 were in the woods alongside Teece Drive.
- I very nearly missed the main corvid passage which came across the lake at 4:08pm. At the time I was looking at the second Yellow-legged Gull through the scope and fortunately I took my eye away from the scope and just caught them flying north. In total there were 97 Rooks and 160 Jackdaws.
- No Starlings this evening.
- A single Treecreeper heard calling from the alder/birches adjacent to the road on the west bank. The same as yesterday morning. Possible roost here!
- There were a few Finches about with:
- 20 Chaffinches logged this evening with with one flock of 15 that were headed SW across the lake towards the Town Centre at 4:05pm. Possibly the Magistrates where finches have roosted in previous winters.
- 1 Greenfinch logged
- 2 Goldfinches overhead
- 5 Reed Bunting seen diving into Wesley Reedbeds

My complete log of the birds at and around the lake this evening was:
1 Great Crested Grebe; no Little Grebe; 1 Grey Heron; 1 Cormorant; 2 Mute Swans; 48 Mallard; 1 Pochard; 15 Tufted Ducks; 3 Moorhens; 34 Coots; 13 Lapwings; c.100 Black-headed Gulls; c.1100 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 26 Herring Gulls; 2 Yellow-legged Gulls; 1 Great Black-backed Gull; no Buzzards; no Kestrel; 4 Wood Pigeons; no Feral Pigeon; 1 Green Woodpecker; 2 Grey Wagtails; 12 Pied Wagtails; 5 Wrens; 5 Dunnock; 7 Robins; 7 Blackbirds; 2 Song Thrushes; 6 Redwing; 2 Mistle Thrush; 1 Fieldfare; no Goldcrest; 1 Long-tailed Tit party; 4 Blue Tits; 3 Great Tit; 1 Coal Tit; no Willow Tit; 1 Treecreeper; no Jay; 22 Magpies; 160 Jackdaws; 97 Rooks; 2 Crows; no Starlings; no Brambling; 20 Chaffinches; 1 Greenfinches; 2 Goldfinches; no Bullfinches; no Redpoll; no Siskin; 5 Reed Buntings

Also
Mammals:
- 2 Rabbits between Wesley Woods and the west bank.

(Martin Adlam)

Thursday 28th (11:55) - Caspian Gull sighted on the lake. It was first reported on Birdguides today and another sighting was reported on Yahoo Groups Shropshire Birds

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Wednesday 27th (07:45 - 09:40) Morning Log - As I sit here typing out my notes from this mornings lakeside visit, you really do wonder about the British weather. When I arrived it was a cloudy 3c and as I left, the sun had come out with lots of blue sky. And now, well its 2:30pm and its raining. Expect the unexpected. I think I'll have that etched my grave stone when the time comes.

However there is some truth in that, as the unexpected did happen again and again, as my notes will reveal. The first was wave after wave of winter thrushes heading east! Do they know something we don't, or was it the weather front with all that rain that pushed them east. The second was 3 Brambling's and lots of other finches.

So the main features of the morning were:
- 3 Brambling's with a Chaffinch in tow at 09:00am. They came over the northern bank of the lake and headed south along the dam and up & over the M54.
- Chaffinches were also up in numbers with 14 seen and heard from around the lake.
- There I was under a smallish alder in Wesley Wood, when I looked up to see two silent Redpoll looking down at me, until they took flight that is.
- Also 1 Siskin in the same area
- Throughout the morning over 200 Redwing in 10 flocks headed east. The largest flock consisted of c.160 birds.
- Not to be outdone, Fieldfare figured quite high as well, with over 500 birds logged in 13 flocks. The biggest being c.200 seen at 8:30am
- The Woodpigeon flocks seemed to be back for the winter. With nothing about for quite a few weeks all of sudden there were 3 reasonable sized flocks heading north across the fields to east. The first was c.100 at 8:10am, followed by 70 at 08:30am and 50 at 08:35am. The numbers aren't huge, but could be a start for things to come.
- 3 Buzzards seen through the morning with an early bird at 08:00am, also a Kestrel seen at this time which was also heading south.

The more detailed notes from the lake:
- 2 Great Crested Grebes seen this morning. Same as Saturday, one at either end of the lake.
- A single Cormorant attempted to land on the lake at 08:00 but headed off east instead.
- The 2 resident Swans were at the slipway until I arrived at the dam. They came shooting across the lake in the hope I guess that I was the "Bread Man". They were disappointed I'm afraid
- There were plenty of ducks when I arrived, but:
- - there was another unexpected visitor who arrived on the lake in the form of a canoeist, who in the process of launching his canoe put up all the Pochard and most of the Tufted Ducks. Needless to say 50 plus ducks circled the lake before heading off towards the Flash.
- - However the Mallard seemed undeterred and along with 14 skittish birds on the south bank there were 16 others logged from around the lake. I say skittish, they appeared very nervous about grazing on the south bank and if one bird twitched another would run a few steps back to the water. Eventually it came too much for them and despite there not actually being anything to cause alarm, they all legged it back into the water. Sorry but it was funny.
- - 22 very "alert" Tufted Duck decided to take a chance and sit it out at the west end. There were 9 drake and they were very wary of the bright orange "thing" at the other end of the lake.
- 8 Moorhens around the lake with most around the dam
- 86 Coot logged, which is considerably more than from the weekends tally. Of these 58 were grazing on the SW grass bank
- gulls today:
- - There were no gulls on the lake when I arrived and then the first 5 Black-headed Gulls arrived at 7:55. These were followed by flocks of 7, 13, 17, 18 and 11. By 8:40 there were only 6 left
- - Yet again there were no Lesser Black-backed Gulls and despite flocks of 13, 20, 14, 14 and 4 which passed over heading south, only 5 dropped onto the water.
- - What was a surprise was to see 2 Great Black-backed Gulls venture down to the lake at 9:10am. One landed on the water but at exactly the same time the second Buzzard of the morning came down close to them, which was enough to see them head off north west.
- As mentioned above plenty of Wood Pigeon about for a change. The first flock of 100 or more were very fast moving, almost like Racing pigeons, very purposeful.
- A lone Feral Pigeon flew across the lake and headed north
- A single Grey Wagtail this morning calling from the RICOH grounds
- Lots of Pied Wagtails this morning with a grand total of 20 birds seen heading east and northeast.
- Still quite a few Robins about with 8 logged around the lake this morning
- 10 Blackbirds seen
- 5 Song Thrush seen and heard
- Winter Thrushes were mentioned earlier, with quite a few mixed parties. a single Redwing was feeding on the Hawthorns by the Castle Farm Way gate at the northeast end of the lake
- 4 Mistle Thrush singing in Wesley Wood, a tree by the M54 footbridge and two in Teece Drive
- Only 1 Goldcrest heard this morning from the northbank wood.
- 1 Jay heard screeching from Teece Drive
- 8 Magpies logged with most up on the dam
- The southerly corvid passage consisted of 7 Rooks and 12 Jackdaws. Where have they all gone!
- Four parties of Starlings flew over the lake. The first was a great whoosh, as they passed over my head at speed, as I stood on the west bank at 8:19am. There were approx. 50 birds in this flock and they were in a real hurry to get to Shifnal. The second party of 23 (8:21am) were in hot pursuit and the others were two single birds at 8:40 and 9:03 which were also on the same flight path
- A single Treecreeper heard calling from the alder/birches adjacent to the road on the west bank.
- Finches were fairly plentiful again
- 3 Brambling's as noted above
- 14 Chaffinches logged with one flock consisting of 3 birds. Most were seen and heard on the north bank
- 13 Greenfinches was a good number with two flocks of 4 and 6 logged.
- 6 Goldfinches around Teece Drive and RICOH grounds
- 3 Bullfinches heard with one female spotted in Wesley Woods
- 2 Redpoll in Wesley Wood
- 1 Siskin that flew up from Wesley wood and into the RICOH grounds at 9:35am.
- Just 3 Reed Bunting heard calling from Wesley Reedbeds with one taking off at 8:38am

My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was:
2 Great Crested Grebe; no Little Grebe; 1 Cormorant; 2 Mute Swans; 30 Mallard; no count made Pochard; 22 (+ many in flight) Tufted Ducks; 8 Moorhens; 86 Coots; 71 Black-headed Gulls; 65 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 2 Great Black-backed Gulls; 3 Buzzards; 1 Kestrel; c.230 Wood Pigeons; 1 Feral Pigeon; 1 Grey Wagtail; 20 Pied Wagtails; 11 Wrens; 5 Dunnock; 8 Robins; 10 Blackbirds; 5 Song Thrushes; c.200 Redwing; 4 Mistle Thrush; c.500 Fieldfare; 1 Goldcrest; 1 Long-tailed Tit party; 7 Blue Tits; 8 Great Tit; no Coal Tit; 1 Willow Tit; 1 Treecreeper; 1 Jay; 8 Magpies; 12 Jackdaws; 7 Rooks; 2 Crows; 75 Starlings; 3 Brambling; 14 Chaffinches; 13 Greenfinches; 6 Goldfinches; 3 Bullfinches; 2 Redpoll; 1 Siskin; 3 Reed Buntings

Also
Mammals:
- A Rabbit in the Celestica grounds

(Martin Adlam)

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Sunday 24th (08:00 - 09:30) Morning Log - Another chilly start to the day with a slight easterly breeze that made it like -3c and not 3c.. The low cloud was still present and when a flock of Lesser Black-backed Gulls circled overhead you could see them disappear and reappear at probably only 200ft above me.

Main features of the morning were:
- A Little Grebe just off the north bank
- 3 Cormorants that didn't land but headed north and disappeared very quickly into the murky conditions.
- A lot of Chaffinches with most of them seen in Wesley Wood and along the northbank.

The more detailed notes from the lake:
- 2 Great Crested Grebes seen this morning. Same as yesterday, one at either end of the lake.
- The 2 resident Swans were at the slipway until the "Bread man" arrived at the dam.
- ducks
- - Plenty of Mallard with 50 logged today, plus a pair in courtship with plenty of head bobbing.
- - 41 Pochard logged this morning with 23 drake
- - 38 Tufted Duck was up on yesterday's 24. 18 drake
- 12 Moorhens around the lake with a majority of them on the dam
- 68 Coot logged, with 50 on the SW grass embankment close to the slipway.
- gulls today:
- - Only a handful of Black-headed Gulls on the lake, with just 50 logged. As yesterday they had all but gone by 9:30
- - There were even less Lesser Black-backed Gulls with only 2 on the water. Overhead c.200 flew in at 8:15am but didn't stay. Instead they split up into two groups with one lot heading east and the other circling overhead and drifting west.
- Very few Wood Pigeon about with only 4 seen
- A lone Feral Pigeon flew across the lake and headed north at 08:30am
- A single Grey Wagtail this morning calling from the Celestica grounds
- Very few Pied Wagtails again with just 8 logged.
- Plenty of Robins this morning with 10 logged around the lake.
- 6 Blackbirds seen
- 3 Song Thrush seen and heard
- There were three small parties of Redwing overhead including one that had 2 Fieldfare in tow.
- 1 Mistle Thrush singing in Wesley Wood and another sitting in a tree by the SW footbridge over the M54
- 2 Goldcrest seen feeding and calling by the wide bridge on the northbank.
- 8 Magpies logged with 6 just behind the Yacht Club
- The southerly corvid passage consisted of 6 Rooks and a few Jackdaws. The low cloud made it impossible to see any more, though I could hear them overhead.
- 4 Starlings came up from the direction of the Northbank reedbeds and headed S at 8:20am and then a single bird flew east across the lake at 8:25am
- Finches were fairly plentiful
- 21 Chaffinches logged with one flock consisting of 5 birds. Most were seen and heard on the north bank
- 6 Greenfinches was slightly down on yesterday
- 3 Goldfinches around Teece Drive again
- 3 Bullfinches by the wide bridge on the north bank. 1 male and 2 females
- A Redpoll was heard calling as it flew over the dam in a southerly direction.
- 4 Reed Bunting heard calling from Wesley Reedbeds

My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was:
2 Great Crested Grebe; 1 Little Grebe; 3 Cormorants; 2 Mute Swans; 50 Mallard; 41 Pochard; 38 Tufted Ducks; 12 Moorhens; 68 Coots; 50 Black-headed Gulls; c.220 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 2 Wood Pigeons; 1 Feral Pigeon; 1 Grey Wagtail; 8 Pied Wagtails; 10 Wrens; 3 Dunnock; 10 Robins; 6 Blackbirds; 3 Song Thrushes; 8 Redwing; 2 Mistle Thrush; 2 Fieldfare; 2 Goldcrest; 1 Long-tailed Tit party; 7 Blue Tits; 5 Great Tit; 1 Coal Tit; no Treecreeper's; 8 Magpies; 5 Jackdaws; 6 Rooks; 2 Crows; 5 Starlings; 21 Chaffinches; 6 Greenfinches; 3 Goldfinches; 3 Bullfinches; 1 Redpoll; 4 Reed Buntings

Also
Mammals:
- Fresh mole hills
- 2 Grey Squirrels

(Martin Adlam)

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Saturday 23rd (08:15 - 09:30) Morning Log - Late start this morning. Decided I would finish off that last bit of grocery shopping this morning, but had underestimated the amount of people that would be following suit. My local supermarket was packed at 7:15am, surprised I managed to get to the lake when I did.

The weather when I arrived was pretty dire. There wasn't any fog, but the low cloud and lack of sun made it very murky.

Main features of the morning were:
- Good view of a Water Rail in Wesley Brook.
- A Grey Heron swallowing a decent sized fish
- 3 Cormorants working the lake from east to west
- A pair of Treecreeper's in Wesley Wood which was good to see

The more detailed notes from the lake:
- 2 Great Crested Grebes seen this morning. One at either end of the lake.
- 1 Heron patrolling the NE bank in amongst the reeds. At 08:45 it made a stab at a fish, turned it in its bill before swallowing it head first. It was either a Roach or Perch, unfortunately the light was too poor to see if it had stripes (Perch)
- The 2 resident Swans were at the slipway
- There were no Canada Geese this morning
- ducks
- - Still plenty of Mallard with 49 logged.
- - 32 Pochard logged this morning with 19 drake
- - 24 Tufted Duck located in 4 different areas of the lake, with 15 drake
- I had a good view of a Water Rail in Wesley Brook, whilst I was standing on the bridge looking downstream at 9:00am. There is a yellow plastic boon, which the River Authority left behind after a fuel spillage, and just behind this the Water Rail was feeding.
- A Kestrel was sitting on the wires just the other side of Castle Farm Way.
- 9 Moorhens around the lake with 2 in Wesley Brook.
- 64 Coot logged, with 40 on the SW grass embankment close to the slipway.
- gulls today:
- - There were only c.100 Black-headed Gulls when I arrived and by the time I left there were just a handful.
- - The Lesser Black-backed Gulls were a lot fewer with only 8 on the water and by 8:40 they took off and headed north.
- - No Herring Gulls
- - No Great Black-backed Gulls
- A few more Wood Pigeon logged with two in "song". I guess "Woodies" sing! though their cooing is not often referred to as singing or is it.
- No Grey Wagtail. Surprisingly enough!
- Not many Pied Wagtails I guess I missed the main parties as I was late in arriving.
- The lack of Robins from last night was more than doubled this morning with 9 heard and seen around the lake.
- 7 Blackbirds with many seen feeding.
- Only 1 Song Thrush heard
- 1 Redwing was heard when I arrived and at 9:05am 22 flew east along the north bank.
- 1 Mistle Thrush singing in Wesley Wood
- Just the 1 Goldcrest heard in Wesley Wood
- 9 Magpies logged with 5 sitting in the tall trees just behind the shelter on the SW bank.
- The southerly corvid passage consisted of 5 Rooks and 6 Jackdaws. The low cloud made it impossible to see any more
- No Jays heard this morning
- Finches were fairly plentiful
- 8 Chaffinches logged with most along the north bank
- 8 Greenfinches in one flock headed east along the north bank at 9:00am
- 3 Goldfinches around Teece Drive
- 4 Bullfinches in Wesley Wood. There were 2 males, a hen and one other calling but not seen.
- No Redpoll
- Just 1 Reed Bunting heard calling from Wesley Reedbeds

My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was:
2 Great Crested Grebe; 3 Cormorants; 1 Heron; 2 Mute Swans; no Canada Geese; 49 Mallard; 32 Pochard; 24 Tufted Ducks; 1 Kestrel; 1 Water Rail; 9 Moorhens; 64 Coots; c.100 Black-headed Gulls; 8 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; no Herring Gulls; no Great Black-backed Gulls; 20 Wood Pigeons; no Grey Wagtail; 3 Pied Wagtails; 8 Wrens; 4 Dunnock; 9 Robins; 7 Blackbirds; 1 Song Thrushes; 23 Redwing; 1 Mistle Thrush; 1 Goldcrest; 1 Long-tailed Tit party; 5 Blue Tits; 9 Great Tit; 1 Coal Tit; 2 Treecreeper's; no Jay; 8 Magpies; 6 Jackdaws; 5 Rooks; 4 Crows; no Starlings; 8 Chaffinches; 8 Greenfinches; 3 Goldfinches; 4 Bullfinches; no Redpoll; 1 Reed Buntings

Also
Mammals:
- Fresh mole hills

(Martin Adlam)

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Friday, 22nd (15:00 - 16:20) Evening Log - Same time and same viewpoint for this evenings log. Still chilly at 5 degrees centigrade but at least the fog was gone, that is until I left and it started to drop once again.

When I arrived the lake was covered in gulls and also on the SW grass bank.

Main features of the evening were:
- Excellent Gull roost, with two Great Black-backed Gulls. 1 Adult on the water and an immature on the SW grass bank
- Another good passage of Pied Wagtails heading towards the Town Centre, plus two that headed for Celestica at 3:30pm and one individual that was at quite a height and heading east across the lake!
- Only the one Redpoll this evening, which was heading SW.

The more detailed notes from the lake:
- just the 1 Great Crested Grebe seen again this evening
- 2 Heron came gliding in at 3:40pm and put all the gulls up. There was such a melee I didn't see where they landed. Possibly they didn't and were on their way towards Bayliss's pools.
- The 2 resident Swans were present throughout
- There were 26 Canada Geese on the SW grass bank grazing alongside the Coot.
- I didn't do a comprehensive duck count, as I couldn't see into the NE Bay
- - There were quite a few Mallard along the dam with at least 41 logged
- - 31 Pochard were logged again with 22 drake
- - 33 Tufted Duck logged again this evening with 23 drakes.
- 11 Moorhens with 9 in the water just below the dam.
- 58 Coot logged, with 52 on the SW grass embankment close to the slipway. There were possibly more in the NE Bay
- gulls today:
- - There were a good number of Black-headed Gulls when I arrived with c.500 logged. By 4:11pm they had all gone.
- - The lake was covered in roosting Lesser Black-backed Gulls with c.3000 on the water and 200 on the SW grass bank. Throughout the next hour smaller groups arrived and then slowly but surely they all left and by 4:11pm they had all gone. The largest group to leave was c.2500 when the two Grey Herons arrived, the Lesser's split up with most heading east towards Belvide Reservoir. After this, small groups broke away until at 4:11pm when the last 35 birds left and headed north.
- - In amongst the Lesser's there were 12 Herring Gulls which was quite low considering their were 31 on Wednesday.
- - Good to see 2 Great Black-backed Gulls, with an immature on the SW grass bank and an adult on the water.
- Just 2 Wood Pigeon logged.
- 2 Grey Wagtail, with one coming into roost at 16:11.
- Plenty of Pied Wagtails this evening with a steady stream of birds heading towards the direction of the Town Centre. Apart from that is, the first two, which were seen at 3:30pm heading towards Celestica. This is not the first time they've roosted here, but with Celestica closing this Christmas, I guess they will have to find another roost. The rest of the birds seen overhead followed the norm and 12 were recorded. Having said that there was one that headed east at height at 3:50pm. Obviously knew where he was going!
- Whether the Robins have moved on I'm not sure, but only 3 were heard and only one of those was singing.
- 6 Blackbirds again
- Only 3 Song Thrushes heard
- 1 Redwing this evening seen flying along the north bank in an easterly direction.
- 2 Goldcrest calling along the RICOH hedge
- 13 Magpies logged with quite a few on the dam and 5 roosting at Teece Drive
- corvid passage consisted of 15 Rooks and no Jackdaws, not even one heard. The fog was probably the reason for lack of corvids. Even though it wasn't at ground level there was was quite a bit of low cloud.
- 1 Jay heard screeching in the RICOH grounds.
- 1 Redpoll seen at 3:40pm heading SW
- Fewer Chaffinches this evening with only 4 logged
- 2 Greenfinches logged
- Just 3 Reed Buntings roosting in Wesley Reedbeds tonight.

My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was:
1 Great Crested Grebe; 2 Heron; 2 Mute Swans; 26 Canada Geese; 41 Mallard; 31 Pochard; 33 Tufted Ducks; 11 Moorhens; 58 Coots; c.500 Black-headed Gulls; c.3200 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 12 Herring Gulls; 2 Great Black-backed Gulls; 2 Wood Pigeons; 2 Grey Wagtail; 15 Pied Wagtails; 4 Wrens; 1 Dunnock; 3 Robins; 6 Blackbirds; 3 Song Thrushes; 1 Redwing; 2 Goldcrests; 1 Long-tailed Tit party; 2 Blue Tits; 4 Great Tit; 1 Jay; 13 Magpies; no Jackdaws; 15 Rooks; 2 Crows; no Starlings; 4 Chaffinches; 2 Greenfinches; 2 Goldfinches; 1 Redpoll; 3 Reed Buntings

(Martin Adlam)

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Thursday, 21st (Around 3.00pm) Afternoon log - Viewed from the top of the dam and towards the jetty.  So foggy only a partial view.

Huge gull flock on the water, vanishing into the gloom.  Certainly several hundred Black-headed Gulls and Lesser Black-backed Gulls.

Also seen:
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- 2 adult Mute Swans seen. 
- 4 Canada Geese
- At least 32 Pochard
- over 50 Mallard
- 15 Tufted Duck
- 5 Moorhen
- c.50 Coot

Left Hollinswood in bright sunshine - surprised to see the lake so densely foggy - Could have been much more hidden in the gloom?

(Malcolm Thompson)

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Wednesday, 20th (15:00 - 16:20) Evening Log - Despite the cool 4 degrees centigrade the weather wasn't that bad. The fog, that had lingered for much of the day, had lifted and I had clear view across the lake.

As in all my evening visits of late, I stood on the on the road on the west bank, which apart from giving me a good view across the lake, was also a lot quieter without the traffic behind you if you were in the Castle Farm Way layby.

Main features of the day were:
- Excellent Gull roost, with one Yellow-legged Gull present
- A good passage of Pied Wagtails heading towards the Town Centre!
- Not many finches but 2 Redpoll flying over were a bonus

The more detailed notes from the lake:
- just the 1 Great Crested Grebe seen this evening
- no Cormorants
- 1 Heron on the northbank
- The 2 resident Swans were present throughout
- There were 4 Canada Geese on the SW grass bank grazing alongside the Coot.
- A single Greylag Goose flew east across the lake at 4:05pm
- I didn't do a comprehensive duck count, as I couldn't see into the NE Bay
- - There were quite a few Mallard along the dam
- - 31 Pochard were logged
- - 33 Tufted Duck logged this evening. 23 drakes.
- No Buzzard this evening
- 5 Moorhens with just 4 on top of the overflow at the dam.
- 63 Coot logged, with 51 on the SW grass embankment close to the slipway. There were possibly more in the NE Bay
- gulls today:
- - There were a good number of Black-headed Gulls when I arrived with c.400 logged. By 4:16pm they had all gone.
- - The lake was covered in roosting Lesser Black-backed Gulls with c.2500. Throughout the next hour a further 300 birds arrived and then slowly but surely they all left and by 16:20 they had all gone.
--------At 3:42pm c.300 headed N and c.400 E.
--------At 3:45 c300 headed E and 200 N.
--------At 3:55pm 80 flew E
--------At 3:58 c.500 headed E
--------At 4:11 100 flew E
--------At 4:15pm c.200 flew E
and the last remaining birds flew East at 4:20pm
- - With so many Lesser's it wasn't a surprise to find 31 Herring Gulls in amongst them
- - and 1 Yellow-legged Gull
- - what was surprising was not finding a Great Black-backed Gull
- No Feral Pigeon
- No Stock Doves logged.
- Just 2 Wood Pigeon logged.
- No Collared Dove
- No Grey Wagtail, must be a first as it is most unusual not to hear at least one
- Plenty of Pied Wagtails this evening with a steady stream of birds heading towards the direction of the Town Centre. First one seen was at 15:30 and then the rest up until I left at 4:20pm In total 18 were logged.
- A few Robins singing around the west end with 5 heard.
- 6 Blackbirds was pretty good as I was just standing in one location
- No Fieldfare logged
- 4 Song Thrushes heard
- No Redwings this evening.
- No Mistle Thrushes
- 1 Goldcrest calling along the RICOH hedge
- No Ravens
- 10 Magpies logged with quite a few on the dam
- corvid passage consisted of one Jackdaw at 3:40pm, followed by one large flock of c.150 birds at 4:02pm In amongst these were 40 Rook
- 1 Jay heard screeching in the RICOH grounds.
- No Starlings this evening
- A few Chaffinches around with 7 logged
- 2 Greenfinches logged
- 7 Reed Buntings roosting in wesley Reedbeds tonight

My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was:
1 Great Crested Grebes; no Cormorants; 1 Heron; 2 adult Swans; 1 Greylag Goose; 4 Canada Geese; ? Mallard; 31 Pochard; 33 Tufted Ducks (23 drakes); no Buzzard; 5 Moorhens; 63 Coots; c.400 Black-headed Gulls; c.2800 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 31 Herring Gulls; 1 Yellow-legged Gull; no Great Black-backed Gulls; no Feral Pigeons; no Stock Doves; 2 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Dove; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; no Great Spotted Woodpeckers; no Sky Larks; no Meadow Pipits; no Grey Wagtail; 18 Pied Wagtails; 4 Wrens; 4 Dunnocks; 5 Robins; 6 Blackbirds; no Fieldfare's; 4 Song Thrushes; no Redwings; no Mistle Thrushes; 1 Goldcrests; 1 Long-tailed Tit party; no Coal Tit; no Willow Tits; 2 Blue Tits; 1 Great Tit; no Treecreeper's; 1 Jay; 10 Magpies; c.150 Jackdaws; 40 Rooks; 2 Crows; no Starlings; 7 Chaffinches; 2 Greenfinches; no Goldfinches; no Siskin's; no Linnets; 2 Redpoll's; no Bullfinches; 7 Reed Buntings

Also recorded
Mammals:
- 1 Grey Squirrel

(Martin Adlam)

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Sunday, 17th (07:00 - 09:30) - The temperature when I arrived was 6 degrees centigrade, but dropped to 4 degrees when I left. Around the lake there were a few sheltered areas where it was even colder with pockets of frost. A few clouds drifted over but despite a few drops of rain when I arrived it remained dry throughout.

Like yesterday evening I perched myself on the road on the west bank, which gave me a great advantage point to watch the corvids heading south.

Main features of the day were:
- 2 Swans on the lake and 3 fly-over's.
- Just the 1 Buzzard seen at 8:12
- A pair of Ravens to the north.
- Very few gulls!
- reasonable number of finches including 2 Redpoll flying over the SE corner

The more detailed notes from the lake:
- just 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 2 Cormorants flew over the lake at 08:30 but didn't land
- 2 Herons on the northeast bank, patrolling the reedbeds.
- The 2 resident Swans almost had 2 Adults and a juvenile joining them at 09:00, but they thought better of it and headed towards the Flash.
- no geese today
- 24 Mallard was a bit of a surprise. the numbers seemed to be dropping for some reason.
- 18 Pochard logged today. 11 drakes.
- 41Tufted Duck logged today. 29 drakes.
- just 1 sighting of a Buzzard today, at 7:46. Where it came from is a mystery but it glided over the lake from the direction of the Industrial park south of the M54.
- Only 5 Moorhens with just 2 on the dam.
- 72 Coots logged today, with 59 on the SW grass embankment close to the slipway.
- gulls today:
- - no Black-headed Gulls roosted, but a c.50 arrived at 07:00, followed by c.250 at 07:20. By 08:10 they had all gone.
- - no Lesser Black-backed Gulls roosted either. After a lone bird arrived at 08:03 and landed on the lake, there was a small passage of birds flying both South (27 birds) and West (28 birds). At 08:00 the loner had gone.
- - There were no Herring Gulls logged.
- - no Yellow-legged Gull-types noted today
- - no Great Black-backed Gulls today
- 5 Feral Pigeons seen individually
- No Stock Doves logged.
- Very few Wood Pigeon logged, with just small parties overhead of 2, 3, 4, 13 and 7
- A Collared Dove was a pleasant surprise at 7:25. I don't think I've seen one here before. I know Ed has, but still an interesting bird to note.
- 1 Grey Wagtail appeared to have roosted in Wesley Reedbeds.
- Not many Pied Wagtails heard this morning, with the first being logged heading west a 7:46. Others followed but only 5 logged in total
- Still plenty of Robins singing around the lake with 17 logged.
- Didn't see many Blackbirds with only 8 logged
- 35 Fieldfare were in a single party flying south across the dam.
- A few Song Thrushes around the lake with 5 logged.
- As soon as I arrived you hear Redwings calling from all over the lake. It wasn't until the light was better that I could physically see any. The first party heading south was 4 and then at 7:45 15 were seen heading in the sam direction.
- 2 Mistle Thrushes today with one seen at the W end while another was singing in the Celestica grounds
- no Goldcrests this morning
- A pair of Ravens just clipped the lake at the east end, before they landed in one of the oak trees on top of the hill, to the north of the lake.
- 8 Magpies logged
- corvid passage consisted of 1 small flock of Jackdaws at 7:35 with 8 birds, then a steady flow from 7:55 onwards with several flocks consisting of 8, 31, 80, 46, 5, 8, 18 and 12 birds. Rooks didn't feature until 7:40 when unusually 3 birds were seen heading north. Whether they met up with the main parties heading south at 7:45 we'll never know but there were several parties heading south after this time, with a mixed flock of 12 Rooks mixed in with 8 Jackdaw. After this the flocks were separated and birds logged were 5, 85, 10, 10, 8 and 14. Totals today were 216 Jackdaws and 132 Rooks.
- A pair of Jays heard screeching in the RICOH grounds.
- 2 Starlings were seen coming out of the reedbeds on the northbank at 08:00am and heading south.
- Plenty of Chaffinches around with most along the hedgerows to the northeast and Wesley Woods in the NW
- 7 Reed Buntings seen leaving the Wesley Reedbeds. The first at 7:30am

My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was:
2 Great Crested Grebes; 2 Cormorants; 2 Herons; 4 adult Swans, 1 Juvenile; no Greylag Geese; no Canada Geese; 24 Mallard; 18 Pochard (11 drakes); 41 Tufted Ducks (29 drakes); 1 Buzzard; 4 Moorhens; 72 Coots; c.300 Black-headed Gulls; 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 80 overhead; no Herring Gulls; no Yellow-legged Gulls; no Great Black-backed Gulls; 5 Feral Pigeons; no Stock Doves; 29 Wood Pigeons; 1 Collared Dove; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; no Great Spotted Woodpeckers; no Sky Larks; no Meadow Pipits; 1 Grey Wagtail; 5 Pied Wagtails; 6 Wrens; 4 Dunnocks; 17 Robins; 8 Blackbirds; 35 Fieldfare's; 5 Song Thrushes; 19 Redwings; 2 Mistle Thrushes; no Goldcrests; 1 Long-tailed Tit party; no Coal Tit; no Willow Tits; 4 Blue Tits; 4 Great Tits; no Treecreeper's; 2 Jays; 8 Magpies; 216 Jackdaws; 132 Rooks; 5 Crows; 2 Starlings; 19 Chaffinches; 11 Greenfinches; 2 Goldfinches; no Siskin's; no Linnets; 2 Redpoll's; no Bullfinches; 7 Reed Buntings

Also recorded
Mammals:
- 2 Grey Squirrels
- new molehills noted

(Martin Adlam)

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Saturday, 16th (3:00pm - 4:15pm) Evening Log - Apart from an isolated shower just before I arrived, the remainder of the evening remained cloud free, which probably explained why the temperature dropped dramatically. By the time I left it was down to 4 degrees Centigrade. Pretty chilly.

I decided to give the west bank a go again, and look across the lake towards the dam. It was a bit disappointing to see very few gulls on the water, with most being Black-headed Gulls, however you do get a great view of other species coming into roost from here.

Main features of the evening were:
- a Water Rail squealing from Wesley Reedbeds
- a single Great Black-backed Gull
- a fairly large party of Pied Wagtails roosting in the Celestica grounds. Most odd!

The more detailed notes from the lake:
- 3 Great Crested Grebes seen
- 2 Cormorant at the dam end when I arrived. They took off once together and came down towards the west end for 10 minutes or so, before eventually taking off at 3:21pm and disappearing southeast towards Bayliss's Pools.
- 1 Heron came in from the northeast and landed on a half submerged branch next to the sailing clubs hut on the waters edge.
- the resident Swans were feeding alongside the ducks and coots up by the overflow.
- 4 Canada Geese were spotted flying east just south of the M54
- Because of my location it was never going to be easy to do a proper duck count, so the figures here probably don't reflect the true count.
- From what I could see there were 34 Mallard around the lake with most feeding on bread thrown into the water by the overflow
- Only 7 Pochard logged and they all flew down to west end around 4:00pm
- 29 Tufted Duck sighted, I'm sure there were plenty more.
- A Water Rail was heard squealing in the Wesley Reedbeds at 3:54pm
- 9 Moorhens was a pretty good count with most around the dam
- 70 Coots logged with 53 on the SW grass bank
- gulls today:
- - When I arrived there were c.220 Black-headed Gulls roosting, but as per the norm smaller parties arrived and left, and then by 4:0pm there was nothing on the water.
- - It was exactly the same with the Lesser Black-backed Gulls . When I arrived there were 70 on the water, at 3:30pm there were only 35 left and despite a party of 70 flying overhead and a brief drop in by 25 of them, they had all left by 4:00pm. Unusually quite a few were heading towards Chelmarsh and not Belvide Reservoir.
- - There were at least 2 Herring Gulls, which appeared on the lake when the second wave of Lesser's came in. But they also left just before 4:00pm
- - a single Great Black-backed Gull appeared from nowhere. I must have overlooked it on the water, but it was up and over the trees on the northbank at 3:55pm
- there were one or two Wood Pigeon about but no significant numbers.
- There was 1 Grey Wagtail seen on the dam when I arrived and then two more breezed in at 3:45pm and started feeding alongside the slipway. Twenty minutes later another bird came in from the west.
- Pied Wagtails. Single birds started flying overhead towards the Town Centre at 3:40pm and then an exceptional party of 11 birds came in from the west, flew along the northbank and dropped into the Celestica grounds at around 4:10pm.
- There were a few Robins singing when I arrived and even when I left.
- Only 2 Blackbirds seen
- No Fieldfare this evening
- 2 Song Thrushes seen and heard along the RICH/Lake hedgerow
- 1 Redwing seen ducking down into Wesley Wood at 3:10pm
- No Mistle Thrushes seen or heard
- 1 Goldcrests in Wesley Wood
- A few tits around with 2 Blue Tits, 2 Great Tits and a Willow Tit heard at exactly the same spot I saw it last weekend.
- In total I logged 12 Magpies with 5 appearing to be roosting by the Teece Drive gate.
- corvid passage started at 3:30pm with 2 Jackdaw, but things didn't really get started until 15 minutes later when the main parties came streaming over. Counts of 8, 30, 2, 16, 66, 4, 2, 8 and finally 70 (at 4:10pm) saw all the Jackdaws pass over heading north. Similarly but not in such large numbers the Rooks came over in smaller numbers with 5, 2, 2, 3, 1, 6, 21, 8 and 5 logged. Totals then Jackdaw 208 and 53 Rook.
- 2 Jays in the RICOH grounds were making an awful din at around 3:30pm
- 3 individual Starlings were seen. i was seen at 3:40pm heading east another, possibly the same bird flew west at 3:48pm and at 4:00pm another circled the Wesley Reedbeds for a short while before disappearing west.
- finches
- - There were a few Chaffinches around with 5 in the bushes just alongside Wesley brook.
- - I managed to log 5 Greenfinches but these were all single birds heading west along the northbank
- - a pair of Goldfinches also logged heading west.
- Not so many Reed Buntings roosting tonight but never-the-less 5 wasn't bad.

My complete log of the birds at and around the lake this evening was:
3 Great Crested Grebes; 2 Cormorants; 1 Heron; 2 Mute Swans; 4 Canada Geese; 34 Mallard; 7 Pochard; 29 Tufted Ducks; 1 Water Rail; 9 Moorhens; 70 Coots; c.220 Black-headed Gulls; 104 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 2 Herring Gulls; 1 Great Black-backed Gull; 6 Wood Pigeons; 4 Grey Wagtail; 20 Pied Wagtails; 4 Wrens; 3 Dunnocks; 4 Robins; 2 Blackbirds; 2 Song Thrushes; 1 Redwings; 1 Goldcrests; 1 Long-tailed Tit heard; 1 Willow Tits; 2 Blue Tits; 2 Great Tits; 1 Treecreeper's; 2 Jays; 12 Magpies; 208 Jackdaws; 53 Rooks; 1 Crows; 2 Starlings; 5 Chaffinches; 5 Greenfinches; 2 Goldfinches; 5 Reed Buntings;

Also recorded
Mammals:
- 1 Brown Rat by Teece Drive Gate.

(Martin Adlam)

16th, Saturday (06:30 - 10:30) Morning Log - The onset of the cold weather seemed to have already moved some birds around.

Highlight was yet another 'one that got away' - I flushed a medium-sized bird out of the grass at the W end at 06:30. Never saw a thing, but it sounded interesting, though did not call. If I had to take a shot in the dark (well it was!) I would say Woodcock, but only because I cannot think what else might roost in the grass

Other notes from the morning (bit busy with Christmas and it will take a few days to get the full logs up-to-date)
- at least 4 Cormorants
- the returning Swans' rings read today - R17; and 7AUL
- party of 4 Greylag and 18 Canada Geese arrived from the SE
- 9 Pochard and 46 Tufted Duck on the lake, but no fewer than 26 Aythya-type ducks seen flying off before 07:30 while it was too dark to identify them
- Sparrowhawk over pre-dawn
- at least 5 Buzzards in / over trees and fields to the E / SE
- no gull roost last night but up to c.900 Black-headed Gulls arrived; c.750 Lesser Black-backed Gulls flew S or W over the lake, but rather few on the lake - too much disturbance on a Saturday? lack of operational tip?
- several large parties of Wood Pigeons both to E & W gave me almost 500 birds for the day
- good numbers of winter thrushes over the fields to the E - I logged c.190 Fieldfare and c.120 Redwings
- big passage of corvids as well, especially Jackdaws: logged 561 Jackdaws and 149 Rooks

A full report later

(Ed Wilson)

Top

Friday, 15th (06:24 - 10:15) - Cloudy and dull with very few brighter bits. Light drizzle did not come to anything. Light W wind fading away before increasing from WSW. Felt fresher, though still mild.

I spent much of the time along the S side where the view is different and passerines are in shorter supply, but gave me better views to the E and NW.

Main features of the day were:
- no Swans to start with, but 2 flew in
- very early Buzzard
- good number of gulls after disappointing start: but fewer than yesterday
- reasonable number of finches again

The more detailed notes from the lake:
- the Little Grebe not seen today
- the 2 Great Crested Grebes again
- 5 Cormorant sightings with 2 at the lake: 2 flew S to E 08:35; and 1 flew W to N; then a juvenile by 09:05; and an adult by 09:20 from the N
- 3 Herons seen today: first seen at 07:19 there were singles at each end of the lake at 09:10. And another seen flying S over Ward's Rough
- there were no Swans until 2 adults arrived from the E at 08:09. Unable to get close-enough to read any rings to check whether they were the AWOL 'residents'
- no geese again today
- 42 Mallard again today, but I made it 24 drakes today (25 yesterday!): the off-dam count at 06:45 gave me 34 birds (21 drakes), but a later sweep count at 09:20 produced the 42 birds
- 25 Pochard logged today. 17 drakes. See also Aythya sp. ducks below
- 41Tufted Duck logged today. 23 drakes. See also Aythya sp. ducks below
- c.15 Aythya sp. ducks flew off: a party of c.12 small ducks in the middle of the water at 06:45 had gone when I next looked a few seconds later! 2 left to the W by 07:49; and another at 07:51
- a Sparrowhawk flying S over the lake being pursued by a small posse of Jackdaws at 08:08
- just 1 sighting of a Buzzard today, flew low over my head while it was still very dark at 07:24
- just 7 Moorhens with just 4 of these along the dam
- 64 Coots logged today, but lots of disturbance of the birds off the SW grass this morning made them hard to see and count
- gulls today:
- - no Black-headed Gulls roosted. c.50 arrived at 07:34, but very few more joined this group, with only c.85 by 08:15 and c.200 by 08:25. Later counts gave me c.500 at 08:40; c.320 at 09:00; and c.450 at 10:00
- - no Lesser Black-backed Gulls roosted either. After a lone bird at 08:05 there was a large passage of birds flying both W to the N and S to the E. I logged at least 1220 birds before 09:05 when a few juvenile birds were the first to settle on the lake. Thereafter there was a steady arrival with c.280 by 09:15, but there were only c.230 at 10:00 after a large party of some 200 birds flying N had 'sucked' many birds off the water. So 1700 for the morning
- - 7 Herring Gulls, at least, were specifically identified today. An immature arrived at 08:47 - again ahead of any Lesser Black-backed Gulls. A second by 09:10. At 09:25 there were 3 adults and 3 immature's; while at 10:00 there seemed to be just 4 immature's. I suspect in practice that these immature's were not all the same birds, but impossible to be certain
- - no Yellow-legged Gull-types noted today
- - no Great Black-backed Gulls today
- no Feral Pigeons
- 6 Stock Doves were on the wires to the NE at 08:15 and stayed there for at least 20 minutes!
- the first Wood Pigeon was logged at 08:18. No parties today. 23 singles were logged flying E. 14 logged flying W. 2 birds were seen on the wires to the E. And 8 were seen in the trees and bushes around the lake. Thus the day count was therefore 47 birds
- 1 Grey Wagtail only today heard flying off from the SW area at 07:44
- only 3 Pied Wagtails heard this morning: probably a reflection of my position rather than a genuine reduction
- large number of Robins logged today - 35!
- also large number of Blackbirds - 30 at least
- c.30 Fieldfare were in a single party flying W to the N at 08:14
- 3 Song Thrushes logged again, and again 2 in song, though one of these sang more continually today
- all the 24 Redwings logged were bird heard calling before light: exactly how many birds were involved is hard to say
- 2 Mistle Thrushes today with one seen at the W end while another was singing distantly
- no Goldcrests again
- 16 Magpies logged was a more usual number. The small roost near the Teece Drive gate protested at my arrival in the dark again
- corvid passage consisted of an early mixed party of c.110 Jackdaws and c.30 Rooks very high overhead at 07:52; and thereafter mainly small groups with many more Rooks today. But c.50 birds far to the E at 07:58 seemed to be Rooks: in the dark conditions it is possible they were gulls(!), but the flock was the wrong 'shape' for a flight of gulls and also swirled around a bit - not something that the gulls were doing today. Totals today were 259 Jackdaws and 232 Rooks.
- no Starlings seen
- yesterday's House Sparrows not seen today
- another good count of Chaffinches today, with several different small parties along the N side
- 3 Reed Buntings heard

Checked any street lights I passed-by for insects etc. as usual
- nothing

My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was:
no Little Grebes; 2 Great Crested Grebes; 5 Cormorants; 3 Herons; 2 adult Swans; no Greylag Geese; no Canada Geese; 42 Mallard (24 drakes); 25 Pochard (17 drakes); 41 Tufted Ducks (23 drakes); c.15 unidentified Aythya sp. ducks flew off; no Ruddy Ducks; 1 Sparrowhawk; 1 Buzzard; no Kestrels; no Water Rails; 7 Moorhens; 64 Coots; no waders; >500 Black-headed Gulls;>1700 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 7 specifically identified Herring Gulls; no Yellow-legged Gulls; no Great Black-backed Gulls; no Feral Pigeons; 6 Stock Doves; 47 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; no Great Spotted Woodpeckers; no Sky Larks; no Meadow Pipits; 1 Grey Wagtail; 3 Pied Wagtails; 18 Wrens; 8 Dunnocks; 35 Robins; 30 Blackbirds; c.30 Fieldfare's; 3 Song Thrushes; c.24 Redwings; 2 Mistle Thrushes; no Goldcrests; 3 Long-tailed Tit parties; 1 Coal Tit; no Willow Tits; 15 Blue Tits; 10 Great Tits; no Treecreeper's; no Jays; 16 Magpies; 259 Jackdaws; 232 Rooks; 11 Crows; no Starlings; no House Sparrows; 22 Chaffinches; 2 Greenfinches; 4 Goldfinches; no Siskin's; no Linnets; no Redpoll's; 4 Bullfinches; 3 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers; no unidentified Finch flocks

Also recorded
Mammals:
- no Rabbits
- 1 Grey Squirrel again
- no new molehills noted

(Ed Wilson)

Top

Thursday, 14th Evening – An adult Yellow-legged Gull present in the Gull roost this afternoon c 15.00, also present 1 imm Great Black-backed Gull and more than average numbers of Herring Gulls

(Kevin Pryce).

(06:20 - 10:02) Morning Log - Broken cloud, windy and mild. Good visibility. In the rather dull and windy conditions all species were distinctly late in appearing / calling, but eventually most things were recorded

I spent much of the time in the lee of the wind along the N side where the view is different and rather limited, though I did quite well any way

Main features of the day were
- apparently only 1 Swan today
- very large number of all gulls later
- a good-sized mixed party of Fieldfare, Redwing and Starlings seen to the E
- closer to the Magpie roost and so a large count - at least 32 birds seen
- my first House Sparrows of the year within my recording area!
- reasonable number of finches in the Teece Drive area, though no 'roost' of Greenfinches in the NE area

And
- a flightless female Scarce Umber moth on one of the street lights

The more detailed notes from the lake
- the Little Grebe seen briefly again today
- the 2 Great Crested Grebes again
- 2 Cormorants: an adult by 09:20; a juvenile by 09:25
- 2 Herons seen today: an adult flew across the lake at 07:20; an immature was standing on the SW grass at 09:35
- as far as I could see there was only 1 adult Swan present today: I saw single birds at each end of the lake, but on each occasion could not see 'the other'. Then at 10:00 as I was leaving and while I could no longer see the water an adult flew off W which may or may not have been the same bird
- no geese today
- 42 Mallard today: in the windy conditions the off-dam count at 06:45 gave me just 20 birds (12 drakes), but a later sweep count at 09:10 produced 42 birds (25 drakes)
- 22 Pochard logged today. 15 drakes
- 48 Tufted Duck logged today. I counted 25 drakes
- no Aythya sp. ducks seen flying off
- 3 sightings of Buzzards today, certainly 2 different birds as seen in the air at the same time
- just 6 Moorhens with only 5 of these along the dam in the windy conditions
- 69 Coots logged today
- gulls today:
- - again not entirely sure whether there were Black-headed Gulls roosting this morning. I could not see any at 06:35 but there were at least 75 by 07:18 with no sign of more arrivals until 07:40. Rather few more arrived to bring the total to just c.150 by 08:20, though not positioned that well to count them. But there was then a continual arrival thereafter and I logged c.610 birds at 08:50; and then at least 1300 birds at 09:35
- - no Lesser Black-backed Gulls roosted. There was a large passage of birds flying higher than usual, all SW in scattered groups rather than in V-formations or tight groups. I logged at least 1100 before 08:40 when birds started settling in the lake rather than flying over. The steady arrival continued until there were at least 1500 birds at 09:35. So 2600 for the morning! Strangely the birds that 'piloted' landing on the water were the numerically smaller Herring Gulls
- - 23 Herring Gulls, at least, were specifically identified today. After 1 adult flew SW at 08:23, 3 birds (1 adult and 2 immature's) were the first large gulls to settle on the water at 08:28. They were joined by the huge flock of Lesser Black-backed Gulls over the next hour. I counted 22 Herring Gulls (14 adults) at 09:40, but there were probably more
- - no Yellow-legged Gull-types noted today
- - 5 Great Black-backed Gulls today. 4 adults and 1 1st winter were present at 09:40
- no Feral Pigeons
- no Stock Doves
- the first Wood Pigeon was logged at 08:06. A small party of 10 birds was seen to the E today. 6 birds were logged flying E. 10 logged flying W. no birds were seen on the wires to the E. And just 3 were seen in the trees and bushes around the lake. Thus the day count was a disappointing 29 birds
- 1 Grey Wagtail only today heard flying away from the dam at 07:52
- 8 Pied Wagtails again heard this morning
- all the c.60 Fieldfare were in a single party seen to the E together with 2 flocks of at least 130 Redwings and 22 Starlings at 08:58
- 3 Song Thrushes logged, 2 briefly in song
- 162 was a good count of Redwings: in addition to the 2 parties of c.130 mentioned there were 8 heard overhead before dawn, 19 birds in trees around the lake and another 5 seen in flight
- no Mistle Thrushes today
- no Goldcrests either
- a Jay seen in the NW area
- 32 Magpies logged with 25 flying from a roost in the NE area
- corvid passage was never going to be easy to see from my 'vantage' point on the N side, so I was well-pleased to reach totals of 230 Jackdaws and 96 Rooks today. A big party of c.100 Jackdaws swirled over at 07:48 after which a continuous passage of small parties of both species passed until c.08:15, with scattered groups thereafter. I would not have been able to see birds passing to the E
- just the one group of 22 Starlings seen
- the party of 4 House Sparrows in the bushes near the Teece Drive gate were the first birds of this species this year within my self-defined recording area (they are of course around the Priorslee Estate). What caused them to venture away from their usual haunt is hard to say, but they were close to where the finches were feeding on the ground: not that I saw any of these birds leave the cover of the bushes. 3 males and 1 female
- no special finch sighting today, but reasonable numbers, eventually, of all species with a group of 7 Chaffinches and 8 Goldfinches feeding in the roadway near the Teece Drive gate
- 1 Reed Bunting only recorded, but I was not well positioned to see or hear these for much of the time

Checked any street lights I passed-by for insects etc. as usual
- the Scarce Umber noted above

My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was [all totals, especially passerines, affected by the poor weather]
1 Little Grebe; 2 Great Crested Grebes; 2 Cormorants; 2 Herons; just 1 adult Swan; no Greylag Geese; no Canada Geese; 42 Mallard (25 drakes); 22
Pochard (15 drakes); 48 Tufted Ducks (25 drakes); no unidentified Aythya sp. ducks; no Ruddy Ducks; no Sparrowhawk's; 2 or 3 Buzzards; no Kestrels; no Water Rails; 6 Moorhens; 69 Coots; no waders; >1300 Black-headed Gulls;>2600 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 23 specifically identified Herring Gulls; no Yellow-legged Gulls; 5 Great Black-backed Gulls; no Feral Pigeons; no Stock Doves; 29 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; no Great Spotted Woodpeckers; no Sky Larks; no Meadow Pipits; 1 Grey Wagtail; 8 Pied Wagtails; 24 Wrens; 6 Dunnocks; 25 Robins; 16
Blackbirds; c.60 Fieldfare's; 3 Song Thrushes; c.162 Redwings; no Mistle Thrushes; no Goldcrests; 1 Long-tailed Tit party; 1 Coal Tit; no Willow Tits; 7 Blue Tits; 5 Great Tits; no Treecreeper's; 1 Jay; 32 Magpies; 230 Jackdaws; 96 Rooks; 6 Crows; 22 Starlings; 4 House Sparrows; 16 Chaffinches; 14 Greenfinches; 8 Goldfinches; no Siskin's; no Linnets; no Redpoll's; 2 Bullfinches; 1 Reed Bunting; no Yellowhammers; no unidentified Finch flocks

Also recorded
Mammals:
- no Rabbits
- 1 Grey Squirrel
- no new molehills noted

Insects:
- 1 Scarce Umber (Agriopis aurantiaria) [1933]
[numbers are the British Checklist Numbers]

(Ed Wilson)

Top

Wednesday, 13th (06:26 - 09:48) - Started with high overcast and scattered clouds below giving some light drizzle. Some holes appeared in the high cloud but before they could help, increasing low-level cloud made it very dull. Though it often threatened to clear it did not. Stayed mild. Moderate / fresh W breeze. Good visibility

Main features of the day were the low numbers of most things other than gulls in these often dull conditions
- the Little Grebe glimpsed briefly again
- 7 Lapwings appeared overhead
- probably no gull roost but later large number of gulls with highest count of Herring Gulls this winter
- a Great Spotted Woodpecker in flight

And
- a Mottled Umber moth on one of the street lights

The more detailed notes from the lake
- the Little Grebe seen once, briefly again today
- the 2 Great Crested Grebes again
- 2 Cormorants: 1 by 08:30; a second by 09:20. Both seemed to be adults
- Heron not seen today
- the 2 adult Swans present throughout
- 1 Greylag Goose flew SE at 08:11. Oddly these single-bird records do not seem to relate to the lone bird sometimes with Canada Geese at The Flash
- 22 Canada Geese today: c.12 birds flew ESE to the S at 07:16 probably from the Town Park; then 10 birds arrived from the N at 09:28
- 40 Mallard today: this was the off-dam count at 06:45 when when I noted 24 drakes. When I did the sweep count at 09:25 I could only locate 32 birds (but still with 24 drakes!)
- 26 Pochard logged today. and 14 drakes - one more drake than yesterday. But 1 of these drakes flew off W at 07:30. See also Aythya sp. below
- 44 Tufted Duck again today. I counted 23 drakes, whereas yesterday I logged 27 of the 44 as drakes. See also Aythya sp. below
- 6 Aythya sp. ducks seen flying off W, with 1 at 07:31; and then 5 at 07:33
- the eclipse drake Ruddy Duck not seen (despite the sighting of the Little Grebe!)
- no raptors today
- 11 Moorhens with 8 of these along the dam
- 73 was the count of Coots today
- 7 Lapwings seen overhead while I was in the NE area: did not see them arrive or leave
- gulls today:
- - not sure whether there were Black-headed Gulls roosting this morning. I could not see any at 06:35 but there were at least 300 by 06:48 with no sign of more arrivals until 06:55. Hard to see the birds in the dark on the wind-ruffled surface. Rather few more arrived to bring the total to c.450 by 07:00. Despite birds seen leaving from 07:26 and with no obvious arrivals there were c.1100 present at 07:50! This had reduced to c.500 by 08:05, but by 08:10 there were over 700. All very confusing! Later counts gave me c.270 at 08:25; c.650 at 08:50; and c.800 at 09:15. Must have been at least 1500 birds involved?
- - no Lesser Black-backed Gulls roosted. I logged 280 birds on passage with several parties of birds flying S to the E. The first birds arrived on the lake at 08:05 when 7 adults were present. Then at 08:25 there were 5 immature's only. After 08:40 a steady stream and then a flood of birds began to arrive from the N and by 09:40 there were over 1000 birds on the water. So about 1300 at least, though probably more
- - 38 Herring Gulls, at least, were specifically identified today - certainly my highest count of the winter. 2 immature's flew W at 08:20; 1 adult flew SW at 08:30 and another flew W to the N at 08:35. Then as the Lesser Black-backed Gulls arrived so too did some Herring Gulls and I counted 34 (22 adults and at least 12 immature's) at 09:15, with probably more later. As is often the case many of the juveniles were attempting to stand on the red / orange buoys while others tried pecking at the buoys. It is odd that this species often does this trick, but Lesser Black-backed Gulls rarely do
- - 1 adult Yellow-legged Gull-type noted at 09:15 - a dark-backed, clean-headed adult
- - 2 Great Black-backed Gulls today. A near-adult at 08:50, but a full adult at 09:30
- no Feral Pigeons
- no Stock Doves
- the first Wood Pigeon was logged at the even later time of 08:11. No over-flying parties today, indeed few anywhere with none seen in the Ward's Rough area either. 4 birds were logged flying E. 10 logged flying W. No birds were seen on the wires to the E. And 8 were seen in the trees and bushes around the lake. Thus the day count was just 22 birds - a Great Spotted Woodpecker was seen flying away from the NW area: unusually I did not hear it call
- 2 records of Grey Wagtail again today after 07:51, but probably the same bird involved
- 8 Pied Wagtails heard this morning - not as many as yesterday
- just 5 Fieldfare'sseen in flight to the E in a single group
- 2 Song Thrushes logged, both in song today
- 11 Redwings today: with 6 heard overhead before dawn. 5 birds seen in flight to the E
- no Mistle Thrushes today
- no Goldcrests either
- one of the first tits heard this morning was a Willow Tit at the W end: the frequency of the records at the moment suggests that they are roosting here somewhere, but they have usually quietened down by the time it is light-enough to see where they might be
- corvid passage was largely absent. I did see a party of Jackdaws low to the E below the tree-line so I guess I missed most of them, though that would not explain where the normally higher-flying Rooks were! The totals this morning were 132 Jackdaws and 75 Rooks
- no Starlings seen
- no special finch sighting today - indeed hardly any finches at all
- 7 Reed Buntings recorded again with 6 seen flying off (2 from the N side)

Checked any street lights I passed-by for insects etc. as usual
- the Mottled Umber noted above

My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was [all totals, especially passerines, affected by the poor weather]
1 Little Grebe; 2 Great Crested Grebes; 2 Cormorants; no Herons; 2 adult Swans, no cygnets; 1 Greylag Goose; 22 Canada Geese; 40 Mallard (24 drakes); 26 Pochard (14 drakes); 44 Tufted Ducks (23 drakes); 6 unidentified Aythya sp. ducks flew off; no Ruddy Ducks; no Sparrowhawks; no Buzzards; no Kestrels; no Water Rails; 11 Moorhens; 73 Coots; 7 Lapwings; no other waders; >1500 Black-headed Gulls; >1300 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 38 specifically identified Herring Gulls; 1 adult Yellow-legged Gulls; 2 Great Black-backed Gulls; no Feral Pigeons; no Stock Doves; 22 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker; no Sky Larks; no Meadow Pipits; 1 Grey Wagtail; 8 Pied Wagtails;14 Wrens; 7 Dunnocks; 24 Robins; 13 Blackbirds; 5 Fieldfares; 2 Song Thrushes; 11 Redwings; no Mistle Thrushes; no Goldcrests; 2 Long-tailed Tit parties; no Coal Tits; 1 Willow Tit; 9 Blue Tits; 5 Great Tits; no Treecreepers; no Jays; 8 Magpies; 132 Jackdaws; 75 Rooks; 13 Crows; no Starlings; 7 Chaffinches; 4 Greenfinches; 1 Goldfinch; no Siskins; no Linnets; no Redpolls; no Bullfinches; 7 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers; no unidentified Finch flocks

Also recorded

Insects:
1 species of moth
- 1 Mottled Umber (Erannis defoliaria) [1935]
[numbers are the British Checklist Numbers]

(Ed Wilson)

Top

Tuesday, 12th (06:25 - 10:05) - Started clear and moonlight with a touch of frost developing in the shelter of trees etc. against the light / moderate (and increasing) SW wind. Later some thin cloud gave a fiery sunrise after which the cloud lowered and it became rather dull for a while. But the sun broke through
and some bright winter sun. Good visibility throughout.

Amazingly I saw another shooting star today: and a brighter one with the hint of a trail. The half-moon was great through the scope at 06:50. I was also able to find 2 of the 3 planets that are in close conjunction in the morning sky - I suspect they were Mercury and Jupiter as neither had the red tinge of Mars, though Mercury is moving closer to the sun and this may be the last day it is visible.

Main features of the day
- the Little Grebe glimpsed briefly
- 5 Cormorants again - seem to be back
- smaller numbers of all duck species though 18 Aythya ducks flew off early
- no gull roost again
- later low numbers, but with more Herring Gulls than recently
- better number of Wood Pigeons
- rather few winter thrushes
- better numbers of corvids, especially Jackdaws
Some numbers probably affected by distraction caused by the splendid sunrise

The more detailed notes from the lake
- the Little Grebe seen once, briefly today
- back to 2 Great Crested Grebes today: the immature in the NW area from before first-light; and an adult in the dam and along the N side
- 5 Cormorants seen: 2 seen flying N to the E at 08:35; 1 arrived from the E at 08:36; 2 arrived from the N at 09:35. All seemed to be adults
- 1 Heron again: probably the reason all the gulls went up at 07:28, but I did not see it until 1 on the N side at 08:22
- the 2 adult Swans present throughout
- no Greylag Geese today
- 7 Canada Geese today: a lone bird arrived at 07:03; and 6 more at 07:10, all from the direction of The Flash
- 34 Mallard only today: this was the off-dam count at 06:45 when there were 20 drakes. When I did the sweep count at 09:25 I could only locate 22 birds (13 drakes), though had noted only 1 drake fly out in the interim
- 25 Pochard logged today. 13 drakes. See also Aythya sp. below
- 44 Tufted Duck today. I counted 27 drakes. See also Aythya sp. below
- 18 Aythya sp. ducks seen flying off in the dark, with parties of 6 & 1 & 3at 07:10; 4 & 2 at 07:13; and 2 at 07:17. I suspect all were in fact Tufted Ducks, but it was too dark
- the eclipse drake Ruddy Duck not seen (despite the sighting of the Little Grebe!)
- 1 Sparrowhawk saw me while on a hunting trip along the N side and veered off!
- no Buzzards
- just 8 Moorhens with all 8 of these along the dam
- 72 was the count of Coots today
- gulls today:
- - there were Black-headed Gulls roosting. The first party of c.55 arrived at 06:50 and birds streamed in thereafter with at least 2000 present at 07:12 after which they started to leave. Later counts gave me c.150 at 08:25; c.240 at 09:10; and c.280 at 09:30 - perhaps all from the original 2000?
- - no Lesser Black-backed Gulls roosted either. Small passage of 94 birds included just one sizeable party of 42 birds flying S to the E. The first birds arrived on the lake at 08:55 building to at least 134 by 09:10. So at least 228 birds today
- - 15 Herring Gulls were specifically identified today - about my highest count of the winter. An adult flew low W at 08:40 but all the other 14 (11 adults / near adults; and 3 immatures) were with the party of Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- - no Yellow-legged Gull-types
- - 3 Great Black-backed Gulls was also the best of the winter so far - 2 adults and 1 1st winter, again with the Lesser Black-backed Gull party at 09:10
- no Feral Pigeons
- no Stock Doves
- the first Wood Pigeon was logged at the late time of 08:06, though this was the time I was most distracted by trying to photograph the sunrise. One party of 18 birds flew S at 08:17. There were also at least 50 birds in the Wards Rough area to the E. 15 birds were logged flying E. Just 3 logged flying W. 5 birds were seen on the wires to the E. And 5 were seen in the trees and bushes around the lake. Thus the day count was a much better 96 birds
- no Great Spotted Woodpecker today
- 2 records of Grey Wagtail today after 08:02, but probably the same bird
- 18 Pied Wagtails heard this morning - the best count for ages: not clear why - it was colder last night but not that cold to bring them back to a town centre roost?
- no Meadow Pipit today
- 31 Fieldfares seen to the E in 2 parties
- 3 Song Thrushes logged: 2 of these in song today
- 5 Redwings today: with 3 heard overhead before dawn. 2 birds seen in flight
- 3 Mistle Thrushes today. 1 heard in song and seen singing at the W end before flying off NW. Also 2 birds flew off S from the Ricoh factory area
- 1 Goldcrest heard alongside the M54
- unusually 10 of the Magpies logged today were together in the NW trees - usually no more than 6 seen in this area
- corvid passage was mostly Jackdaws today with a big party of c.160 birds low over the E end of the lake at 07:39. Many of the Rooks were seen flying to the W of the lake and I therefore may have missed some before I realised this. The totals this morning were 278 Jackdaws and 105 Rooks
- a party of 32 Starlings seen to the E at 08:20
- no special finch sighting today
- 7 Reed Buntings recorded: 3 were heard calling at the W end; 1 was seen flying off from the N side; and then, rather unusually, a party of 3 males flew W over the SE trees at 09:20

Checked any street lights I passed-by for insects etc. as usual
- nowt

My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was [all totals, especially passerines, affected by the poor weather]
1 Little Grebe; 2 Great Crested Grebes; 5 Cormorants; 1 Heron; 2 adult Swans, no cygnets; no Greylag Geese; 7 Canada Geese; 34 Mallard (20 drakes); 25 Pochard (13 drakes); 44 Tufted Ducks (27 drakes); 18 unidentified Aythya sp. ducks flew off; no Ruddy Ducks; 1 Sparrowhawk; no Buzzards; no Kestrels; no Water Rails; 8 Moorhens; 72 Coots; no Lapwings or no other waders; >2000 Black-headed Gulls; 228 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 15 specifically identified Herring Gulls; no Yellow-legged Gulls; 3 Great Black-backed Gulls; no Feral Pigeons; no Stock Doves; 96 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; no Great Spotted Woodpeckers; no Sky Larks; no Meadow Pipits; 1 Grey Wagtail; 18 Pied Wagtails; 22 Wrens; 8 Dunnocks; 25 Robins; 16 Blackbirds; 31 Fieldfares; 3 Song Thrushes; 5 Redwings; 3 Mistle Thrushes; 1 Goldcrest; 1 Long-tailed Tit party; no Coal Tits; no Willow Tits; 9 Blue Tits; 11 Great Tits; no Treecreepers; no Jays; 14 Magpies; 278 Jackdaws; 105 Rooks; 10 Crows; 32 Starlings; 13 Chaffinches; 7 Greenfinches; 3 Goldfinches; no Siskins; no Linnets; no Redpolls; 1 Bullfinch; 7 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers; no unidentified Finch flocks

(Ed Wilson)

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Monday, 11th (06:28 - 10:12) [sheltering in the SW hut 06:35 - 08:45!] - Cloudy with light rain as I arrived but that soon changed to rain and then spells of very heavy rain until after 08:25 when a clearance could be seen heading in from the W / NW. Rain finally stopped c.08:45. Moderate SW fell away as the clearance arrived when it became noticeably cooler and fresher-feeling. Good visibility except in heaviest rain, but very dark under the low cloud

The rain and the limited visibility (and audibility) from the hut all contributed to a low count

Other features of the day
- 5 Cormorants, with 4 at least on the lake
- some odd behavior during the heaviest rain when all the Coots ran off the SW grass and went and 'sat it out' on the water
- no gull roost again
- later distinctly low numbers of gulls, with an adult odd Herring Gull the only unusual record
- very low number of Wood Pigeons
- very few winter thrushes
- low numbers of corvids
- small flock of finches in the NE area seemed to be all Chaffinches

The more detailed notes from the lake
- the Little Grebe not seen today
- 1 Great Crested Grebes again: I made a special mental note to look for these but for most of the time I drew a complete blank, but the immature suddenly 'appeared' along the S side. And then promptly disappeared again - 5 Cormorants seen: 1 arrived from the E at 08:33; 3 more approached at 08:42, though I am unsure that they all landed. Another at 08:47 which did land, with then 4 seen together on the lake until 1 left at 09:45; and another at 10:02. All seemed to be adults, one with a hint of the silver plumes showing on the neck
- 1 Heron again: heard at 07:09 what was presumably the same bird walked in to view along the S side at 07:29 before relocating to the NW reeds
- the 2 adult Swans present throughout
- no Greylag Geese today
- no Canada Geese either
- 46 Mallard on the lake again when the sweep count at 09:15 gave me 27 drakes - same as yesterday!
- 28 Pochard logged today. 15 drakes
- 56 Tufted Duck today. 1 female flew off W at 07:44. I counted 32 drakes
- no Aythya sp. ducks seen flying off in the dark, but positioned in the SW hut it would have been difficult to see or hear them
- the eclipse drake Ruddy Duck not seen
- no Buzzards
- 11 Moorhens with 6 of these along the dam
- 66 was the count of Coots today
- gulls today:
- - I could not see any Black-headed Gulls roosting, but the 30 birds present at 07:23 were not seen to fly in either - and as I did not walk around until after the rain stopped the observation of the roost area was limited. These birds seemed to have gone by 07:28. 35 counted at 07:35 may or may not have been the same birds. Thereafter a small arrival and then a consistent set of counts despite the usual comings and goings. The counts gave me c.55 at 08:10 but c.120 by 08:12; c.230 at 08:35; c.280 at 08:55; c.240 at 09:20. Seems to be c.300 for the mornings
- - no Lesser Black-backed Gulls roosted. Small passage of just 32 birds included no sizeable flocks. A lone immature was present for a few minutes at 08:30; and 3 adults at 09:45. So just 36 logged
- - 2 Herring Gulls were specifically identified (a high proportion in the circumstances). A 1st winter was with the immature Lesser Black-backed Gull; and then a strange adult with very restricted black on the wing-tips was present at 09:45 and seen to fly off at 10:00 - I was very glad that I had seen it on the lake because in-flight it looked even more strange and invited identification as a 'white-winged gull'
- - no Yellow-legged Gull-types
- - no Great Black-backed Gulls
- 3 blue morph Feral Pigeons flew N at 09:40
- no Stock Doves
- the first Wood Pigeon was logged at the late time of 08:35. No parties seen. Indeed only 5 birds were logged flying E. Just 4 logged flying W. No birds were seen on the wires again. And with just 4 seen in the trees and bushes around the lake the day count was a dire 13!
- no Great Spotted Woodpecker today
- 2 records of Grey Wagtail today after 08:18, but probably the same bird
- just 1 Pied Wagtail heard after the weather cleared
- no Meadow Pipit today
- 3 Fieldfares seen flying NW to the E
- 2 Song Thrushes logged: Only 1 of these in song today [but none singing in the rain before 06:20 en route from Newport this morning]
- 2 Redwings seen in the N side trees after the weather cleared
- 1 Mistle Thrush heard in song and seen singing at the W end, with presumably the same bird singing to the NW later
- 1 Goldcrest heard in the NW area
- a Willow Tit heard at the W end again - must look for it one of these days!
- corvid passage was difficult to see in the very dark and wet conditions and rather to my surprise they did not pass low across the E end of the lake, but many were high up. Rooks were especially scarce and while birds trickled past all the while the totals were exactly 100 Jackdaws and just 22 Rooks.
- no Starlings seen
- 2 parties of Chaffinches in the trees around the lake, but could find nothing other than the odd Greenfinch with them this morning
- 1 Reed Buntings heard calling but in the conditions I was not surprised at the low number recorded

Also
- another Grey Squirrel along the N side

Checked any street lights I passed-by for insects etc. as usual
- nowt

My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was [all totals, especially passerines, affected by the poor weather]
no Little Grebes; 1 Great Crested Grebe; 5 Cormorants; 1 Heron; 2 adult Swans, no cygnets; no Greylag Geese; no Canada Geese; 46 Mallard (27 drakes); 18 Pochard (15 drakes); 56 Tufted Ducks (32 drakes); no unidentified Aythya sp. ducks; no Ruddy Ducks; no Sparrowhawk; no Buzzards; no Kestrels; no Water Rails; 11 Moorhens; 66 Coots; no Lapwings or no other waders; >300 Black-headed Gulls; 36 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 2 specifically identified Herring Gulls; no Yellow-legged Gulls; no Great Black-backed Gulls; 3 Feral Pigeons; no Stock Doves; 13 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; no Great Spotted Woodpeckers; no Sky Larks; no Meadow Pipits; 1 Grey Wagtail; 1 Pied Wagtail; 12 Wrens; 7 Dunnocks; 27 Robins; 23 Blackbirds; 3 Fieldfares; 2 Song Thrushes; 2 Redwings; 1 Mistle Thrush; 1 Goldcrest; 2 Long-tailed Tit parties; no Coal Tits; 1 Willow Tit; 13 Blue Tits; 12 Great Tits; no Treecreepers; no Jays; 15 Magpies; 100 Jackdaws; 22 Rooks; 10 Crows; no Starlings; 20 Chaffinches; 7 Greenfinches; 4 Goldfinches; no Siskins; no Linnets; no Redpolls; 2 Bullfinches; 2 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers; no unidentified Finch flocks

Also recorded
Mammal:
- no Rabbits
- 1 Grey Squirrel
- no new molehills noted

(Ed Wilson)

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10th, Sunday (15:20 - 16:10) Evening log - Decided to stand on the west bank for a change and watch the Gull roost. Turned out to be a cracking choice, firstly because it was out of the cold southwesterly wind and secondly because I know I wouldn't have seen the bird of the month for me, in the form of a Merlin.

Main Highlights:
- At 15:35 I looked up from the scope and to my left a Merlin popped up over the motorway. It shot over the grass bank, across the slipway and over the top of Wesley Reedbeds before zapping through a gap in the trees on the northbank. For such a small bird of prey, it really is surprising how fast they can travel. I am so pleased I chose the west bank for this evenings bird watching.
- A Water Rail was heard squealing away in Wesley reedbeds at 15:50
- Gulls
- - Plenty of gulls this evening with c.580 Black-headed Gulls on the water. A few still sporting "black" heads.
- - The Lesser Black-backs were slightly less at c.350 with several Herring Gulls thrown in. No Yellow legs seen, though I was a bit further away from the gulls tonight.
- Is this another Magpie Roost at the end of Teece Drive, by the gate. Last night it was 38 in the Northeast wood but tonight there were 36 possibly more roosting in the trees just inside the RICOH grounds.

Other highlights from this evening:
- just the 1 Great Crested Grebe seen, just beyond the Wesley reedbeds.
- 11 possibly 12 Pochard in the southeast corner of the lake
- Didn't do a duck count but Tufted Duck and Mallard present
- 1 Moorhen on the slip way, plus a little earlier today there were 3 on top of the overflow by the dam.
- Managed 58 Coots, though there were probably more in the northeast bay of the lake. Most were on the grass bank next to the slip way. But at 15:45 something put them and the gulls into flight and there was a mass scramble to get into the water. I looked hard and long along the south bank and overhead but couldn't see anything that could have caused such a panic. What it did do was start an exit for all the gulls, especially the Black-headed gulls. Once they were up it seemed to start a mass exodus of all the gulls on the lake!
- The Gulls have been previously mentioned, but it is interesting to note that by 16:00 there were none on the lake bar a handful of Black-headed gulls. When the gulls were spooked on the southbank others on the lake followed. First c.100 Black-heads took off at 15:45, then 200 left at 15:50, ten minutes later there were only a dozen or so left, when the rest took off. As for the larger gulls they dispersed in smaller groups and were all gone by 16:00.
- There were no Wood Pigeon about when I arrived but a single bird appeared from the north and flew across the lake to roost in the south wood. A further 4 birds were spooked by something in Wesley Wood at 15:55 and relocated themselves in the tall trees further along the north bank.
- a single Grey Wagtail came from the direction of the town centre and dived down into the trees on the northbank.
- throughout the 45 minutes I was on the west bank, small parties of Pied Wagtails flew west towards the town centre, by the time I had left 13 birds had passed overhead.
- As I arrived a party of 25 Fieldfare flew over the lake heading northwest. 5 minutes later another flock of 35 birds followed on a similar flight path.
- 4 Song Thrushes heard in the woods and bushes behind me, along the RICOH boundary hedge
- Redwings were heard calling from Wesley Wood
- 4 Blackbirds heard in and around Wesley Wood
- There were a few Robins, Wrens and Dunnocks calling as the light faded
- 2 Goldcrest calling. The first from Wesley Wood and the second by the Yachting Club gate
- I had a good sighting of a Great Tit as it almost landed on me. But just at the last second it veered away and perched on the branch next to me. It was dark and it just didn't know I was there. A Willow Tit also came close and settled down into the bushes behind me.
- there were one or two small parties of Rooks and Jackdaws heading north. With 41 Jackdaws in total and just 10 Rooks. Earlier in the day at 14:35 there were nearly c.300 corvids caught in a thermal. They were spiraling up and and over the lake towards the north. It was quite a sight.
- a small party of 7 Starlings were seen heading southwest, but didn't stop to roost at the lake
- there were a few finches coming into roost with Goldfinches, Chaffinches and Greenfinch all seen.
- Reed Buntings were plentiful with 12 seen coming into roost at different locations along the west bank. One bird in particular came in at Mach 1 and landed in the reed bed close to the slipway. How they can stop at such speed is quite something.

My complete log of the birds for the evening was:
1 Great Crested Grebes; Mallard; 11/12 Pochard; Tufted Ducks; 1 Merlin; 1 Water Rail heard; 1 Moorhen; 58 Coots; c.580 Black-headed Gulls; c.300 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 7 Herring Gulls; 5 Wood Pigeons; 1 Grey Wagtail; 13 Pied Wagtails; 3 Wrens; 2 Dunnocks; 4 Robins; 4 Blackbirds; 60 Fieldfare's; 4 Song Thrushes; Redwings heard; 2 Goldcrest; 1 Willow Tit; 2 Great Tits; 36 Magpies; 41 Jackdaws; 10 Rooks; 3 Crows; 7 Starlings; 3 Chaffinches; 2 Greenfinches; 2 Goldfinches; 12 Reed Buntings

(Martin Adlam)

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(06:28 - 10:33) - Morning Log [09:20 - 10:00: walked fields and then the lanes to the SE / E See Local Bird News]

Started clear to far E with good sunrise, and even some frost. But lowering high cloud soon brought sprinkles of rain at 07:35. Though these did not last the cloud continues to lower and thicken and rain again after 10:00. Light S wind / calm, increasing moderate. Good / excellent visibility throughout

Less exciting than yesterday, but a fly-over Raven was clearly the best of the day

Also walked the fields and lanes to the E / SE in pursuit of the finch flock seen - see below. Nothing too much there either. The fly-overs seen during that walk are included in the main report, but a separate report for the 'residents'

Other features of the day
- both the Little Grebe and the drake Ruddy Duck absent
- 5 Cormorants, with 3 on the lake
- Aythya ducks seen flying out again
- no gull roost - whether this was due to the usual Saturday afternoon disturbance from dog-walkers etc. prevented the roost developing or whether the presence of the fishermen saw them off is unclear - later distinctly average numbers, with adult Great Black-backed Gull the only unusual record
- small number of Wood Pigeons again. The first bird was one heard in song(!) at 07:45. I suspect that, at present, the bird-scarers in the fields to the E / NE are keeping birds away
- lots of winter thrushes both over the lake and then in the trees to the E
- dire passage of corvids again
- several flocks of finches seen to the E - the prime reason for me to walk over there. Did not seen any large flocks while I was there, but what I did see suggests these were mainly Chaffinches and Goldfinches

The more detailed notes from the lake
- the Little Grebe not seen today
- I only noted 1 Great Crested Grebes today - the immature in the NW area
- 2 Cormorants seen arriving at 08:13, but 3 in the lake by 08:16; also 2 singles seen flying S to the E
- 2 Herons at least. At 06:40 I flushed a bird from the SW area which flew off calling to the NW: then at 06:47 a different bird on the dam watched me warily as I walked past in both directions. Subsequent records assumed to relate to these birds
- the 2 adult Swans present throughout
- no Greylag Geese today
- the Canada Geese were busy today: 8 flew over from The Flash area at 07:00 with 2 of these landing, though they left to the E at 07:10. Then 9 flew in from The Flash area at 07:15, staying until they flew off E at 07:33. 7 more flew in from the Town Pool area, but these too left at 07:48. By this time 3 more birds had arrived from the E 07:40 and stayed for only a few minutes. Finally 3 more arrived from The Flash area at 08:35. So 30 birds, 24 on the lake at various times
- 46 Mallard on the lake today. The customary early visit to the dam revealed 37 (26 drakes). The sweep count at 09:15 gave me 46 birds (27 drakes)
- 9 Pochard logged today. 8 were drakes. See also Aythya sp. below
- 53 Tufted Duck today. 8 flew off W at 07:43. Of the 45 present at 09:15 there were 23 drakes. See also Aythya sp. below
- 11 Aythya sp. ducks flew off W at 07:18 - too dark to specifically identify
- the eclipse drake Ruddy Duck not seen
- 5 Buzzard records of at least 3 different birds, the first at 07:31
- 12 Moorhens with 7 of these along the dam
- 64 was the count of Coots today
- gulls today:
- - no Black-headed Gulls roosted. The first party of 21 birds arrived at the late time of 07:05. No more than 250 birds arrived before 07:20 and by 07:28 they were mostly gone. 2 of these birds came in high from the SW, though most low from the W. Counts later gave me c.55 at 08:10; c.380 at 08:45; and c.330 at 10:00. So I would judge about 500 birds today
- - no Lesser Black-backed Gulls roosted either. A low passage of 132 birds included no sizeable flocks. Several of the 'passing' groups paused at the lake with 6 at 08:40; 43 at 09:00; and 53 apparently different birds at 09:15. Gives 234 for the day
- - 2 Herring Gulls were specifically identified with an adult and an immature in with the Lesser Black-backed Gulls at 09:00
- - no Yellow-legged Gull-types
- - a full adult Great Black-backed Gull again, briefly at 09:15
- no Feral Pigeons
- 2 Stock Doves flew E
- apart from the singing bird at 07:45, the first Wood Pigeon was logged at 08:13. Two parties totalling just 46 birds were seen in the trees and over the fields to the E / SE. 20 birds were logged flying E. 8 were logged flying W; no birds were seen on the wires today. And 8 seen in the trees and bushes around the lake. Equals 82 for the day
- no Great Spotted Woodpecker today
- 5 records of Grey Wagtail today after 07:54, but probably all the same bird
- 3 Pied Wagtails only
- no Meadow Pipit today
- 122 Fieldfares seen in 5 parties: 113 of these flew over the W end of the lake and there were just 4 over the fields to the E
- 3 Song Thrushes logged again: Only 1 of these in song today [4 singing before 06:20 en route from Newport this morning]
- 178 Redwings logged: 7 heard in flight; 65 of these flew over the W end of the lake and there at least 106 birds over the fields to the E
- 1 Mistle Thrush heard in song and seen at the W end
- 1 Goldcrest giving stunning close views in the NW area
- 1 Long-tailed Tit party on a day with low numbers of all tits which started calling very much later than usual - 08:52 for Blue Tit and even later for the normally earlier and louder Great Tit
- 2 noisy Jays in the NW area
- corvid passage was apparently largely absent this morning. Conditions were not ideal (are they ever?), with a great sunrise making the far E very bright but the area that the corvids would pass through was in contrast(!) very dark. But I did see some and am certain I did not overlook big groups. Passage continued sporadically from the late time of 07:54 until 08:50 with no groups of >16 birds. I ended with totals of 139 Jackdaws and 66 Rooks.
- the Raven flew W
- just 1 Starling seen flying SE
- apart from birds around the lakeside trees there were 3 parties of about 90 finch-types seen flying over the trees to the E. When I walked there, albeit about an hour later, there were no sizeable flocks. The smaller parties seemed to be mainly Chaffinches and Goldfinches. Interestingly the first birds I saw were climbing around the cones of the bare larches alongside Castle Farm Way and I got all-excited that I had fulfilled a long hoped-for log of Crossbills, but sadly not to be!
- 4 Reed Buntings all heard calling

Also
- yet more new molehills along the S side

Checked any street lights I passed-by for insects etc. as usual
- nowt

My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was
no Little Grebes; 1 Great Crested Grebe; 5 Cormorants; 2 Herons; 2 adult Swans, no cygnets; no Greylag Geese; 30 Canada Geese (24 on the lake); 46
Mallard (at least 27 drakes); 9 Pochard (8 drakes); 53 Tufted Ducks (at least 23 drakes); 11 Aythya sp. ducks flew off; no Ruddy Ducks; no Sparrowhawk; at least 3 Buzzards; no Kestrels; no Water Rails; 12 Moorhens; 64 Coots; no Lapwings or no other waders; >500 Black-headed Gulls; 234 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 2 specifically identified Herring Gulls; no Yellow-legged Gulls; 1 Great Black-backed Gull; no Feral Pigeons; 2 Stock Doves; 82 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; no Great Spotted Woodpeckers; no Sky Larks; no Meadow Pipits; 1 Grey Wagtail; 3 Pied Wagtails; 16 Wrens; 8 Dunnocks; 24 Robins; 22 Blackbirds; 122 Fieldfares; 3 Song Thrushes; 178 Redwings; 1 Mistle Thrush; 1 Goldcrest; 1 Long-tailed Tit party; no Coal Tits; no Willow Tits; 8 Blue Tits; 7 Great Tits; no Tree Creepers; 2 Jays; 10 Magpies; 139 Jackdaws; 66 Rooks; 17 Crows; 1 Starling; 11 Chaffinches; 9 Greenfinches; 7 Goldfinches; no Siskins; no Linnets; no Redpolls; 1 Bullfinch; 4 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers; c.90 unidentified Finches to
the E

Also recorded
Mammal:
- no Rabbits
- no Grey Squirrels
- more new molehills noted along S side

(Ed Wilson)

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9th, Saturday (15:45 - 16:40) Evening Log - Arrived just after the main party of Lesser Black-backed Gulls had left, leaving about 30 on the lake. But as the sun disappeared below the horizon they also departed

Main highlights of the evening:
- 18 Greylag Geese flew north over the lake
- 30 plus Magpie flew in from the east, across Castle Farm Way and landed in the trees on the northeast bank, at around 15:55. They were then joined later by a further 8 birds, that came in from other points from around the lake. Some roost!
- a small party of Reed Buntings also came in from the east and presumably dropped into the northbank reedbeds at just after 16:00, it was difficult to see exactly where they landed in the low light.

Other sightings:
- The 2 resident Mute Swans were seen feeding along the south bank and then finally settled in the northeast bay.
- a single Canada Goose flew low over the dam, heading west but didn't land.
- Plenty of Ducks mainly Mallard and Tufted, but I didn't do a count as the light was very poor and though I'm not too bad at silhouettes, there were far too many to count.
- 18 unknown type of Aythya sp. ducks were seen flying south. The fast wing beats were obvious but didn't give any clues as to what they were.
- Plenty of Coots, but like the ducks I didn't count them
- Gulls
- - 3 Black-headed Gulls came in at 16:30 and presumably stayed over night.
- - After the main party of Lesser black-backed Gulls had left, the remaining 30 also took off and headed north at about 16:15. Fifteen minutes later another party of 38 Lesser's came in from the west. They came down low over the water, turned and headed northwest towards the Flash!
- Corvids
- - Didn't see the main party of Jackdaws or Rooks heading north, but there were a few stragglers overhead, with 15 Rooks and 10 Jackdaws logged.
- A single Blackbird flew up from the concrete road by the roundabout and dropped down into the bushes in the southeast corner of the lake.
- Wagtails
- - 3 times during the evening, (a single!) Grey Wagtail was heard calling from around the dam.
- - 2 Pied Wagtail headed west

Evening log then:
2 Mute Swans; 1 Canada Goose; 18 Greylag Geese; Mallard; Tufted; 18 Aythya sp.; Coot; 68 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 3 Black-headed Gulls; 15 Rooks; 10 Jackdaws; 38 Magpies; 1 Grey Wagtail; 1 Blackbird; 3 Pied Wagtail; 8 Reed Buntings

(Martin Adlam)

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(06:31 - 09:41) Morning Log - A very mixed morning weather-wise with a clear moon and later bright sun, but in between several heavy showers that forced a retreat to the hut on the SW shore. And after 08:15 the folks with the model-boats arrived to test one of their jet-propelled vessels creating disturbance around and on the lake

But a good visit with three excellent species
- 2 different Goosanders: a drake and a brownhead, both seen in flight and possibly neither actually on the lake (birds from the Flash flying around?)
- a Snipe flushed off the S side - my first of the year here!
- an immature male / female-type Brambling in with a Reed Bunting and a flock of (mainly) Chaffinches in the NE area - my first here this year and also my first of the winter

Shorter stay with the disturbance preventing any build-up of gulls; and the desire to get to The Flash to see whether the Goosander were back

Other features of the day
- both the Little Grebe and the drake Ruddy Duck present
- 1 Cormorant seen leaving
- Aythya ducks seen flying out again: and later many of the ducks left
- 3 Lapwings were flying around this morning
- pre-dawn there were c.1000 Black-headed Gulls and c.250 Lesser Black-backed Gulls on the lake: but these were in quite separate flocks which suggests that in fact the Black-headed Gulls may have flown in earlier than normal rather than been here all night. Whatever the Black-headed Gull numbers eventually topped 1500; and while the were relatively few Lesser Black-backed Gulls over I did log a huge swirl of c.400 birds to the N
- another very low count of Wood Pigeons
- very few Redwings and no other winter thrushes
- another strange and different passage of corvids but again reasonable numbers logged overall

The more detailed notes from the lake
[not included any yesterday's values - need to sleep some time!]
- the Little Grebe seen again
- I am sure only 2 Great Crested Grebes today
- a Cormorant seen leaving at 09:20 had not been noted earlier
- 1 Heron seen several times - all appeared to be the same adult bird
- the 2 adult Swans present throughout
- no Greylag Geese
- 6 Canada Geese were present at 07:40 but no idea where they came from! They left towards The Flash at 09:39
- 46 Mallard on the lake today. I did not make the customary early visit to the dam because of the rain showers. The sweep count at 09:00 gave me 33 drakes again
- 12 Pochard logged today. 6 were drakes. See also Aythya sp. below
- 56 Tufted Duck today. 25 logged as drakes. Many of these left to W at 09:30. See also Aythya sp. below
- 3 Aythya sp. ducks flew off W at 07:23 when it was too dark to specifically identify these
- the eclipse drake Ruddy Duck was with some of the loafing Tufted Duck in the NW area for a while and then disappeared again
- a drake Goosander was seen in flight over the N side at 07:58; and then a brownhead flew low E before circling high and away at 08:10. I doubt either of the birds visited the lake this morning, and were probably from The Flash
- no Buzzard sightings today (no raptors indeed)
- 7 Moorhens only recorded with just 4 of these along the dam
- 51 Coots only counted today: the model boat folk had moved the large number that congregate on the SW grass off, but 2 where?
- 2 Lapwings appeared overhead at 08:30: at 08:45 there were 3 birds, assumed to include the original 2. But they came and went without my seeing them
- the Snipe was a surprise as I have only ever seen them lurking under cover or on the dam-face before. This bird seemed to be on the edge of grass along the S side - an area I had already walked past twice - gulls today:
- - as noted above the c.1000 Black-headed Gulls present at 06:35 may have roosted. The next arrivals were not until 07:05, with numbers peaking at c.1500 at 07:10 before birds started to fly off SW at 07:11. Counts later, probably affected by the presence of the model boaters gave me c.190 at 08:30; and c.430 at 09:00. So I would judge about 1700 birds today
- - 250 Lesser Black-backed Gulls seemed to have roosted either. A disappointing passage of 166 birds was logged flying over, apart from the huge spiral of c.400 noted to the N at 08:55. On the lake later counts revealed just 3 at 08:30; 5 at 08:45; and 8 at 09:00. So about 865 for the morning
- - 1 sub-adult Herring Gulls was specifically identified with the 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls at 08:30
- - no Yellow-legged Gull
- - no Great Black-backed Gulls either
- 1 Feral Pigeon flew W a blue morph bird but with white 'hand' to the wings
- 1 Stock Dove seen on the wires to the NE
- the first Wood Pigeon was logged at 07:56. Just one party of 16 birds seen to the NE. 14 birds were logged flying E. 13 were logged flying W; none was seen on the wires today. And none was seen in the trees and bushes around the lake. So just 43 for the day
- no Great Spotted Woodpecker today
- 1 Grey Wagtail today when a bird flew off the SW grass at 07:46
- 3 Pied Wagtails only: little traffic noise to mask their calls today, so I guess there aren't any!
- 1 Meadow Pipit heard in the distance
- a blank day for Fieldfare
- 1 Song Thrush only logged - not singing, just calling with other thrushes feeding in a berry-laden holly tree on the N side
- 5 Redwings logged: 5 heard in flight; 1 seen with other thrushes feeding in a berry-laden holly tree on the N side
- no Mistle Thrush today
- no Goldcrest either
- 1 Long-tailed Tit party and that seemed to be just 4-strong
- Jay(s) heard to the N in the Celestica grounds at 09:20
- corvid passage was once again hard to see against the darkest part of the sky as a shower passed over, but 3 different and well-spaced mixed species groups flew over before 08:00 and all these were very scattered groups moving in a broad front. Small numbers thereafter gave me totals of 243 Jackdaws and 133 Rooks.
- no Starlings
- there has been a small number of Chaffinches in the NE area for some days: today while I was talking to John Isherwood we had at least 20 fly between some of the trees. And in amongst them was a male Reed Bunting; the female / immature male-type Brambling (forgot to check the bill colour!); several Greenfinches and 3 Bullfinches
- 4 Reed Buntings: 3 heard calling at the W end; and the male with the finches

Also
- a Rabbit with a dog in hot pursuit at the W end
- a Squirrel along the N side
- some more new molehills along the S side
- a new for me species of fungus along the N side - a bit like a Jew's ear

Checked any street lights I passed-by for insects etc. as usual
- nowt

My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was
1 Little Grebe; 2 Great Crested Grebes; 1 Cormorant; 1 Heron; 2 adult Swans, no cygnets; no Greylag Geese; 6 Canada Geese (all on the lake); 46 Mallard (33 drakes); 12 Pochard (6 drakes); 56 Tufted Ducks (25 drakes); 3 unidentified Aythya ducks flew off; 1 drake Ruddy Ducks; 2 Goosanders; no Sparrowhawks; no Buzzards; no Kestrels; no Water Rails; 7 Moorhens; 51 Coots; 3 Lapwings; 1 Snipe; no other waders; >1700 Black-headed Gulls; 865
Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 1 specifically identified Herring Gulls; no Yellow-legged Gulls; no Great Black-backed Gulls; 1 Feral Pigeon; 1 Stock Dove; 43 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; no Great Spotted Woodpeckers; no Sky Larks; 1 Meadow Pipit; 1 Grey Wagtail; 3 Pied Wagtails; 16 Wrens; 6 Dunnocks; 22 Robins; 22 Blackbirds; no Fieldfares; 1 Song Thrush; 6 Redwings; no Mistle Thrushes; no Goldcrests; 1 Long-tailed Tit party; no Coal Tits; no Willow Tits; 12 Blue Tits; 6 Great Tits; no Tree Creepers; 2 Jays; 18 Magpies; 243 Jackdaws; 133 Rooks; 7 Crows; no Starlings; 22 Chaffinches; 1 Brambling; 12 Greenfinches; 3 Goldfinches; no Siskins; no Linnets; no Redpolls; 4 Bullfinch; 4 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers

Also recorded
Mammals:
- 1 Rabbit
- 1 Grey Squirrels
- new molehills noted along S side again

Fungi:
- 1 species of fungus

(Ed Wilson)

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8th, Friday (06:26 - 09:32) - In some ways more pleasant this morning with no rain and no wind to speak of - but that meant much colder! Great moonlight again, but cloud to the E made some of the watching hard work - where were the corvids?

An extended stay today - not at all what I intended, but as I was about to leave at least 2100 Lesser Black-backed Gulls started to arrive and I was convinced there would be something interesting in amongst them. Well 16 Herring Gulls, 1 probable Yellow-legged Gull and 1 adult Great Black-backed Gull was the best I could do!

So I never got to The Flash to see whether the Goosander were back

The main features of the day
- both the Little Grebe and the drake Ruddy Duck back again - they seem to come as a matched pair: none or both!
- at least 1 Cormorant on the lake again with 2 others seen
- Aythya ducks heard flying out again
- 4 Lapwings were flying around over the dam area but headed away N
- I thought the gull-roost was just 10 Lesser Black-backed Gulls but they turned out to be Canada Geese(!) and no gulls roosted. Below average number of Black-headed Gulls visited early. And numbers of large gulls were very low until they started to pour in after 09:30
- Water Rail heard in the NE area today - making most unusual calls from deep inside the reeds, but I could not figure out what else it might be and checked with a CD of bird sounds. My notes at the time likened the call to a very agitated Bullfinch at zero feet. A call I have never been conscious of before
- small number of Wood Pigeons again. There were birds roosting around the lake that burst out of the trees as I passed at 06:39. Gave us both a scare!
- a few more winter thrushes
- dire early passage of corvids but reasonable numbers later

The more detailed notes from the lake
[not included any yesterday's values - need to sleep some time!]
- the Little Grebe seen back in the usual spot
- I think only 2 Great Crested Grebes today: attention rather diverted by the gulls whose sheer numbers tended to obscure other things, but I only logged the immature in the NW area; and an adult at the dam
- The Cormorant again 'appeared' already hauled out on the boat platform -  at 08:20 today. And it stayed there until I left at 10:30. No idea where it comes from! Another bird seen perhaps flying off NW at 08:33; and yet another seen far to E flying N at 08:35
- 3 Herons at least. At 06:45 a bird on the dam watched me warily as I walked past in both directions: again concluded I was harmless though did not have the scope of my shoulder at that time. But 3 were seen flying across the lake at the same time later on
- the 2 adult Swans present throughout. An adult was seen flying off as I was getting in to my car: whether this was one of the residents going for a fly or an interloper leaving I have no idea
- the same(?) party of 17 Greylag Geese flew E overhead much later 07:16: but I had heard one in flight high over already at 07:09, but had failed to locate it
- I'm a bit confused as to how many Canada Geese there were: I think 10 roosted, but I could only find 8 birds at 07:25. Then when 3 flew in from the E at 07:49 there were 12. Hmm. None flew over - 47 Mallard on the lake today. The customary early visit to the dam revealed 23 off the dam and another 12 in the SE corner, so they seem to have stopped congregating. The sweep count at 09:00 gave me 33 of the 47 as drakes
- 12 Pochard logged today. 1 of these birds flew out to the W at 07:26. Of the 11 remaining 9 were drakes. See also Aythya sp. below
- 55 Tufted Duck today. 31 logged as drakes. See also Aythya sp. below
- an unknown number of Aythya sp. ducks flew off W at 07:11 with more at 07:17. On both occasions I was looking elsewhere and heard the sound of fast-beating wings too late
- the eclipse drake Ruddy Duck was with the larger roost of loafing Tufted Duck in the NW area
- did not see a Sparrowhawk, but seconds after a group of Black-headed Gulls came up off the grass in the Ricoh factory I heard the Blue Tits making the wailing noise they usually reserve for Sparrowhawk warning (or commiseration over the loss?)
- no Buzzard sightings today
- the Water Rail calling in the NE area - nothing like the usual squealing notes, but for the last two winters I have rarely heard the bird in the NE area at all - it is the bird(s) in the Wesley Brook outflow that call. Perhaps because there is often more than one bird and perhaps why I have heard so few this year - only the 1 birds present?
- 10 Moorhens with 6 of these along the dam
- 67 was the count of Coots today
- the 4 Lapwings appeared and then left to the N after flapping around over the N / E area at 09:15
- gulls today:
- - no Black-headed Gulls roosted. The first party of c.100 birds arrived at 06:51 and numbers built to c.650 by 07:15. After 07:20 they started to leave. Counts later gave me c.450 at 07:50; c.240 at 08:30; c.150 at 08:50; c.195 at 09:20; and c.430 at 10:00, this suggesting some new arrivals with the Lesser Black-backed Gulls. So I would judge about 1000 birds today
- - no Lesser Black-backed Gulls roosted either. A disappointing passage of c.270 birds included flocks passing S to the E; as well as W to the N. Some of these paused at the lake and gave me counts of 48 at 07:45; 31 at 08:05; 1 at 08:30; 5 at 08:50; and 18 at 09:00. Then, as noted, birds started to stream in from the N and at 09:50 I estimated 2100 were present and I think some of the birds flew through rather than stopping. Suggests at least 2500 for the morning. Once again they proved very difficult to observe with or without the telescope: my appearance, even when I tried to hide behind bushes and blend in to the background, seemed to spook them to the other side of the water - at least I could see them in flight!
- - at least 17 different Herring Gulls were specifically identified this morning: an adult was on the boat platform at 08:05 but had gone later. A scan of the large gull flock revealed 8 adults and 4 immatures with 4 more immatures on the boat platform
- - in with the big party of gulls was one of the neat-looking, white-headed, darker-mantled Herring Gull-types that may well be a Yellow-legged gull, but I could not seen the legs (interestingly when I was looking critically at the gulls on the boat platform I noted that several of the Lesser Black-backed Gulls that were apparently adults seemed to have pink / flesh legs rather than yellow legs: perhaps a trick of the low winter sunlight?)
- - a full adult Great Black-backed Gull was on the boat platform at 10:00
- no Feral Pigeons
- no Stock Doves either
- apart from the roosting birds, the first Wood Pigeon was logged at 07:52. Two parties totalling just 26 birds flew W. None was seen in the trees to the E or the Wards Rough area. 6 birds were logged flying E. 19 were logged flying W; only 1 bird was seen on the wires today. But 14 seen in the trees and bushes around the lake. Equals just 66 for the day
- no Great Spotted Woodpecker today
- 1 Grey Wagtail today when a bird flew off NW from the dam at 09:08
- 11 Pied Wagtails: I wonder whether the wind having shifted toward the N makes the road-noise less obtrusive; or whether the lower temperatures meant that more birds were using a Town Centre roost
- no Meadow Pipit today
- 33 Fieldfares seen in 3 parties, all to the E
- 4 Song Thrushes logged again: 2 of them in song today [6 singing before 06:20 en route from Newport this morning]
- 9 Redwings logged: 5 heard in flight; 2 seen in trees around the lake; and 2 in distant flight
- 1 Mistle Thrush heard in song in the distance today
- 1 Goldcrest only
- 2 Long-tailed Tit parties again, with a large noisy party at the W end; and a group of at least 11 in the NE area as well
- both Coal Tits and Great Tits were in full song this morning
- corvid passage was 'unexpected' this morning. I failed to find the parties that tend to leave c.07:30, noting only c.25 birds flying in singles / pairs and much higher than recently. Whether I missed the main exodus or whether it took place later I cannot decide, but there was a larger than usual passage c.08:15 with parties of >50 Jackdaws and >80 Rooks, scattered high all across the sky. So I ended with reasonably respectable totals of 181 Jackdaws and 160 Rooks.
- a small party of 6 Starlings seen flying SE far to the N had clearly not roosted at the lake
- a good scatter of finches again with the Goldfinches in the alders most numerous
- only 2 Reed Buntings seen flying off from the W end today, with at least 1 more calling

Also
- a Squirrel along the W end
- some soggy new molehills along the S side to fall over in the dark - nearly!

Checked any street lights I passed-by for insects etc. as usual
- nowt

My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was:
1 Little Grebe; 2 Great Crested Grebes; 3 Cormorants; 3 Herons; 2 or 3 adult Swans, no cygnets; 18 Greylag Geese; 12 Canada Geese (all on the lake); 47 Mallard (at least 33 drakes); 12 Pochard (at least 9 drakes); 55 Tufted Ducks (at least 31 drakes); an unspecified number of unidentified Aythya ducks flew off; 1 drake Ruddy Ducks; 1 probable Sparrowhawk; no Buzzards; no Kestrels; 1 Water Rail heard; 10 Moorhens; 67 Coots; 4 Lapwings; no other waders; >1000 Black-headed Gulls; >2500 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 17 specifically identified Herring Gulls; 1 probable Yellow-legged Gull; 1 Great Black-backed Gull; no Feral Pigeons; no Stock Doves; 66 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; no Great Spotted Woodpeckers; no Sky Larks; no Meadow Pipits; 1 Grey Wagtail; 11 Pied Wagtails; 17 Wrens; 11 Dunnocks; 28 Robins; 29 Blackbirds; 33 Fieldfares; 4 Song Thrushes; 9 Redwings; 1 Mistle Thrush; 1 Goldcrest; 2 Long-tailed Tit parties; 1 Coal Tit; no Willow Tits; 14 Blue Tits; 11 Great Tits; no Treecreepers; no Jays; 13 Magpies; 181 Jackdaws; 160 Rooks; 12 Crows; 6 Starlings; 12 Chaffinches; 13 Greenfinches; 19 Goldfinches; no Siskins; no Linnets; no Redpolls; 1 Bullfinch; 3 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers

Also recorded
Mammals:
- no Rabbits
- 1 Grey Squirrels
- new molehills noted along S side

(Ed Wilson)

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7th, Thursday (15:02 - 15:57) Evening Log -

An evening visit essentially to look at the gulls at their pre-roost gathering and try and find some interesting gulls

Did a full sweep at 15:15 and came up with the following numbers:
Black-headed Gull  c.680
Lesser Black-backed Gull  c.830
Yellow-legged Gull  1 adult
Herring Gull  9: 6 adults and 3 immatures
Great Black-backed Gull  1 2nd winter bird, briefly

Later concentrated on plumage rather than numbers and I made no more counts. Most of the gulls were drifting off to the WNW (the football field one of the dog-walkers suggests). No 'white winged' gulls seen: no Common Gulls either

A few other bits and pieces noted
- 2 Great Crested Grebes only noted (though there was some of the lake I could not see - sheltering from the wind?
- 1 Heron still here - the immature on the SW grass
- 8 Canada Geese still present

Did hear and see some corvids returning, but engaged on sorting through the gulls at the time

(06:26 - 09:32) Morning Log - After a wild and wet night I was rather apprehensive about a visit to the lake this morning as the rain lashed down when the alarm woke me. But it was only a shower and while there were more I managed to stand-up for these and between-times it was bright if breezy and rather fresh. Good visibility again

Signs of winter with a much 'fresher' feel to the morning in the brisk W wind. A promising-looking sunrise fizzled out with some low cloud, but stayed fine with good visibility though there were showers in the area before I left for The Flash

Nothing to pull out as a highlight

The main features of the day
- both the Little Grebe and the drake Ruddy Duck presumed sheltering
- a Cormorant on the lake again
- Aythya ducks seen and heard flying out before the main count
- the gull-roost seemed to comprise c.100 Black-headed Gulls and c.150 Lesser Black-backed Gulls. Failed to find anything more interesting again
- large number of Black-headed Gulls arrived at the 'normal' time to supplement the roost
- very few Lesser Black-backed Gulls today
- usual small number of Herring Gulls later - all (near) adults today
- a, possibly the same, near-adult Great Black-backed Gull at the lake
- small number of Wood Pigeons today
- very few winter thrushes
- moderate passage of corvids with more or less equal numbers of Jackdaws and Rooks today
- 7 Reed Buntings seen flying off from the W end roost area

The more detailed notes from the lake
[not included any yesterday's values - need to sleep some time!]
- the Little Grebe not seen
- all 3 Great Crested Grebes again, but well scattered around the lake again
- 1 Cormorant again today and again it was first seen when it was hauled out on the boat platform at 08:10! Seemed to be present throughout, though 1 seen in flight at 08:45 may have been a different bird leaving?
- 2 Herons for sure today with birds in the NE and SE areas at 08:55. First heard calling in flight at 06:35 (perhaps I flushed it off the boat platform), though not seen at that time. At 06:45 a bird in the SE corner was watching me warily as I walked along the dam-top, but seemed to think I was harmless even with the extended tripod over my shoulder
- the 2 adult Swans present throughout
- 17 Greylag Geese flew E overhead and calling at 06:37
- 8 Canada Geese were on the lake by 06:32 and were probably the birds I heard calling in flight as I arrived at 06:27
- 51 Mallard on the lake today. I made the customary early visit to the dam but birds no longer seem to gather there - perhaps because there seems to be no early food handout. I logged 33 as drakes
- 9 Pochard only logged today. 3 of these birds flew out to the W at 07:19. See also Aythya sp. below
- 46 Tufted Duck today. 26 logged as drakes. See also Aythya sp. below
- an unknown number of Aythya sp. ducks flew off W at 07:01 with just the sound of fast-beating wings!
- the eclipse drake Ruddy Duck not seen
- 2 Buzzards sightings today
- 11 Moorhens with 8 of these along the dam
- 73 was the count of Coots today
- gulls today:
- - c.100 Black-headed Gulls seemed to be in the roost at 06:35. Some of these began to leave to the S before 07:00. Just after this big parties came in from the W, tumbling high out of the sky (I assume that when there is a strong tail-wind they do not like to hedge-hop in case they get caught in a gust) with >800 by 07:03 and at least 1350 by 07:15. Later sample counts gave me c.125 at 08:15; c.380 at 08:30; c.300 at 09:50; and c.480 at 09:30. Unusual was a group of 4 birds flying high S to the E of the lake. At least 1400 birds involved
- - c.150 Lesser Black-backed Gulls seemed to be at roost at 06:35. The roost drifted away and no birds were present at 07:55. Thereafter sample counts revealed small arrivals with 5 at 08:15; 5 different birds at 08:30; 7 at 08:50; and 37 by 09:30. Overhead I logged just 187 birds passing 'W' with the largest party being c.60 birds to the N near the tip. There was a small party of 18 that flew S to the E - the first for a few days. c.230 birds for the day
- - at least 5 different Herring Gulls were specifically identified this morning: all (near) adults. 1 bird with a few immature tail feathers was seen on the boat ramp at 08:15; an adult with conspicuously small amount of black on the wing-tip flew out at 09:13; and there were 3 (near) adults in with the Lesser Black-backed Gulls at 09:03
- - a (perhaps the same) near-adult (4th winter?) Great Black-backed Gull was flying around for a while after 08:50
- 3 blue-morph Feral Pigeons flew E
- the only 2 Stock Doves of the day were seen circling the NW trees
- the first Wood Pigeon was logged at 08:05. A party of 30 birds were in the trees to the E and another 15 in the trees to the N; 20 birds logged flying E; 14 flying W; none on the wires today; and 6 seen in the trees and bushes around the lake. Equals just 85 for the day
- no Great Spotted Woodpecker today
- no Grey Wagtails today
- 4 Pied Wagtails a slightly better number with 2 of them on top of the dam
- no Meadow Pipit today
- 2 Fieldfares seen flying high SE were the only birds logged
- 3 Song Thrushes logged again: 2 of them very briefly in song today [5 singing before 06:20 en route from Newport this morning]
- 3 Redwings logged with yet again 2 heard in flight; and just 1 distant fly-by
- no Mistle Thrush today
- 3 Goldcrests with 1 heard but 2 seen in with one of the ?
- 2 Long-tailed Tit parties again
- two notable Magpie sightings: at 06:25 - still dark - I saw a movement in the hawthorns at the Teece Drive gate and it seemed I had disturbed 3 roosting birds here, though they made no calls as they hopped deeper in to cover. Then at 07:45, just as one of the heavy showers arrived, a loose party of 27 Magpies was seen leaving the NE area
- corvid passage again started just after 07:30 with a large scattered group of both Jackdaws (c.150) and Rooks (c.115). There were some smaller mixed groups at c.08:00; and a third small peak again of birds passing well to the E at 08:30, this last dominated by Rooks. With the usual scattered singles and groups I logged 259 Jackdaws and 257 Rooks.
- no Starlings seen again
- at least 7 Reed Buntings seen flying off from the W end. When he first bird called at 07:21 it was immediately answered by 2 other birds - I am assuming that these were some of the 7 seen flying off. One bird was heard giving the 'hoarse' call that confused me a few weeks ago

Checked any street lights I passed-by for insects etc. as usual
- nowt

My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was:
no Little Grebe; 3 Great Crested Grebes; 1 Cormorant; 2 Herons; 2 adult Swans, no cygnets (on the lake); 17 Greylag Goose; 8 Canada Geese (all on the lake); 51 Mallard (at least 3 drakes); 9 Pochard (at least 5 drakes); 46 Tufted Ducks (at least 26 drakes); an unspecified number of unidentified Aythya ducks flew off; no Ruddy Ducks; no Sparrowhawks; 2 Buzzards; no Kestrels; no Water Rails; 11 Moorhens; 73 Coots; no waders;>1400 Black-headed Gulls; >230 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 5 specifically identified Herring Gulls; no Yellow-legged Gulls; 1 Great Black-backed Gull; 3 Feral Pigeons; 2 Stock Doves; 85 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; no Great Spotted Woodpeckers; no Sky Larks; no Meadow Pipits; no Grey Wagtails; 4 Pied Wagtails; 23 Wrens; 7 Dunnocks; 23 Robins; 16 Blackbirds; 2 Fieldfares; 3 Song Thrushes; 3 Redwings; no Mistle Thrushes; 3 Goldcrests; 2 Long-tailed Tit parties; 1 Coal Tit; no Willow Tits; 10 Blue Tits; 12 Great Tits; no Treecreepers; no Jays; 33 Magpies; 259 Jackdaws; 257 Rooks; 9 Crows; no Starlings; 3 Chaffinches; 8 Greenfinches; 2 Goldfinches; no Siskins; no Linnets; no Redpolls; 2 Bullfinches; 7 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers

(Ed Wilson)

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Wednesday, 6th (06:26 - 09:32) - Signs of winter with a much 'fresher' feel to the morning in the brisk W wind. A promising-looking sunrise fizzled out with some low cloud, but stayed fine with good visibility though there were showers in the area before I left for The Flash

Highlight was the small party of 9 presumed Golden Plover seen high to the SE - the right size and jizz to this fast-flying party of medium-large birds with pointed wings: but too far to be able see any identification features

The main features of the day
- the Little Grebe (and the drake Ruddy Duck) seen again
- a Cormorant on the lake again
- Pochard and other Aythya ducks seen flying out before the main count
- the gull-roost seemed to comprise c.450 Black-headed Gulls and c.900 Lesser Black-backed Gulls. Several sweeps of the roost failed to find anything more interesting again
- unlike yesterday more Black-headed Gulls arrived at the 'normal' time to supplement the roost
- large number of Lesser Black-backed Gulls also seen flying to the N
- later there were at least 3 Herring Gulls and a near-adult Great Black-backed Gull at the lake
- a few small parties of Wood Pigeons noted today but a meagre c.35 over Wards Rough again
- several parties of Fieldfares: very few Redwings
- big early passage of corvids with more Jackdaws than Rooks today

The more detailed notes from the lake
[not included any yesterday's values - need to sleep some time!]
- the Little Grebe seen just once, briefly
- all 3 Great Crested Grebes again
- 1 Cormorant today: it was first seen hauled out on the boat platform at 08:10, apparently having arrived earlier
- 1 Heron again first heard and then seen well pre-dawn at 07:03 heading for the boat platform
- the 2 adult Swans present throughout. I was told that the cygnet was not at the Flash today (and when I went there indeed it was not), and perhaps this was the cygnet that flew in at 08:48. Whatever its origins it was treated to the full wrath of the cob and soon got the message
- 1 Greylag Goose made a solo passage, flying high SE overhead and calling at 07:09
- 10 Canada Geese in 3 small groups, flew E overhead at 07:22. None on the lake today
- 36 Mallard only on the lake today. I made another early visit to the dam but with choppy water blowing against the dam by the brisk W wind there was no gathering. Of the 36 birds counted later there were 24 drakes
- 5 Pochard only logged today. The loafing birds comprised just 2 ducks in the NW area. 2 birds flew out to the W at 07:19; and 1 more flew off W at 07:27. See also Aythya sp. below
- 52 Tufted Duck today. 31 of the 52 present at 09:00 were logged as drakes. See also Aythya sp. below
- 16 Aythya sp. ducks flew off W, with 5 at 07:14 and at least 11 more at 07:16. Just too dark to identify, let alone sex! Based on the numbers at The Flash later these could have been either species (or both!)
- the eclipse drake Ruddy Duck seen at the W end with the Tufted Ducks just briefly before it retired to hide in the reeds
- 1 Buzzard sighting with a bird being pursued by Lesser Black-backed Gulls and flying NE high over the lake at 08:38
- 8 Moorhens today: 6 of these were along the dam
- 70 Coots today
- the 9 Golden Plover high to the SE at 07:48
- gulls today:
- - c.450 Black-headed Gulls seemed to be in the roost at 06:30. More birds began arriving at 06:45, tumbling from high in the sky with c.1000 present by 07:00 when some birds started to leave to the S even though more were still arriving. The main flock broke at 07:11 with birds leaving to NW, SE and S. Nevertheless there were still c.1500 present at 07:30, suggesting c.2000 birds involved. Later sample counts gave me just 85 at 08:20; c.280 at 08:45; and c.200 at 09:15
- - c.900 Lesser Black-backed Gulls seemed to be at roost at 06:30. The roost started to break at 07:15, with birds leaving at 07:20 and the main exodus at 07:35 - later than the Black-headed Gulls and almost all heading W / NW. I also logged c.1600 birds flying over, almost all W to the N this morning. Once again this number is a 'best estimate' as these were large groups seeming to originate in the area of the tip though sometime hard to separate from the birds leaving the lake roost to the NW. Much later there were 26 birds flying NW overhead, some chasing the only Buzzard of the day. Sample counts of this species on the lake gave me 59 at 08:20; 47 at 08:45; and just 4 at 09:15. So at least 2526 birds
- - 3 different Herring Gulls were specifically identified this morning: all 3 were immatures (and all 1st winters?). 2 seen on the boat ramp at 08:00, with these and another on the water at 08:20
- - a near-adult (4th winter?) Great Black-backed Gull was flying around for a while after 08:45
- no Feral Pigeons logged again
- no Stock Doves either
- the first Wood Pigeon logged at 07:53. As highlighted above c.35 over Wards Rough again; 2 other small parties totalling 38 birds; 14 birds logged flying E; 11 flying W; none on the wires today; and only 1 seen in the trees and bushes around the lake. Equals 99 for the day
- 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker again a heard-only along the N side at 09:20
- 1 Grey Wagtail again, with the bird heard in the SW area
- 2 Pied Wagtails only logged: no idea why so few - the wind was bringing less traffic noise today
- no Meadow Pipit today
- c.45 Fieldfares logged: parties of c.15 and c.30 were logged flying S to the E, but I rather fancy that the 45 birds I counted flying W a few minutes later were the same individuals
- 4 Song Thrushes logged again: no song today [only 4 singing before 06:20 en route from Newport this morning]
- 10 Redwings logged again with 2 heard in flight; and the rest seen flying, mainly to the E of the lake
- no Mistle Thrush today
- 1 Goldcrest heard
- 2 Long-tailed Tit parties
- 1 Jay heard over the NE area at 09:05
- corvid passage started just after 07:30 with a large scattered groups of, mainly (c.170), Jackdaws; and (c.50) Rooks. There was another sizeable mixed group at 07:55; and a third well to the E at 08:40, those these were mostly Jackdaws. With the usual scattered singles and groups I logged 348 Jackdaws but only 132 Rooks.
- no Starlings seen
- just 2 Reed Buntings heard calling with none in flight

Checked any street lights I passed-by for insects etc. as usual
- nowt

My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was:
1 Little Grebe; 3 Great Crested Grebes; 1 Cormorant; 1 Heron; 2 adult Swans, 1 cygnet (on the lake); 1 Greylag Goose; 10 Canada Geese (none on the lake); 36 Mallard (at least 24 drakes); 5 Pochard (at least 2 drakes); 52 Tufted Ducks (at least 31 drakes); 16 unidentified Aythya ducks flew off; 1 eclipse drake Ruddy Ducks; no Sparrowhawks; 1 Buzzard; no Kestrels; no Water Rails; 8 Moorhens; 70 Coots; 9 Golden Plover; no other waders;>2000 Black-headed Gulls; >2526 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 3 specifically identified Herring Gulls; no Yellow-legged Gulls; 1 Great Black-backed Gull; no Feral Pigeons; no Stock Doves; 99 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker; no Sky Larks; no Meadow Pipits; 1 Grey Wagtail; 2 Pied Wagtails; 22 Wrens; 11 Dunnocks; 22 Robins; 24 Blackbirds; c.45 Fieldfares; 4 Song Thrushes; 10 Redwings; no Mistle Thrushes; 1 Goldcrest; 2 Long-tailed Tit parties; no Coal Tits; no Willow Tits; 11 Blue Tits; 10 Great Tits; no Treecreepers; 1 Jay; 11 Magpies; 348 Jackdaws; 132 Rooks; 16 Crows; no Starlings; 8 Chaffinches; 13 Greenfinches; 4 Goldfinches; no Siskins; no Linnets; no Redpolls; 2 Bullfinches; 2 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers

(Ed Wilson)

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Tuesday, 5th (06:22 - 09:59) - Very different at the lake this morning: there were lots of gulls pre-dawn that seem likely to have roosted overnight - the first real 'roost' here this winter. In contrast there were almost no Wood Pigeons

The main features of the day
- 2 Cormorants in the lake again
- a possible Wigeon heard early, but hard to be certain above the noise of the gulls (to say nothing of the traffic on the M54): and nothing seen later
- both Pochard and Tufted Duck seen flying out before the main count
- early Buzzard again - it seems likely that this is (sometimes?) roosting in the N side trees
- the gull-roost seemed to comprise c.900 Black-headed Gulls and c.1800 Lesser Black-backed Gulls. Several sweeps failed to find anything more interesting, not even a Herring Gull at that time
- later there were at least 4 Herring Gulls and what seemed to be an adult Yellow-legged Gull
- the only party of Wood Pigeons noted today was a meagre c.35 over Wards Rough
- one reasonable sized, but distant, party of Fieldfares: very few Redwings
- smaller second passage of corvids recorded and lower totals today
- a lone Starling seemed to have roosted in the reeds last night

And, oddity of the day
- one of the street-lights was being investigated by the most odd-looking fly: I could not decide whether it had vestigial wings, or whether it had very enlarged front femora in the manner of some beetles. Sadly there was insufficient light for the photo to help with the identification

The more detailed notes from the lake
[not included any yesterday's values - need to sleep some time!]
- the Little Grebe not seen again
- all 3 Great Crested Grebes seen today, though the 2 in the NW corner were not logged together until after 09:30
- 2 Cormorant today: 1 seen fishing by 08:25 and soon hauled out on the boat platform drying its wings. Seemed to be an adult and seemed to fly off at 08:49, though it looked more like a juvenile and I rather assumed that the plumage tone had changed as the bird dried out. But seems that this was a different bird, perhaps arriving as there were 2 present by 09:40. These were, unusually, fishing entirely independently at opposite ends / sides of the lake
- 1 Heron again for sure: what seemed to be an immature bird first seen on the boat platform at 07:45 and on several occasions in several locations thereafter
- the 2 adult Swans present throughout [the cygnet is confirmed to be at the Flash]
- no Greylag Geese noted
- 27 Canada Geese was my best total for some while: 17, in 4 small groups, flew E overhead at 07:20; then 2 arrived from the direction of The Flash at 07:43 while 2 more flew on E overhead
- 50 Mallard on the lake today. I made an early visit to the dam this morning but did not make a count at that time as to have done so would have probably flushed the roosting gulls, which I did not want to do. The count at 09:15 was aided by a dog-walker causing most of the birds to move away from the edges. Of the 50 birds counted at that time there were 31 drakes
- 7 Pochard only logged today. The loafing birds comprised just 3 ducks in the NW area. 1 drake flew out to the W at 07:16; and 3 more birds, of which 2 were certainly drakes, flew off W at 07:21
- 58 Tufted Duck today: 2 unsexed birds flew off W at 07:01; and 4 more at 07:13. 26 of the 52 (i.e. exactly half) present at 09:20 were logged as drakes
- the eclipse drake Ruddy Duck not seen
- 1 Sparrowhawk again: high to the NW at 09:49, strangely eliciting no response from the local birds
- 2 Buzzard sightings again with the first bird over the N side trees at 07:15 and perhaps leaving its roost
- 6 Moorhens only again today: just 2 of these were along the dam
- 67 Coots today
- gulls today:
- - c.900 Black-headed Gulls seemed to be at roost at 06:30. Just 5 birds seen flying in from the W at c.07:20 before the roost started to disperse at 07:25. Later sample counts gave the typical picture of birds coming and going (well: going and coming today! The same birds?) with c.270 at 07:50; c.230 at 08:10; c. 190 at 08:35; and c.450 at 08:55. Over 1000 for the morning
- - c.1800 Lesser Black-backed Gulls seemed to be at roost at 06:30. I also logged c.640 birds flying W to the N this morning, though this number is a 'best estimate' as almost all the birds were swirling around in hard-to-count spirals and some may just have been birds that had recently left the lake roost. Much later there were 29 birds flying W overhead. Sample counts of this species on the lake gave me c.400 at 07:50; c.110 at 08:10; 84 at 08:35; but c.280 at 08:55 which area assumed to be mainly new birds (the only Herring Gulls seen were in this party). So at least 2350 birds
- - 5 different Herring Gulls were specifically identified this morning: an adult was on the boat platform at 08:10 but had gone by 08:30. Then 1 adult and 3 immatures (all 1st winters?) were in with the Lesser Black-backed Gulls at 08:55
- - what appeared to be a Yellow-legged Gull was also in with the Lesser Black-backed Gulls. Alongside the Herring Gull the head was unstreaked and the mantle significantly darker. Legs not seen though
- - no Great Black-backed Gulls
- no Feral Pigeons logged
- no Stock Doves either
- the first Wood Pigeon logged at 07:52. As highlighted above just c.35 in a single flock to the E; 6 birds logged flying E; 31 flying W; none on the wires today; and 12 seen in the trees and bushes around the lake. Equals just 84 for the day
- 2 Great Spotted Woodpecker records: 1 heard in flight over the lake at 08:50: then an unsexed bird flushed from the NE area at 09:30
- 1 Grey Wagtail only - a bird flushed out of the Wesley Brook was again the only sighting of the morning
- 5 Pied Wagtails logged was another low count and again probably in part due to the M54 road-noise drowning the flight-calls
- no Meadow Pipit today
- c.40 Fieldfares logged, all in a single party far to the ENE
- 4 Song Thrushes logged again: and again only 1 in song [I logged 7 singing before 06:20 en route from Newport this morning]
- 6 Redwings logged again with 2 heard; and 4 seen in the trees around the lake
- no Mistle Thrush today
- 2 Goldcrests together in the bushes bordering the M54
- 2 Long-tailed Tit parties
- 2 Willow Tits heard and then seen along the W end
- 1 Jay seen in flight over the NE area at the early time (for Jays) of 07:40 being uncharacteristically silent
- corvid passage started just after 07:30 with a few Jackdaws and Rooks flying the wrong way again! Thereafter all was more 'normal', but no large (>100) flocks, with a loose group of 72 Rooks at 07:41 the biggest. I counted 190 Jackdaws and 278 Rooks. Now why would there be more Rooks than Jackdaws - were the latter flying too low for me to see them in the windy conditions? It did not help having all the roosting gulls swirling around prior to departure, these affecting my ability to find the corvids as well as altering the route taken by the departing birds
- 1 Starling was seen apparently flying out of the NW reeds (roost?) at 07:45
- 25 Goldfinches in total: parties of 7 and 15 seen over NW area, plus a scatter of singles. Largest count of finches at the lake for a while
- 7 Reed Buntings logged flying off after 3 heard calling

Checked any street lights I passed-by for insects etc. as usual
- a strange wingless (?) fly

My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was:
no Little Grebe; 3 Great Crested Grebes; 2 Cormorants; 1 Heron; 2 adult Swans (on the lake); no Greylag Geese; 27 Canada Geese (all on the lake); possible Wigeon heard; 50 Mallard (at least 31 drakes); 7 Pochard (at least 3 drakes); 58 Tufted Ducks (at least 26 drakes); no Ruddy Ducks; 1 Sparrowhawk; 2 Buzzards; no Kestrels; no Water Rails; 6 Moorhens; 67 Coots; no waders; >1000 Black-headed Gulls; >2350 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 5 specifically identified Herring Gulls; 1 possible Yellow-legged Gull; no Great Black-backed Gulls; no Feral Pigeons; no Stock Doves; 84 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers; no Sky Larks; no Meadow Pipits; 1 Grey Wagtail; 5 Pied Wagtails; 19 Wrens; 9 Dunnocks; 20 Robins; 20 Blackbirds; c.40 Fieldfares; 4 Song Thrushes; 6 Redwings; no Mistle Thrushes; 2 Goldcrests; 2 Long-tailed Tit parties; no Coal Tits; 2 Willow Tits; 12 Blue Tits; 7 Great Tits; no Treecreepers; 1 Jay; 9 Magpies; 190 Jackdaws; 278 Rooks; 10 Crows; 1 Starling; 10 Chaffinches; 10 Greenfinches; 25 Goldfinches; no Siskins; no Linnets; no Redpolls; no Bullfinches; 7 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers

Also recorded
Insects:
1 species of other 'insects'
- the 'fly'

(Ed Wilson)

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Monday, 4th (06:25 - 09:57) - The strange weather continues: clear moonlight nights in December should mean frost but the moderate SW wind kept temperatures up. A passing remnant shower to the S heralded some patches of low cloud, but essentially fine and sunny. Good visibility.

The wind brought a lot of road-noise from the M54 and that may have affected some of the counts - Pied Wagtails were either absent or hard to hear! But otherwise a pleasant morning

The main features of the day
- 2 Cormorants in the lake, with another over (1 at The Flash as well; also at Trench Lock Pool)
- two Sparrowhawk sightings
- better, but still low, numbers of Black-headed Gulls today
- low number of large gulls again: but more on the lake, with a higher proportion of Herring Gulls and an adult Great Black-backed Gull briefly
- the best count of Wood Pigeons for a while with at least 150 over Wards Rough and over 400 more overhead in 10 different parties. Dispute as to the destination though - going in all directions!
- at least 2 Meadow Pipits apparently roosting in the grass in the SW area
- one party of Fieldfares and a scatter of Redwings
- a 'double-passage' of corvids again gave me the best total for a few weeks
- 1 Starling seemed to leave a lake-side roost
- Magpies roost in a number of places around the lake, with the largest number in the NE. They used to congregate around the waste bins in the E-end lay-by at first light but since the design of the bins was changed to incorporate a 'hat' there have been many fewer. But this morning a group of 28 birds was seen flying off from the NE trees and mostly away across Castle Farm Way at the rather later time 07:28 - they were always in the lay-by very early
And, oddity of the day
- at 06:33 there was a very bright shooting star - the first I have seen at the lake and my first in the UK for some years. This despite the bright full moon - though it was towards the east where the first light was evident as well
- I have been wondering about the catkins that have been apparent on the hazel trees and bushes for some while now: should I be seeing catkins this early? Well whether I should or not, today there was some pussy willow! It was only just showing, but the bright white of the 'fluff' was impossible to miss - before Christmas!

The more detailed notes from the lake
[not included any yesterday's values - need to sleep some time!]
- the Little Grebe not seen: perhaps hidden in the NW reeds sheltering
- just 2 Great Crested Grebes seen today
- 3 Cormorants today: 2 came from the E at 08:00, but one adult took a look at the lake and carried on. The other, also an adult, landed and was joined by an immature at 08:38 and these stayed throughout, unnerving the gulls
- 1 Heron again: bird not seen on its favourite perch in the NW area but noted flying out of the NE area at 07:05
- one of the adult Swans went for a short fly again today - perhaps it is looking for the cygnet?
- no Greylag Geese noted
- 5 uncharacteristically silent Canada Geese flew in from the E today, arriving at 07:04: the cob swan eventually persuaded them to leave at 07:49, when they flew off E and looped around towards The Flash
- 34 Mallard on the lake today. I made an early visit to the dam this morning but after the recent wind the water was rather choppy and some of them were sheltering elsewhere. 26 drakes on the lake. Unusual was 3 (other?) birds flying NW to the NE that seemed to be this species - rather too far away to hope to see the curly tail of any drake
- 15 Pochard today. Most were loafing birds in the SE area again, but 4 birds at the NW end of the lake
- 45 Tufted Duck logged: 3 unsexed birds flew off W at 07:16. 24 of the 42 present at 09:20 were logged as drakes
- the eclipse drake Ruddy Duck seen briefly lurking in the NW reeds
- 2 Sparrowhawks seen: 1 apparent female flew low across the lake and the SW grass at 07:13; then a probable male high to the NE 07:24
- 2 Buzzard sightings with the first bird over Castle Farm Way at 07:12
- a Kestrel hovering over SW grass at 07:47
- 6 Moorhens only today: 4 of these were along the dam
- 62 Coots today
- gulls today:
- - the Black-headed Gulls arrived much earlier with 5 by 06:48 and a party of c.100 arriving from the W at 06:50. c.700 present by the time they started to leave to the S at 07:07. Low counts thereafter with just 43 at 07:50; and only 21 at 08:30. Increased to c.230 by 09:05. I'll take 700 as the morning's count
- - I logged 183 Lesser Black-backed Gulls flying 'over': no flocks were seen to the E again this morning, with most flying SW and passing more or less overhead, but in small numbers, with none seen until the very late time of 08:05 The first bird arrived on the lake at 08:37 and birds then drifted in until there were 141 by 09:05 after which some were flushed by the fishing Cormorants diving underneath and through them. So 324 for the day
- - 8 different Herring Gulls were specifically identified this morning with 5 adults and 3 immatures (all 1st winters?) in with the Lesser Black-backed Gulls at 09:05
- - an adult Great Black-backed Gull also with the Lesser Black-backed and Herring Gulls at 09:05
- no Feral Pigeons logged
- no Stock Doves today
- the first Wood Pigeon logged at the earlier time of 07:47. As highlighted above many more today with 431 birds recorded in flight in 10 parties, the largest of at least 80 birds; at least 150 more over the Wards Rough area to the E; 15 birds logged flying E; 49 flying W; 2 on the wires today; but only 2 seen in the trees and bushes around the lake. Equals 649 for the day
- no woodpeckers again today
- 1 Grey Wagtail only - a bird flushed out of the Wesley Brook as I peered hoping to find a Water Rail
- 3 Pied Wagtails logged was probably in part due to the M54 road-noise drowning their flight-calls
- a Meadow Pipit was heard close-by at 07:58 and seemed to be a bird flying off from the SW grass: the call at 08:30 certainly was, as the bird was then seen flying off N. Another call a few minutes later was probably this latter bird
- 16 Fieldfares logged, with 15 in a party to the NE
- 4 Song Thrushes recorded but only 1 in song
- 6 Redwings logged with 2 seen in the trees and the others in a small group flying to the SE
- a Mistle Thrush heard singing and then seen at the W end
- no Goldcrests
- 3 Long-tailed Tit parties
- corvid passage was again a 'double-shift' with the early passage slightly earlier at.07:30 supplemented by more flocks at c.08:00, though these were almost all well to the E. I counted 322 Jackdaws and 224 Rooks but this is almost certainly an under-recording as birds continued to pass while I was looking at other things
- 1 Starling was seen flying S at 07:55 and seemed to have come from trees along the N side
- the complete Magpie total for the morning was at least 34
- 2 Siskins seen flying in to the alders along the N side, but I could not locate them afterwards
- 5 Reed Buntings logged with calls from 07:27. 2 birds seen flying off at 07:40 from the W end were the first noted so doing for several days

Checked any street lights I passed-by for insects etc. as usual
- nothing

My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was:
no Little Grebe; 2 Great Crested Grebes; 3 Cormorants; 1 Heron; 2 adult Swans (on the lake); no Greylag Geese; 5 Canada Geese (all on the lake); 37 Mallard (at least 26 drakes); 15 Pochard (6 drakes); 45 Tufted Ducks (at least 24 drakes); 1 eclipse drake Ruddy Duck; 2 Sparrowhawks; 2 Buzzards; 1 Kestrel; no Water Rails; 6 Moorhens; 62 Coots; no waders; >700 Black-headed Gulls; 324 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 8 specifically identified Herring Gulls; no Yellow-legged Gulls; 1 Great Black-backed Gull; no Feral Pigeons; no Stock Doves; 649 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; no Great Spotted Woodpeckers; no Sky Larks; 2 or 3 Meadow Pipits; 1 Grey Wagtail; 3 Pied Wagtails; 22 Wrens; 8 Dunnocks; 25 Robins; 22 Blackbirds again; 16 Fieldfares; 4 Song Thrushes; 6 Redwings; 1 Mistle Thrush; no Goldcrests; 3 Long-tailed Tit parties; no Coal Tits; no Willow Tits; 13 Blue Tits; 10 Great Tits again; no Treecreepers; no Jays; 34 Magpies; 322 Jackdaws; 224 Rooks; 14 Crows; 1 Starling; 11 Chaffinches; 7 Greenfinches; 3 Goldfinches; 2 Siskins; no Linnets; no Redpolls; 2 Bullfinches; 5 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers

(Ed Wilson)

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Sunday, 3rd (06:27 - 09:55) - Well the stormy weather overnight did not blow any gulls inland - it seemed to blow them away! Was very much in two minds about an early start this morning with howling wind and hammering rain when the alarm went off, but the rain soon died down, the forecast was to clear by dawn, so I gave it a try. Did not stray far from the shelter of SW hut until it was light-enough to see that there was indeed a real clearance from the W at 07:10. Stayed windy! Good visibility.

The overnight deluge had clearly caused the Wesley Brook to top the footbridge again, though the waters had receded by the time I got there. I also noted 3 trees down - all silver birch-types: one in Teece Drive; 1 in the NW Copse; and 1 in the NE area. The 'water rail ditch' in the NE area was full of water today - but conditions do not look promising this year as for reasons I cannot fathom the whole area seems more open and exposed this year

The main features of the day
- the cygnet definitely gone (probably the bird I saw being chased around The Flash later)
- a possible Woodcock was another pre-dawn jinking shape only
- very low numbers of Black-headed Gulls today
- larger number of large gulls over though not as many as yesterday: but very few on the lake
- more Wood Pigeons and a few flocks
- low numbers of most passerines with just 3 Redwings as the only winter thrushes
- most unusually (uniquely?) the first tit of the day was a heard Willow Tit!
- no Starlings in the reeds or overhead
And, oddity of the day
- I noted 3 Moorhens peering at some churning water in the SE area and investigated. A large (c.2') fish was thrashing about, head-down near the shore and seemed to be in distress. As I was wearing Wellingtons I waded until I could see better. I had some idea that I might be able to pull the fish to shore and see what was wrong, but as soon as I touched its fin it writhed away and dived deep in to the water and was not seen again. I explained this to one of the fishermen - he thought it probably a carp (Cyprinus carpio). I checked my photos and clearly that is indeed what it was, the long-based dorsal fin and heavy body confirming this.

The more detailed notes from the lake
- the Little Grebe still here, but mainly in the NW reeds, sheltering
- the 3 Great Crested Grebes still not talking to each other
- no Cormorants today
- 1 Heron again for sure: bird seen flying in to its favourite perch in the NW area at 07:19 - like most species, much later than usual. Several other sightings of perhaps the same bird
- the adult Swans even went for a fly today, but not far. And came back
- no Greylag Geese noted
- 10 Canada Geese today: all arrived at 07:26 from the direction of The Flash and stayed throughout
- 38 Mallard today. I made no early visit to the dam this morning (I was sheltering) and was surprised when c.18 of these birds seemed to 'disperse' from the dam to the SW grass - too dark to be sure of the numbers. Later the full-sweep gave me just 36, but likely some hiding in the windy conditions and a pair had already flown off. 27 drakes
- 27 Pochard today. Something seemed to spook all the loafing birds in the SE area and 20 Pochard flew off W at 08:44 leaving just 7 drakes at the NW end of the lake (the Tufted Duck stayed for a while ..)
- 69 Tufted Duck today: At least 10 unsexed birds flew off W at 07:16 and 4 more at 07:22. 27 of the 55 present at 09:00 were logged as drakes. Later 33 more left to the W at 09:26. Not entirely sure why - the yacht folk had arrived but none of the boats had been taken out of the compound whilst they contemplated the weather, and even the few gulls that there were this morning stayed around the launch platform
- the eclipse drake Ruddy Duck not seen
- 1 Sparrowhawk flew low across the lake at 07:41
- 4 Buzzard sightings with the first bird to the E at 07:20 and just about the first bird seen!
- a male Kestrel flew S over the W end of the lake
- 9 Moorhens today: 5 of these were along the dam today
- 68 Coots today
- was it or wasn't it a Woodcock that seemed to fly low across the grass and into the SW bushes at 07:25
- gulls today:
- - the Black-headed Gulls were very late in and in very small numbers: c.25 arrived at 07:15 but had gone by 07:25. Thereafter I logged c.75 more arrive, but these also quickly left and my count at 07:50 gave me just 3 birds on the lake! The usual small parties coming and going though and later sample counts gave me figures of c.110 at 08:30; and c.120 at 09:40. c.150 for the morning I would think conservative
- - I logged 522 Lesser Black-backed Gulls flying 'over': no flocks were seen to the E this morning, with most flying SW and passing more to the N& W than in recent days. 2 adult birds were on the lake at 07:28, but did not stay. There were 2 immatures at 09:00 and 2 adults at 09:15 but otherwise they all avoided the lake! So 528 for the day
- - 3 different Herring Gulls were specifically identified this morning with 2 different single immatures on the lake and another flying over
- 1 blue morph Feral Pigeon flew W
- no Stock Doves today
- the first Wood Pigeon logged at 07:55. There seemed to be no migrants; local movements involved some 91 birds in 4 parties, the largest of 43 birds; with no parties over the fields to the E. 17 birds logged flying E; and 29 flying W; 1 braving the wind on the wires today; and just 8 seen in the trees and bushes around the lake. Equals 146 for the day
- no woodpecker again today
- 1 Grey Wagtail only - the bird in the SW area again
- 9 Pied Wagtails logged again
- no Fieldfares logged
- 3 Song Thrushes logged today with 2 in song
- 3 Redwings logged with 1 heard and 2 seen in the hawthorns on the N side
- no Mistle Thrushes today
- no Goldcrests either
- and no Long-tailed Tit parties come to that - too windy to hear them?
- a Coal Tit near the Teece Drive gate again
- a Willow Tit heard at the W end at the early time of 07:52
- corvid passage was another 'double-shift' with the distinctly average early passage at c.07:40 supplemented by some sizeable flocks at c.08:20. The very first few birds were flying 'the wrong way' again. I counted 187 Jackdaws and 168 Rooks
- no Starlings seen
- only 2 Reed Buntings logged with calls at 07:21 and then silence until after 08:00

Checked any street lights I passed-by for insects etc. as usual
- nothing

My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was:
1 Little Grebe; 3 Great Crested Grebes; no Cormorants; 1 Heron; 2 adult Swans (on the lake); no Greylag Geese; 10 Canada Geese (all on the lake); 38 Mallard (27 drakes); 27 Pochard (not sexed); 69 Tufted Ducks (at least 27 drakes); no Ruddy Ducks; 1 Sparrowhawk; up to 4 Buzzards; 1 Kestrel; no Water Rails; 9 Moorhens; 68 Coots; 1 possible Woodcock; no other waders;>150 Black-headed Gulls; 528 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 3 specifically identified Herring Gulls; no Yellow-legged Gulls; no Great Black-backed Gulls; 1 Feral Pigeon; no Stock Doves; 146 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; no Great Spotted Woodpeckers; no Sky Larks; no Meadow Pipits; 1 Grey Wagtail; 9 Pied Wagtails; 17 Wrens; 8 Dunnocks; 20 Robins; 22 Blackbirds; no Fieldfares; 3 Song Thrushes; 3 Redwings; no Mistle Thrushes; no Goldcrests; no Long-tailed Tit parties; 1 Coal Tit; 1 Willow Tit; 11 Blue Tits; 10 Great Tits; no Treecreepers; no Jays; 16 Magpies; 187 Jackdaws; 168 Rooks; 6 Crows; no Starlings; 7 Chaffinches again; 11 Greenfinches; 10 Goldfinches; no Siskins; no Linnets; no Redpolls; 1 Bullfinch; 2 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers

Also recorded
Mammals:
- 1 Rabbits
- no Grey Squirrels
- no new molehills noted

Fish:
- 1 carp (Cyprinus carpio)

(Ed Wilson)

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Saturday, 2nd (06:26 - 10:09) - Amazingly the cold-front clearance that had struggled to pass over all day yesterday had made little progress overnight and from overhead towards the east it was still largely high cloud! Overhead there were hazy stars (to start!). The cloud did eventually start to move away eastwards allowing good sunny breaks to develop, especially after I left! Rather brisk SSW wind made it distinctly 'fresh' away from shelter. Good visibility again.

Hard to characterise the birds at the moment: while each day differs in numbers there is nothing really 'new' happening. I guess it will take some hard weather to move things around. Perhaps the forecast gales will bring some interesting gulls? Wind from the west is unlikely to move ducks or geese in.

The main features of the day
- the cygnet has gone, even though I have rarely seen it fly (I wonder whether it could have been the bird at the farm tank NW of Newport later yesterday? stranger things have happened!)
- some of the Black-headed Gulls were clearly feeding from / above the tops of the poplars along the N side - behaviour I have noted before and which I saw at The Flash about a month ago. I assume there is an aphid hatch, though it seems a strange date, but with the continuing mild weather anything seems possible. I even had a Lesser Yellow Underwing moth in my garden trap this week
- high number of large gulls again today with a putative Yellow-legged Gull [and I now see, a ringed adult Herring Gull!]
- very few Wood Pigeons and no flocks
- 3 different Song Thrush in song today, as was the Mistle Thrush and one of the Dunnocks again

And, a just reward for the continual checking of the street lights
- a moth! Managed a half-reasonable photo which confirrmed it to be a Winter Moth (Operophtera brumata)

The more detailed notes from the lake:
[not included any yesterday's values - need to sleep some time!]
- the Little Grebe still here
- the 3 Great Crested Grebes again though they all seemed to have been divorced today and were in very different parts of the lake whenever I looked
- no Cormorants today
- 1 Heron again for sure: bird seen in its favourite perch at the NW end by 06:55. Later seen in the SE area where it seemed happy for me to point a telescope at it for a digiscope picture, but when I got a regular-looking camera out it became shy and flew off. Present throughout it was standing on the SW grass staring malevolently at a dog when I last saw it!
- the adult Swans seemed to spend some time apart now that junior is no longer around! An adult flying E to the N at 08:10 kept the day-total at 3!
- no Greylag Geese noted
- 7 Canada Geese today: 5 flew in at 07:13 and 2 uncharacteristically silent birds flew in at 07:34 and all stayed throughout. All arrived from the direction of The Flash
- 45 Mallard today. I made an early visit to the dam at 06:45 again and for some reason they were back there in force with 41 counted at that time. A full sweep at 09:00 netted a slightly higher total
- 21 Pochard all loafing in the SE area again. I made it 11 drakes again today. Yesterday's scare from the dog seems to have had no effect on the numbers
- 50 Tufted Duck today: At least 4 unsexed birds flew off W at 07:22: the 3 seen in flight earlier seemed to be repositioning on the lake. 25 of the 46 present at 09:00 were logged as drakes
- the eclipse drake Ruddy Duck was in with one of the Tufted Duck parties today
- no Sparrowhawks today
- 1 Buzzard sighting with a bird flying E while it was distinctly dark at 07:19: one heard calling later, but I was busy!
- no Kestrel seen
- 13 Moorhens today: 8 of these were along the dam today with one on top of the metal (control) box on the sluice alongside the stanchions!
- 73 Coots today
- gulls today:
- - not at all sure about the Black-headed Gulls today. When I looked at 06:30 there seemed to be c.40 of this species on the lake at the 'other end' but when I got there they had gone! There was then a lone bird at 06:41, but that had gone by 06:45. Then a group of 4 appeared at 06:48, but they too vanished. The first party numbering c.50 birds came low from the W at 07:01 and thereafter behaviour was more normal! By 07:10 there were c.600, though they then started streaming out S-bound. Yet there were still c.550 present at 07:20 and at least another 100 flew in from the W before 07:30. Safe to assume that at least 750 birds involved. Later sample counts gave me figures of c.140 08:05; c.270 at 08:40; and c.610 at 09:00. Some new ones? who knows!
- - I logged 1294 Lesser Black-backed Gulls flying 'over': of these no fewer than 975 were logged flying S far to the E; 92 were flying S more or less over the lake; just 18 flew along the traditional line W to the N; 31 flew W overhead; while after most of the others had long-gone 178 were counted flying N, with some of these flights feeding birds on to the lake. Apart from 3 birds that paused at 07:34, the first birds arrived at the lake at 08:19 again, with the substantial groups all arriving from the S today. I counted 29 at 08:26; 71 by 08:45; 163 by 09:00; and c.610 at 09:40 (vide the count of Black-headed Gulls at 09:00!). So 1904 for the morning [I spent 30 minutes looking at the roost-flights over Newport last evening and logged just 26 birds - lower than mid-summer! So where were these coming from?]
- - 9 Herring Gulls were specifically identified in amongst the large number of Lesser Black-backed Gulls on the lake - 5 adults and 4 immatures, one of which was doing its 'pecking the orange buoy' trick. And, most amazingly, when I looked at the pictures I took of some of these Herring Gulls one of the adults is both ringed and colour-ringed. Now where do I send that to get some feedback? The left leg has a metal ring; and the right ring has what appears to be 2 black bands with red inserts (it could be that these are letters, but across the width of the lake there is not enough resolution!)
- - another adult Herring Gull-type was particularly striking with a very white and unstreaked head. I was trying to persuade the camera to focus on
it rather than the more contrasting shapes of the Lesser Black-backs when something spooked them and they all got up. We shall never know, but Yellow-legged Gull is a high probability
- 2 Stock Doves again: 1 seen to the E; and another to the NE
- the first Wood Pigeon logged at 07:56. There seemed to be no migrants, no local movement and no parties over the fields to the E. There were 19 birds logged flying E; and 24 flying W; none on the wires today; and just 6 seen in the trees and bushes around the lake. Equals only 49 for the day
- no Woodpecker again today
- 2 Grey Wagtails today: seen in the SW area again; and heard along the dam as well
- 9 Pied Wagtails logged, all heard
- the only Fieldfare logged was a calling bird at 07:17 - too dark to see!
- 6 Song Thrushes logged again today with 3 in song
- 31 Redwings: 5 heard / flushed before light-enough to see them; 16 seen in the trees and bushes around the lake; 9 of the other 10 seen flying S in a single party
- just 1 Mistle Thrushes for sure today, with one at the W end heard calling and in song and then seen in flight and singing several times
- 1 Goldcrest in the SE area, but when it saw me it flew off across the M54!
- 3 Long-tailed Tit parties again
- a Willow Tit heard near the Teece Drive gate
- corvid passage was better but different yet again. There were several large single-species groups but these were both passing far to the E and much later than usual - almost 08:00, after passage started at 07:35. Again passage was protracted and. I amassed counts of 258 Jackdaws and 248 Rooks
- the only Starling logged was a bird flying E to N at 08:01
- 4 Bullfinches today, at least 3 of which were males
- 4 Reed Buntings logged: 3 birds in the hawthorns at the W end, including a (the?) smart adult-plumaged male. 4 heard calling from the reeds earlier
assumed to include these birds

Checked any street lights I passed-by for insects etc. as usual
- just the previously noted moth

My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was:
1 Little Grebe; 3 Great Crested Grebes; no Cormorants; 1 Heron; 3 adult Swans (2 on the lake) but no cygnet; no Greylag Geese; 7 Canada Geese (all on the lake); 45 Mallard (not sexed); 21 Pochard (11 drakes); 50 Tufted Ducks (at least 25 drakes); 1 eclipse drake Ruddy Duck; no Sparrowhawks; 1 or 2 Buzzards; no Kestrels; no Water Rails; 13 Moorhens; 73 Coots; no Lapwings; no other waders; >750 Black-headed Gulls; 1904 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 7 specifically identified Herring Gulls; 1 putative Yellow-legged Gull; no Great Black-backed Gulls; no Feral Pigeons; 2 Stock Doves; 49 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; no Great Spotted Woodpeckers; no Sky Larks; no Meadow Pipits; 2 Grey Wagtails; 9 Pied Wagtails; 20 Wrens; 7 Dunnocks; 29 Robins; 25 Blackbirds; 1 Fieldfare; 6 Song Thrushes; 31 Redwings; 1 Mistle Thrush; 1 Goldcrest; 3 Long-tailed Tit parties; no Coal Tits; 1 Willow Tit; 10 Blue Tits; 15 Great Tits; no Treecreepers; no Jays; 13 Magpies; 258 Jackdaws; 248 Rooks; 9 Crows; 1 Starling; 7 Chaffinches; 12 Greenfinches; 11 Goldfinches; no Siskins; no Linnets; no Redpolls; 4 Bullfinches; 4 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers

Also recorded

Insects:
- 1 Winter Moth (Operophtera brumata) [1799]
[numbers are the British Checklist Numbers]

(Ed Wilson)

Top

Friday, 1st - (06:28 - 10:16) - Another morning with rather strange weather. The overnight rain and strong gales had moved on E and the main bank of cloud was far in that direction. It had left high-level cloud (more reminiscent of an approaching front!), though to the W there was a sharp line of the cold front and clear blue. That made imperceptible progress (indeed it never made it and even when the setting sun chased after the blue it got away again!); and along the
'edge' there was low cloud bubbling from time to time that made it rather dull, though there were some bright spells

Whinge, whinge, whinge - again!

No real 'highlights': the main features of the day
- high number of large gulls today with a distinctly 'odd' Herring Gull with very restricted dark on the folded wing-tips. While I made no counts there seemed to be a much higher proportion of immatures in the Lesser Black-backed Gull flock on the lake
- just 30 Wood Pigeons in the largest flock today, and that courtesy of a passing helicopter
- Meadow Pipit heard over
- Song Thrush intermittently in song today, joining its larger colleague (also a Dunnock heard singing)
- Siskin heard, but only Goldfinches seem interested in the alder cones around the lake at the moment
- small finch party a long way to the NE may just have been Linnets, but ? too far away

The more detailed notes from the lake
[sorry: no figures from yesterday are include in square brackets for comparison]
- the Little Grebe still here and seen doing it high-speed belly-dashes: a most odd form of locomotion
- the 3 Great Crested Grebes again
- no Cormorants today
- 1 Heron only for sure: bird heard calling and then seen arriving from the ESE at 06:50, flying directly to its favourite perch at the NW end
- the adult Swans had 2 adult interlopers to dislodge and while they were doing this another 2 adults flew E to the N of the lake
- no Greylag Geese noted
- no Canada Geese either
- 42 Mallard today: once again at the dam for an early count, but logged only 17 at that time
- there were more Tufted Duck looking for the hand-outs!. Count was again made later on my return to the dam-top
- 23 Pochard with 20 loafing in the SE area again. I made it 11 drakes today. At 09:30 with a dog being exercised along the S side I heard wings and counted 19 birds that seemed to be all this species flying low E over the lake, after which I could find just a duck
- 58 Tufted Duck today: At least 7 unsexed birds flew off W at 07:08, the other 4 seen in flight at the same time seemed to return. 28 of the 51 present at 09:00 were logged as drakes - exactly the same as the count yesterday, though 2 more birds had flown out today!
- the eclipse drake Ruddy Duck not seen
- no Sparrowhawks today
- 1 Buzzard sightings only with a bird flying SW while it was distinctly dark at 07:18
- no Kestrel seen
- 11 Moorhens today was a return to normal numbers: 6 of these were along the dam today. One lurking in the Wesley Brook was doing its best to convince me it was a (giant) Water Rail
- 65 Coots today
- gulls today:
- - the first c.50 Black-headed Gulls arrived from the W, again at the later than usual time of 07:05. Numbers only reached c.325 birds before started to leave the group and the lake.. Later sample counts gave me figures of c.56 (only) at 07:55; c.450 at 09:00; c.420 at 09:40. This of course blows a hole in the theory that after the initial burst all the subsequent birds are the 'originals' coming and going as they are disturbed from their feeding grounds - there were only 325 'originals' today. But in fact I did note a big party approaching from the N, and I had seen none leave in that direction. Anyway, we'll call it >450
- - I logged 738 Lesser Black-backed Gulls flying 'over' with almost all of these flying S and most of them some way to the E, the first being a large VERY distant party at 07:38. Closer birds tended to veer off and fly away to the SW, but there was almost no westbound passage and none seen flying W to the N at all. The first birds arrived at the lake at 08:19 and several substantial groups arrived from the N thereafter and I counted 320 at 09:40, with at least another 70 seen flying in at 10:00. So 1128 for the morning
- - 3 Herring Gulls were specifically identified in amongst the large number of Lesser Black-backed Gulls on the lake - 2 adult and 1 immature. One of the adults was very striking with either a particularly wide white area in front of the wing-tips or restricted amount of black on the wing-tips (perhaps both?). But the head was probably the most heavily-streaked of all the gulls on the lake this morning
- no Feral Pigeons logged
- 2 Stock Doves seen to the NE
- the first Wood Pigeon logged at 07:50. There seemed to be no migrants and little local movement with just 17 birds noted in 2 parties; about 30 were seen to the NE when a helicopter flew over. There were also 11 birds flying E; and 21 flying W; 3 on the wires today; and 5 seen in the trees and bushes around the lake. Equals just 87 for the day
- no Woodpecker today
- 1 Meadow Pipit heard over at 10:10
- 1 Grey Wagtail seen in the SW area again
- 11 Pied Wagtails logged
- all passerines were in high numbers this mild morning: of special note is that I logged 30 Robins today after just 15 in yesterday's windy conditions. That mirrors the numbers I logged en route from Newport - 79 today compared with just 40 yesterday
- 46 Fieldfares were logged in 3 separate different sized groups
- 6 Song Thrushes logged today with 1 in (intermittent) song throughout
- 19 Redwings: 7 heard / flushed before light-enough to see them; 9 in the trees around the lake and several of these usually wary birds giving unusually good views; the other 3 seen amongst flying Fieldfares
- 2 Mistle Thrushes today, with one at the W end heard calling and in song: another on the wires to the E
- no Goldcrests today
- 3 Long-tailed Tit parties, with a big party moving along the N side containing at least 18 birds
- corvid passage was disappointing. Conditions for viewing seemed right but the birds did not behave and I logged no big flocks. Passage started late at 07:30. One sizeable party of Jackdaws early, but again it was a protracted passage of small groups. A group of 34 Rooks seen to the E was the largest by far and unusually late for a group this size. I amassed counts of 168 Jackdaws and 122 Rooks
- 7 Starlings only logged. 1 seemed to come from the N side somewhere at 07:20, but at that early time I could not be certain it was not a Redwing! The other 6 flew E together at 08:00
- of the 13 Goldfinches (and yes there were 13 Chaffinches and 13 Greenfinches as well!), 8 of them were seen feeding in alders at the W end or in the NE area
- Siskin heard only
- the party of c.15 putative Linnets to the far NE was just too far away
- 5 Bullfinches seen, 4 of which were males: and 2 of these were travelling together
- 4 Reed Buntings logged: 1 smart adult-plumaged male in the hawthorns at the W end was mixing it with the Blackbirds and Song Thrushes

Checked any street lights I passed-by for insects etc. as usual
- nothing

My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was:
1 Little Grebe; 3 Great Crested Grebes; no Cormorants; 1 Heron; 6 adult Swans (4 on the lake) and 1 cygnet; no Greylag Geese; no Canada Geese; 42 Mallard (not sexed); 23 Pochard (11 drakes); 58 Tufted Ducks (at least 28 drakes); no Ruddy Ducks; no Sparrowhawks; 1 Buzzard; no Kestrels; no Water
Rails; 11 Moorhens; 65 Coots; no Lapwings; no other waders; >450 Black-headed Gulls; 1128 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 3 specifically identified Herring Gulls; no Great Black-backed Gulls; no Feral Pigeons; 2 Stock Doves; 87 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; no Great Spotted Woodpeckers; no Sky Larks; 1 Meadow Pipit; 1 Grey Wagtail; 11 Pied Wagtails; 26 Wrens; 14 Dunnocks; 30 Robins; 29 Blackbirds; 46 Fieldfares; 6 Song Thrushes; 19 Redwings; 2 Mistle Thrushes; no Goldcrests; 3 Long-tailed Tit parties; no Coal Tits; no Willow Tits; 20 Blue Tits; 13 Great Tits; no Treecreepers; no Jays; 11 Magpies; 168 Jackdaws; 122 Rooks; 6 Crows; 7 Starlings; 13 Chaffinches; 13 Greenfinches; 13 Goldfinches; 1 Siskin; 15 Linnets?; no Redpolls; 5 Bullfinches; 4 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers

(Ed Wilson)