Thursday, 30th (06:25 - 09:53) -
Very strange weather at the lake this morning: most of the sky was a solid
medium overcast with scattered clouds below and that generally made it a
dark start. But far to the south east it was clear and the sunrise
produced a great start (and a great distraction to bird-watching) as the
rays shone under the local clouds. After c.08:00 the cloud spread all the
way across and lowered, and it became a dull day. The fresh SSW wind was
affecting the birds, with the gulls all swirling about making it hard to
distinguish real passage birds from local birds - and making it hard to
locate other birds amongst the flocks. The wind also brought a lot of
M-way road noise across the lake and passerine calls were hard to hear
Whinge, whinge, whinge - not after that great sunrise. Was worth getting
up for on its own!
Highlights were again not so much unusual species, but differences
- 3 different Cormorants, with 2 fishing together
- no fewer than 6 sightings of at least 5 different Buzzards one of which
attracted the attentions of the local Kestrel
- a Green Woodpecker calling from the Teece Drive area
Main features of the day
- higher number of gulls today, but with all the swirling about I likely
seriously under-recorded these
- over 100 Wood Pigeons was my largest flock of the winter in the Ward's
Rough area
- a good count of 166 Fieldfare, mainly seen in flight to the E: I think
they were all different parties - certainly they were all
differently-sized groups
- while I was alongside the NW reeds on sunrise photo duty the flocks of
34 Starlings emerged from my left ear!
- a distant Siskin group - 4 birds - seen
The more detailed notes from the lake
[for yesterday's log I was in different locations and thus no figures are
include in square brackets for comparison]
- the Little Grebe not seen - cowering from the wind?
- the 3 Great Crested Grebes again
- 3 Cormorants today; 1 seen either arriving or repositioning on the lake
at 08:17. The looked like an adult and I was a bit mystified when a
juvenile with all-white belly seemed to be leaving to the W at 08:37. But
at 09:10 I noted there were 2 fishing in the lake, attracting the
attention of the Black-headed Gulls, which were ignored
- 1 Herons only for sure: several sightings after 1 heard in flight at
06:47 and then seen in the NW area by 06:57
- the Swans all stayed together and had no interlopers to deal with
- no Greylag Geese noted
- no Canada Geese when I arrived: 3 flew in from the direction of The
Flash at 07:20 and left to the E at 08:45
- 38 Mallard only today: again at the dam for an early count, but again
the birds had either not arrived or had already dispersed and I logged
just 31 at that time. Count was again made later on my return to the
dam-top
- 20 Pochard all loafing in the SE area again. I made it 9 drakes today:
yesterday was unusual to have an equal sex ratio - today even more unusual
for a preponderance of ducks [more birds at The Flash today]
- 56 Tufted Duck today: At least 5 unsexed birds flew off W at 07:09, 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
- the eclipse drake Ruddy Duck not seen
- no Sparrowhawks today
- 6 Buzzard sightings of at least 5 different birds: 4 seen heading SW; 1
over Ward's Rough; and 1 (perhaps the same) flushed out of the trees along
the N side
- 1 Kestrel seen attacking the Buzzard in the Ward's Rough area
- 4 Moorhens only today: with only 2 of these were along the dam today.
Where were they?
- 68 Coots today
- gulls today:
- - the first c.75 Black-headed Gulls arrived from the W at the later than usual time
(even for a dark morning) of 07:01. Numbers quickly built up as usual with
at least 1050 by 07:10 when birds started moving off again, mainly to the
SE? In the windy conditions there were birds swirling around all the time
and quite impossible to know whether these were new arrivals or not. Later
sample counts gave me figures of c.450 at 08:20; c,190 at 08:30; c.380 at
08:55; and c.590 at 09:15. 'Unusual' sightings included a party of 20
birds flying very high N over the lake at 09:50. Safe to say there were>1050 today!
- - I logged 216 Lesser Black-backed Gulls flying 'over', though it was
often hard to tell what they were doing in the windy conditions. The first
7 were logged at the late time of 07:45. I noted the first birds on the
lake at 08:20: eventually there were 10 but they did not stay. More
started to arrive at 08:55 and by 09:30 there I counted exactly 225 birds.
It was, unusually, an immature Lesser Black-backed Gull that was pecking
at one of the rather faded orange-red buoys - usually a Herring Gull
trait. That seems to give me a total of at least 451 birds
- - 3 Herring Gulls were specifically identified in amongst the large
number of Lesser Black-backed Gulls on the lake - 1 adult and 2 immatures
- no Feral Pigeons logged
- no Stock Doves logged: no-one was too keen to sit on the wires this
morning!
- the first Wood Pigeon was not logged until 08:00. There seemed to be no
migrants and little local movement with 65 birds noted in 3 parties; at
least 100 were seen in the Ward's Rough area. In addition there were 8
birds flying E; and 9 logged flying W; none on the wires today; and 6 seen
in the trees and bushes around the lake. Equals 188 for the day
- 1 Green Woodpecker heard calling as I was about to leave
- no Great Spotted Woodpecker today
- no Meadow Pipits
- 1 Grey Wagtail seen in the SW area
- 10 Pied Wagtails logged
- 166 Fieldfares were logged in 6 separate different sized groups seen to
the E, flying in all directions! Seemed to be different parties
- 4 Song Thrushes logged today. No song heard
- 62 Redwings: 3 heard before light-enough to see them (I suspect these
are birds I flush out of the trees as I walk by, but cannot be certain); 2
in the trees around the lake; with most of the others in a party of at
least 40 birds seen to the east at 07:29
- 3 Mistle Thrushes at least, with one at the W end heard in song both
before and after 2 birds flew E over the N side trees
- no Goldcrests today
- 3 Long-tailed Tit parties, all seen and heard
- corvid passage is always difficult to observe in the strong winds with
birds, especially Jackdaws often so low they are below line of sight for
much of the time. Just one flock of Jackdaws, and a steady stream of small
parties of both species. I ended with respectable counts of 187 Jackdaws(exactly the same number as yesterday!) and 80 Rooks
- 36 Starlings logged. 3 small parties containing 33 birds flew out of the
reeds alongside me at 07:40 with, as often seems to happen, a single
straggler flew off 2 minutes later from the same area! 2 more seen flying
W in the distance at 08:48
- 4 small finches, apparently Siskins, flew in to alders on the E side of
Castle Farm Way
- 6 Reed Buntings logged: 4 heard at the W end again; just 2 seen flying
off from the N side area
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; 3 Great Crested Grebes; 3 Cormorants; 1 Heron; 2 adult
Swans and 1 cygnet; no Greylag Geese; 3 Canada Geese; 38 Mallard (not
sexed); 20 Pochard (9 drakes); 56 Tufted Ducks (at least 28 drakes); no
Ruddy Ducks; no Sparrowhawks; 5 or 6 Buzzards; 1 Kestrel; no Water Rails;
4 Moorhens; 68 Coots; no Lapwings; no other waders; >1050 Black-headed
Gulls; 451 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 3 specifically identified Herring
Gulls; no Great Black-backed Gull; no Feral Pigeons; no Stock Doves; 188
Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; 1 Green Woodpecker; no
Great Spotted Woodpeckers; no Sky Larks; no Meadow Pipits; 1 Grey Wagtail;
10 Pied Wagtails; 15 Wrens; 6 Dunnocks; only 15 Robins; 18 Blackbirds; 166
Fieldfares; 4 Song Thrushes; 62 Redwings; 3 Mistle Thrushes; no
Goldcrests; 3 Long-tailed Tit parties; no Coal Tits; no Willow Tits; 9
Blue Tits; 10 Great Tits; no Treecreepers; no Jays; 13 Magpies; 187
Jackdaws again; 80 Rooks; 11 Crows; 36 Starlings; 4 Chaffinches; 27
Greenfinch; 5 Goldfinches; 4 Siskin; no Linnets; no Redpolls; 2
Bullfinches; 6 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers
Also recorded
Mammal:
- no Rabbits
- no Grey Squirrels
- new molehills noted along the S side today
(Ed Wilson)
Top
Wednesday, 29th (06:27 - 10:25) -
A fine morning at the lake with a few scattered clouds and just the odd,
light remnant shower to the N. Enough wind to keep the temperature up and
the frost away. Good visibility though some haze Foot better (not best) and made it all way around
Highlights were not so much unusual species, but some great views of
- a Moorhen on the S side grass was wandering around the 'path' and had to
be 'encouraged' out of the way and seemed not at all concerned by my
presence or my telescope and tripod!
- a Blue Tit scattering the 'fluff' from the Greater Reedmace: sadly not a
Penduline Tit - it is a habit of theirs - but a great view anyway
- NB: Greater Reedmace [Typha latifola] (aka Cattails / Cat's tails) was,
I thought erroneously, called Bulrush. But I see that Bulrush is the
preferred name in "The Illustrated Flora Of Britain and Northern Europe"
by Blamey & Grey-Wilson (no relation) and Reedmace is not mentioned. I
thought Bulrush was properly Cypenus papyrus which is probably the species
in which Moses was reputedly found. I see that in the USA the large family
of reeds and sedges in genus cirpus are also known as bulrushes. (Thank
heaven for scientific names!)
- a Mistle Thrush in song, doing its 'storm cock' bit from conifers near
the Teece Drive gate
Main features of the day
- more gulls, especially Black-headed, today but nowhere near the numbers
of 10 days ago
- another tightly-packed party of c.160 Wood Pigeons suggested migrants,
but rather few others. But one of these had me confused as it seemed to be
turbo-charged and came jinking and hurtling towards me at great height and
speed: all manner of species went through my mind and I had just settled
on Snipe when it came close-enough to reveal its true identity! There did
not seem to be anything in hot (or otherwise) pursuit
- a blank on the Grey Wagtails for the morning
- very few Wrens - only 12 - noted: odd as there were plenty of Robins
(35) and Dunnocks (12)
- scatter of Winter thrushes again and good number of 'local' thrushes
- very few Starlings again
- a Siskin heard, but was busy with the camera at the time
- another one of those frustrating "I wonder what that was" sightings:
what appeared to be a small finch-type came bounding towards me at speed
low over the N-side trees. I expected it to be a Siskin and waited for it
to call as confirmation. But as it got closer it was still inaudible and
indeed it looked rather too small and I was left wondering whether it was
a Goldcrest - not sure I have ever seen a fly-over Goldcrest!
The more detailed notes from the lake
[not yet done the detailed log so there are no 'yesterday' figures to
include in square brackets for comparison]
- the Little Grebe still here
- the 3 Great Crested Grebes again
- no Cormorants today
- 2 Herons yet again with one heard flying in at 06:47 and perhaps the
bird in the SE area that was unfazed as I walked along the dam-top: but
there was already another in the NW area when I checked
- the Swans all stayed put today but had interlopers to see off: 2 adults
arrived c.07:38 and took 10 minutes to see off to the W. Then 2, probably
the same, flew in from the W at 07:53 and took 13 minutes to see off
[there were 2 'additional' adults at The Flash later - perhaps these
birds?]
- no Greylag Geese noted
- no Canada Geese apart from distant calls when too dark at 06:38
- 47 Mallard today: staggered to the dam for the early count, but birds
had either not arrived or had already dispersed and I logged just 34 at
that time. Count was much later from the dam-top
- 28 Pochard all loafing in the SE area. I made it 14 drakes today -
unusually equal number of each sex
- 54 Tufted Duck today: A pair flew off W at 07:17. 31 logged as drakes today
- the eclipse drake Ruddy Duck still here
- no Sparrowhawks today
- 1 Buzzard only for sure - sailed SW at 08:12 after presumed same lurking
to the NE a few minutes earlier; and without anything apparently noticing
(or caring)
- no Kestrels
- 9 Moorhens today: 6 of these were along the dam today. The S side bird
was most amazing!
- 60 Coots today
- gulls today:
- - the first c.150 Black-headed Gulls arrived from the W at the later than usual time
(especially as it was a clear morning) of 06:50. Numbers quickly built up
with the last arrivals at 07:07 bringing the total to c.1450. Thereafter
the gathering broke and birds soon started to stream away again, mainly to
the SE. Later counts gave me figures of c.125 at 07:50; c.190 at 08:20;
c.150 at 08:50; and c.110 at 10:00. Some 'unusual' sightings included 1
arriving from the SE at 07:08 before departure began. Then 7 flying W at
07:35 much higher than usual suggesting they were not 'local' birds; with
another at 07:45. Safe to say there were >1450 today!
- - I logged 312 Lesser Black-backed Gulls flying 'over' with the first 75
logged at 07:34 passing S so far to the east that they disappeared in to
what little haze there was! Much of the passage was with south-bound birds
to the east of the lake. I noted the first on the lake at 08:18 but it did
not stay. A few started to arrive at 08:50 and there were eventually 17,
but these all left. A single was present at 10:00. That seems to give me a
total of at least 331 birds
- - no Herring Gulls were specifically identified
- no Feral Pigeons logged
- 4 Stock Doves logged: 1 flew W at 07:38 - and again it was the first
pigeon logged; 2 were on the wires to the NE as often noted; another flew
E at 07:58
- the first Wood Pigeons was logged at 07:38. Other than a flock of c.160
presumed migrants that flew high NW directly over the lake, there little
local movement with 51 birds noted in 3 parties; c.40 were seen in the
Ward's Rough area. In addition there were 10 birds flying E; and 25 as
singles or in small groups flying low W; just 2 on the wires today; but
none seen in the trees and bushes around the lake. Equals 278 for the day
- no Great Spotted Woodpecker today
- 1 Meadow Pipit heard at 08:14
- no Grey Wagtails today for some reason
- 13 Pied Wagtails logged, with the first at the earlier than usual time
of 06:57, but then no more until 07:15
- 69 Fieldfares at least. Most in a party of 52 seen flying off N to the
east. There were other bird(s) heard
- 7 Song Thrushes logged today. None of these was in song, though again I
logged 3 in full voice as I drove from Newport with 1 as close as where
the Wesley Brook goes under Priorslee Avenue - almost within earshot!
- 13 Redwings: 3 heard before light-enough to see them; 5 in the trees
around the lake; and a party of at least 5 birds seen to the east with the
Fieldfares
- 3 Mistle Thrushes at least, though perhaps more. 2 birds at the W / NW
area with one in song and the other scolding. Several sightings of perhaps
the same bird on the wires to the E
- 1 Goldcrest seen and heard today
- 2 Long-tailed Tit parties heard and then seen though the roost at the W
end seems not to be used at the moment and I catch up with these later
- corvid passage gave me several medium-sized (<75 birds) groups of
Jackdaws, but otherwise it was a steady passage of groups of <10 birds for
the most part. Petered out earlier than some recent days, with very few
logged after 08:00. I ended with counts of 187 Jackdaws and 129 Rooks
- 5 Starlings only logged: from the direction of flight all of these
probably roosted around the lake. They flew off in 3 separate (very) small
groups
- a Siskin heard, otherwise low numbers of finches
- 8 Reed Buntings logged: 4 heard at the W end; but also 4 seen flying off
from the N side area
My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was:
1 Little Grebe; 3 Great Crested Grebes; no Cormorants; 2 Herons; 4 adult
Swans and 1 cygnet; no Greylag Geese; no Canada Geese seen; 47 Mallard
(not sexed); 28 Pochard (14 drakes); 54 Tufted Ducks (at least 31 drakes);
1 drake Ruddy Duck; no Sparrowhawks; 1 Buzzard; no Kestrels; no Water
Rails; 9 Moorhens; 60 Coots; no Lapwings; no other waders; >1450
Black-headed Gulls; 331 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; no specifically
identified Herring Gulls; no Great Black-backed Gull; no Feral Pigeons; 4
Stock Doves; 278 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green
Woodpeckers; no Great Spotted Woodpeckers; no Sky Larks; 1 Meadow Pipit;
no Grey Wagtails; 13 Pied Wagtails; only 12 Wrens; 12 Dunnocks; 35 Robins;
27 Blackbirds; 69 Fieldfares; 7 Song Thrushes; 13 Redwings; 3 Mistle
Thrushes; 1 Goldcrest; 2 Long-tailed Tit parties; no Coal Tits; no Willow
Tits; 15 Blue Tits; 13 Great Tits; no Treecreepers; no Jays; 14 Magpies;
187 Jackdaws; 129 Rooks; 17 Crows; 5 Starlings; 8 Chaffinches; 9
Greenfinch; 6 Goldfinches; 1 Siskin; no Linnets; no Redpolls; 2
Bullfinches; 8 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers
Also recorded
Mammals:
- no Rabbits
- 1 Grey Squirrels along the N side
- no obvious new molehills noted along the N side today
(Ed Wilson)
Top
Tuesday, 28th (06:24 - 09:46) -
Started cloudy at several levels with periods of mainly light rain; these
fizzled out and by 07:25 the clean line of a cold front with blue sky
beyond was visible to the SW though it was 09:30 before the sun emerged
from behind this slow-moving clearance. In the interim the high cloud had
provided good conditions to see over-flying birds. Light SW winds brought
road-noise from the initially wet M-way. Good visibility throughout. After ministrations from doctor can at least hobble about, but unable to
don 'real' shoes or boots, so confined to the concrete at the W end this
morning! Thus a restricted log
Highlight
- after an earlier fly-by, the first Cormorant of the winter fishing in
the lake as I left.
Main features of the day
- a Water Rail heard - first for nearly 2 weeks
- very few gulls, with a particularly poor showing of Lesser Black-backed
Gulls
- one sizeable party of 66 Wood Pigeons suggested migrants, but very few
others
- 49 Starlings seen leaving the roost in the NW area
The more detailed notes from the lake
[due to the limited viewing I have not included any 'yesterday' figures in
square brackets as there is no meaningful comparison]
- the Little Grebe seen
- the 3 Great Crested Grebes
- after 1 Cormorant seen flying in the far distance to the NW at 07:29
there was an adult fishing in the lake at 09:30
- 2 Herons again with one lurking in the NW reeds by 06:47 when still very
dark
- the Swans stayed put today
- no Greylag Geese
- no Canada Geese when I arrived again: and just 3 arrived from the Town
Park direction at 07:48. Calls heard at 07:10 but nothing seen
- 26 Mallard today: the best I could do with limited viewing from the W end
- 26 Pochard mostly loafing in the SE area. Rather distant, but with the
scope I made it 12 drakes today
- 47 Tufted Duck was the best I could do with limited viewing from the W
end. I made it 25 drakes
- the eclipse drake Ruddy Duck seen
- no Sparrowhawks today
- 1 Buzzard with an eastbound bird again, at 07:18
- no Kestrels
- 4 Moorhens was the best I could do with limited viewing from the W end.
Unusually there were 3 together on the SW grass
- 64 Coots was also the best I could do with limited viewing from the W
end. The numbers using the SW grass increased to 50 today
- gulls today:
- - no Black-headed Gulls roosted with the first 18 arriving from the W at
the very late time (it was a dark morning) of 07:05. By 07:20 when the
group broke there were c.750. A party of c.100 that arrived at 07:32
seemed to be new birds. Thereafter there were rather few with counts of
c.230 at 07:55; c.175 at 08:30 and 134 logged at 08:45. There was also a
party of c.45 that flew very high NW at 07:37 and these seemed unconnected
with lake birds. So c.895 seems to be the count
- - I logged just 41 Lesser Black-backed Gulls flying over with the first,
a single, logged at the late time of 07:59. Apart from a loose party of 23
birds that flew north these were all singles or groups of less than 5. I
noted the first 2 on the lake at 08:35, but these left. 5 birds that flew
in from the W at 09:05 were the only others on the lake. That seems to
give me a total of just 48 birds
- - no Herring Gulls logged
- 1 blue morph Feral Pigeon flew E
- 2 Stock Doves seen on the wires to the NE around the probable nesting
area of Woodhouse Farm
- the first of the small number of Wood Pigeons was logged at the late
time of 07:50. Other than the group of 66 presumed migrants that flew SW
at 08:28, there was a single flock of 13 that seemed to be a local
movement; c.40 were seen over the fields towards the Ward's Rough area.
There were 9 birds flying E; and 28 as singles or in small groups flying
low W; just 2 on the wires today; and only 2 seen in the trees and bushes
around the lake. Equals 160 for the day
- 1 Great Spotted Woodpeckers today heard calling in the NW area
- 1 Meadow Pipit heard at 08:15
- 1 Grey Wagtail today with only the bird in the W end / Teece Drive area
logged
- 11 Pied Wagtails logged, with most heard later than usual - after 1 at
07:16 the next was not heard until 07:30
- 35 Fieldfares seen in 4 parties. A party of 26 heading S; the 9 others
in small groups heading E high overhead
- 3 Song Thrushes today. Still no song here, though generally seem to be
singing at present
- 24 Redwings: 7 heard before light-enough to see them; 3 seen in the
trees around the lake; the other 14 in various small flying parties
- 4 Mistle Thrushes today, with 2 at the W end (one in song); and 2 seen
together on the wires to the E
- 1 Goldcrest heard today
- 1 Long-tailed Tit parties heard only
- 1 Coal Tit yet again: and yet again in the NW area
- corvid passage consisted of 2 medium-sized groups of Jackdaws, but
otherwise a steady stream of small groups of both Jackdaws and Rooks that
started late (dark morning) and then continued with scattered groups until
after 08:30, though it tailed off somewhat. Once again a few birds were
noted flying 'the wrong way' - N rather than S. I ended with counts of 191
Jackdaws and 123 Rooks
- of the 53 Starlings logged, 48 came out of the NW reeds with 47 of these
in 3 parties at 07:41 and a lone bird 2 minutes later. the other 4 flew W
much later at 08:19
- 16 Greenfinches was a respectable count considering I was largely immobile
- 7 Reed Buntings seen or heard
Checked any street lights I passed-by for insects etc. this morning
- nothing
My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was:
(all numbers refer to birds visible / audible from W end only)
1 Little Grebe; 3 Great Crested Grebes; 2 Cormorants; 2 Herons; 2 adult
Swans and 1 cygnet; no Greylag Geese; 3 Canada Geese (all on the lake); 26
Mallard (not sexed); 26 Pochard (at least 12 drakes); 47 Tufted Ducks (at
least 25 drakes); 1 drake Ruddy Duck; no Sparrowhawks; 1 Buzzard; no
Kestrels; 1 Water Rail; 4 Moorhens; 64 Coots; no Lapwings; no other
waders; 895 Black-headed Gulls; 48 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; no
specifically identified Herring Gulls; no Great Black-backed Gull; 1 Feral
Pigeon; 2 Stock Doves; 160 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no
Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker; no Sky
Larks; 1 Meadow Pipit; 1 Grey Wagtail; 11 Pied Wagtails; 13 Wrens; 5
Dunnocks; 17 Robins; 12 Blackbirds only; 35 Fieldfares; 3 Song Thrushes;
24 Redwings; 4 Mistle Thrushes; 1 Goldcrest; 1 Long-tailed Tit party; 1
Coal Tit; no Willow Tits; 8 Blue Tits; 8 Great Tits; no Treecreepers; no
Jays; 14 Magpies; 191 Jackdaws; 123 Rooks; 6 Crows; 53 Starlings; 1
Chaffinch; 16 Greenfinch; 13 Goldfinches; no Siskins; no Linnets; no
Redpolls; 1 Bullfinch; 7 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers
(Ed Wilson)
Top
Sunday, 26th (06:32 - 10:15) -
Clearing after showers to leave mainly sunny morning - after the sunrise!
Moderate S wind, veered WSW and decreased. Excellent visibility throughout.
Back from the South with a trapped nerve in my foot, so walking painful.
Did a basic lap, but spent much of the first part of the watch near the SW
hut and this did not have the usual visibility.
Highlight
- 1 Meadow Pipit overhead
- 2 Jackdaws seen on the SW grass - unusual around the lake
- 5 Siskins flew S
Main features of the day
- 2 Buzzard sightings, but neither Sparrowhawk nor Kestrel logged
- the gales in the S / SW not moved many gulls inland yet!
- one large, tightly-packed party of c.200 Wood Pigeons suggested
migrants, but very few others
- scatter of Winter thrushes still
- 2 Starlings seen leaving a possible roost in the NW area
The more detailed notes from the lake
[there are no 'yesterday' figures to include in square brackets for
comparison]
- the Little Grebe seen again
- the 3 Great Crested Grebes again
- 1 Cormorant seen in the far distance to the E, heading S
- 2 Herons again with one already lurking in the NW reeds chasing off
another that seemed to have the same idea
- the Swans all stayed put today
- a party of 11 Greylag Geese flew W at 08:17, being first seen very far
to the E
- no Canada Geese when I arrived, though two unseen flocks flew over as I
was getting out of the car. 14 birds came in 4 separate arrivals, all from
The Flash direction. Most stayed, at least until the yacht people arrived
- 41 Mallard today: did not stagger round to a 'dam watch' at first light
and these were counted while they were scattered all around the lake
- 27 Pochard mostly loafing in the SE area. I made it 14 drakes today
- 70 Tufted Duck today at least, with 69 present when I did the main
count, though 1 drake has flown off at 07:10. Of these 69 there were at
least 35 drakes. Birds heard at 06:48 may have been other birds flying
off. After the yacht folk arrived at a flock of c.25 Aythya ducks left to
the W at 09:58 - perhaps to The Flash
- the eclipse drake Ruddy Duck was seen today
- no Sparrowhawks today
- 2 Buzzard sightings with the first bird seen flying E, low over the N
side at 07:08
- no Kestrels
- 11 Moorhens today: 6 of these were along the dam today
- 70 Coots with the numbers using the SW grass still increasing - 48 today
- no Lapwings noted
- gulls today:
- - once again unsure whether the first 120 Black-headed Gulls I saw at
06:47 had roosted and were put to flight by a Heron, or whether they were
arriving. No more noted until 06:55. Thereafter numbers built to a
disappointing high of c.400 by 07:10 when birds started to stream out.
Thereafter there were rather few with counts of 58 at 07:35; 73 at 08:05;
c.185 at 08:35; and c.275 at 09:15. So c.400 seems to be the count
- - some of the flying parties of Lesser Black-backed Gulls were hard to
see from my location, but there were few heading S to E this morning. I
logged just 182 flying over with the first logged at the rather late time
of 07:43. I noted the first on the lake at 08:30 and there were eventually
86 birds by 08:45. These all left and I think that the 47 present at 09:45
were all new arrivals. That seems to give me a total of at least 315 birds
- - 5 different Herring Gulls logged: an immature at 08:30; an adult at
08:45; and 3 immatures together in with Lesser Black-backed Gulls at 09:10
- - no Great Black-backed Gulls
- no Feral Pigeons logged
- 1 Stock Dove flew W at 07:40 - it was unusually the first pigeon logged
- the first of a disappointing number of Wood Pigeons was logged at the
late time of 07:58. Other than the tight flock of c.200 presumed migrants,
there appeared to no local movements; none was seen in the Ward's Rough
area either. There were no birds flying E; but 19 as singles or in small
groups flying low W; none on the wires today; and only 2 seen in the trees
and bushes around the lake. Equals 221 for the day
- 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers today with a bird calling from the N side
and then a bird seen flying from the E side of Castle Farm Way and
disappearing off NW
- no Sky Larks today
- 1 Meadow Pipit heard and then seen flying E and later S
- 1 Grey Wagtail today with only the bird in the W end / Teece Drive area
logged
- 11 Pied Wagtails logged, with most (all?) NOT flying E / NE from the
putative town-centre roost
- 45 Fieldfares seen in 4 parties all heading S; at least 1 more heard
- 1 Song Thrush only today. This was rather disappointing as 3 were heard
in full voice as I drove from Newport (and later in the day I heard 4 more
elsewhere also in full song)
- 38 Redwings: 3 heard before light-enough to see them; none in the trees
around the lake; but a party of at least 30 birds seen to the SW; the
other in various small flying parties
- 1 Mistle Thrushes today, seen on the wires to the E
- 1 Goldcrest heard today
- 1 Long-tailed Tit parties heard and then seen, with at least 14 birds
- 1 Coal Tit again: still in the NW area, but on a different group of
trees today
- corvid passage was again confusing: the first 3 Jackdaws were flying N
at 07:20 - the wrong way (and several singles also flew N later). But soon
after these 3 a party of at least 120 Jackdaws flew low across the lake.
There were no large groups of Rooks, but some larger than usual late
parties of c.20 birds of both species after 08:00. The Jackdaws on the SW
grass were seen at 09:10. I ended with counts of 264 Jackdaws and 71 Rooks
- 2 Starlings seen flying S at 07:40 seemed to have come from the bushes
along the N side. No others were seen
- 22 [35] Greenfinches was a lower count: and as inexplicable as the
higher number yesterday
- the 5 Siskins heading S, otherwise very few finches and no Goldfinches
or Bullfinches
- 2 Reed Buntings only heard and none seen flying off
Checked any street lights I passed-by for insects etc. this morning
- nothing
My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was:
(numbers of passerines lower than usual today due to my relative
immobility during the early part of peak passerine activity)
1 Little Grebe; 3 Great Crested Grebes; 1 Cormorant; 2 Herons; 2 adult
Swans and 1 cygnet; 11 Greylag Geese; >14 Canada Geese (14 on the lake);
41 Mallard (not sexed); 27 Pochard (at least 14 drakes); 70 Tufted Ducks
(at least 36 drakes); 1 drake Ruddy Duck; no Sparrowhawks; 2 Buzzards; no
Kestrels; no Water Rails; 11 Moorhens; 70 Coots; no Lapwings; no other
waders; >400 Black-headed Gulls; 315 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 5
specifically identified Herring Gulls; no Great Black-backed Gull; no
Feral Pigeons; 1 Stock Dove; 221 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no
Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers; no Sky
Larks; 1 Meadow Pipit; 1 Grey Wagtail; 11 Pied Wagtails; 22 Wrens; 8
Dunnocks; 18 Robins; 22 Blackbirds again; 45 Fieldfares; 1 Song Thrush; 38
Redwings; 1 Mistle Thrush; 1 Goldcrest; 1 Long-tailed Tit party; 1 Coal
Tit; no Willow Tits; 12 Blue Tits; 9 Great Tits; no Treecreepers; no
Jays; 16 Magpies; 264 Jackdaws; 71 Rooks; 12 Crows; 2 Starlings; 8
Chaffinches; 7 Greenfinch; no Goldfinches; 5 Siskins; no Linnets; no
Redpolls; no Bullfinches; 2 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers
Also recorded
no species of Mammal:
- no Rabbits
- no Grey Squirrels
- no obvious new molehills noted along the N side today
(Ed Wilson)
Top
Friday, 24th (15:55 - 16:15) Evening update - Very cloudy and a strengthening wind from the southeast. Mild though at 10 degrees. Main Highlights
- Thousands of Gulls on the water, mainly Lessers. I estimated around 1700. Had a good look but couldn't locate any Yellow legs. A few Herring Gull and about 400 Black-headed Gulls with a few just starting to lose their summer heads.
Other highlights:
- 2 Great Crested Grebes at the Wesley Brook end of the lake.
- Resident pair of Swans still present with juvenile in tow.
- 22 Canada Geese on the grass bank next to the slipway
- Didn't do a duck count but plenty of Pochard, Tufted and Mallard about.
- A few Coot and one Moorhen walking along the Dam path.
- 7 Magpie on the Dam squabbling over the bread left by a passerby.
- 1 Carrion
Crow
- 1 Grey Wagtail was a flyover
- 3 Pied Wagtails, all seperate birds flew southeast towards the M54 Motorway Services. Possible Roost!
- 43 Starlings came over the lake at 16:05, circled several times and feined to land in the reedbeds to on the northbank and then sudennly shot off over the motorway and headed south at 16:15
- 1 Reed Bunting flew north over the Lake
My Log this evening:
2 Great Crested Grebe; 2 Adult + 1 Juvenile Mute Swan; 22 Canada Geese; Pochard; Tufted; Mallard;. Coot; 1 Moorhen; c.1700 Lesser black-backed Gulls; 5 Herring Gulls; c.400 Black-headed Gulls; 7 Magpie; 1 Carrion Crow; 1 Grey Wagtail; 3 Pied Wagtail; 43 Starlings; 1 Reed Bunting.
(Martin Adlam)
Wednesday, 22nd -
(06:24 - 09:11 // 09:53 - 09:58) -
A mainly fine morning with just the lightest of shower from well-broken
cloud. Light winds. Good visibility.
Again at the 'normal' watch-spots, but ahead of some business in Telford
and a drive to Eastbourne. Also stopped briefly on the way back from town
to check the gull numbers.
Highlight
- male Blackcap seen in hawthorns around the Teece Drive gate
Main features of the day
- Greylag Geese over
- one of the Moorhens seen standing on one of the seats along the dam-top
- Lesser Black-backed Gulls seemed to roost here: first time this winter.
Big numbers over as well
- Great Tit in full song 6 Buzzard sightings continued the good run, but
no Kestrel logged
The more detailed notes from the lake
[As usual some counts from yesterday are included in square brackets for
comparison]
- the Little Grebe was seen today
- the 3 Great Crested Grebes again. Once again there seemed to be some
'exchange': while there were 2 in the NW area at first light, one of these
seemed to move off to consort with the adult that is usually along the N
side and the dam area; later it seemed to move back again
- 1 Heron only for sure today: many sightings of singles could have all
been the same bird
- the Swans present and no flights this morning
- 23 Greylag Geese flew E at 06:59 in 2 parties
- no Canada Geese when I arrived: 22 flew in from The Flash area at 06:55
and stayed throughout
- 47 [46] Mallard today: 42 [40] recorded when I did the early (06:40)
'dam count'. 5 more seen flying in
- 27 [33] Pochard mostly loafing in the SE area. I made it 15 [19] drakes
today
- 55 [69] Tufted Duck today: a party of 3 left at 07:05 before I did the
main count. I logged 30 [37] of the 52 present at the full count as drakes
- the eclipse drake Ruddy Duck not seen again today
- 1 [0] Sparrowhawk seen to the NE at 07:35
- 3 [6] Buzzards. The usual 'south / westbound' movement, starting at 07:12
- no [1] Kestrels
- 11 [11] Moorhens today: 9 [9] of these were again along the dam today,
with one standing on one of the seats
- 59 [57] Coots another increase
- no Lapwings noted
- gulls today:
- - the first 500 Black-headed Gulls had arrived by 06:38 - I think all
the birds prior to that were Lesser Black-backed Gulls. At least 1650
birds present by 07:00 when they started to leave. Later counts gave the
following: 07:50 c.180 birds; 08:40 c.380 birds; 09:55 >600 birds
- - the Lesser Black-backed Gulls were in big numbers today, starting with
at least 620 present at 06:30, though they had started to leave to the W
by 07:00 and were much reduced to just 36 at 07:50. More arrivals from
c.08:00 with 143 counted by 08:20. Birds started streaming in from the N
at 08:50 and there were at least 1300 present by 09:55. Big parties
overhead gave me a total of 2012 birds with several flocks estimated at
c.300 birds. That seems to give me a total of at least 4022 [2221] (the
2102 over; the 620 that had roosted; and the 1300 at 09:55)
- - 3 [9] different Herring Gulls logged, a rather disappointing number in
the circumstances with just 2 adults and 1 immature seen in the flock
- - no [0] Great Black-backed Gulls
- no [5] Feral Pigeons logged
- 1 [3] Stock Dove, seen on the wire to the NE
- the first Wood Pigeon was logged at 07:40. A total of 149 [44] birds
counted in 7 [3] parties of apparently local movements; c.50 [23] more
flew into Ward's Rough area today. There were 12 [6] singles flying E; and
25 [5] singles flying low W; 7 [0] on the wires today; and just 3 [10]
seen in the trees and bushes around the lake. Equals 246 [88] for the day
- 1 [0] Kingfisher heard in flight, but not seen
- 1 [1] Great Spotted Woodpecker today with a bird calling in the NW area
- no [0] Sky Larks today
- no [0] Meadow Pipit either
- 2 [1] Grey Wagtail today with birds in the W end / Teece Drive area; and
on the dam-face
- 8 [8] Pied Wagtails logged today. The first was very late again at 07:19
[07:16]
- just 4 [96] Fieldfares all in a single group heading S
- 1 [4] Song Thrushes only today
- 34 [13] Redwings: 4 [3] heard before light-enough to see them; 4 [5] in
trees around the lake; the other 26 [5] in various parties with one
containing 17 birds
- 3 [2] Mistle Thrushes today: in addition to the usual bird at the W end,
2 others seen flying off NE
- 1 [3] Goldcrests today
- 2 [3] Long-tailed Tit parties seen and heard
- 1 [1] Coal Tit again: and in the same hawthorn as the previous 2 days
- 1 [0] Willow Tit heard along the N side
- no [1] Jays heard
- corvid passage was without any very large groups, but rather protracted
again and I ended with counts of 246 [384] Jackdaws and 160 [216] Rooks
- 3 Starlings seen flying SW far to the SE at 07:40 were the only birds
noted [9]
- generally few finches
- no [2] Siskins today
- 8 [2] Reed Buntings with 5 seen flying off and at least 3 more calling
No mammals noted
Checked any street lights I passed-by for insects etc. this morning, but
nothing seen
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 and 1 cygnet; 23 Greylag Geese; 22 Canada Geese (all 22 on the
lake); 47 Mallard (not sexed); 27 Pochard (at least 15 drakes); 55 Tufted
Ducks (at least 30 drakes); no Ruddy Ducks; 1 Sparrowhawk; 3 Buzzards; no
Kestrels; no Water Rails; 11 Moorhens; 59 Coots; no Lapwings; no other
waders; >1650 Black-headed Gulls; >4022 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 3
specifically identified Herring Gulls; no Great Black-backed Gull; no
Feral Pigeons; 1 Stock Dove; 246 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; 1
Kingfisher; no Green Woodpeckers; 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker; no Sky
Larks; no Meadow Pipits; 2 Grey Wagtails; 8 Pied Wagtails; 19 Wrens; 14
Dunnocks; 26 Robins again; 27 Blackbirds; 4 Fieldfares; 1 Song Thrush; 34
Redwings; 3 Mistle Thrushes; 1 Goldcrest; 2 Long-tailed Tit parties; 1
Coal Tit; 1 Willow Tit; 12 Blue Tits; 16 Great Tits; no Treecreepers; no
Jays; 9 Magpies; 246 Jackdaws; 160 Rooks; 17 Crows; 3 Starlings; 7
Chaffinches; 5 Greenfinches; 4 Goldfinches; no Siskins; no Linnets; no
Redpolls; no Bullfinches; 8 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers
(Ed Wilson)
Tuesday, 21st (06:23 - 10:24) -
Started clear and fine but later some light passing showers with hanging
'curtains' of precipitation - winter is here! Frost on the grass in the
lee of trees sheltered from the moderate WNW wind. Great visibility.
Again at the 'normal' watch-spots, with more birds to watch today.
Highlight
- 2 Siskins heard and then seen flying S at 07:34: been scarce so far this
winter
Main features of the day
- 6 Buzzard sightings continued the good run, but neither Sparrowhawk nor
Kestrel logged
- large numbers of both Black-headed Gulls and Lesser Black-backed Gulls: and more Herring Gulls as well - not many more, but in percentage terms a
big increase!
- the Mistle Thrush atop a tree at the W end in full song today for a
short while
- no Starlings seen leaving their roost in the reeds today and few others
- small party of Goldfinches in the N-side Alders included what was
presumably a juvenile only just acquiring the red face. Late?
The more detailed notes from the lake
[As usual some counts from yesterday are included in square brackets for
comparison]
- the Little Grebe not seen today
- the 3 Great Crested Grebes again. At first light the immature was with
its adult companion in the NW area and only later did it wander off. The
other adult was mixing it with the Mallard for the bread at the dam-face
in the early pre-dawn glow before 07:00
- 2 Herons for sure today: bird(s) heard and seen in flight at 06:32 with
several sightings of flying and perched birds. At about 10:00 I flushed
one bird, but it was unable to find anywhere to go without getting chased
by another and both flew to & fro across the lake, causing much distress
to the resting gulls!
- the Swans went for another fly around today, but stayed within sight of
the lake
- no Canada Geese when I arrived: 8 flew in from The Flash area at 06:30,
but only 2 (of these?) were present by 07:00. 14 more arrived also from
the direction of The Flash at 07:04 and these stayed throughout. Later 21
flew E to N
- 46 [53] Mallard today: all 46 [40] recorded when I did the early (06:35)
'dam count'. No more seen in flight and thereafter scattered all around
the lake
- 33 [31] Pochard mostly loafing in the SE area. I made it 19 [18] drakes
today. I should add that while they are loafing in the SE area when I do
the count at c.08:45, then when I am at the dam at c.06:45 they are not
at all obvious and are presumably scattered all around the lake feeding
- 69 [52] Tufted Duck today: Parties of 6 & 4 left at 08:30 and 08:35
respectively when it was light-enough to be able to sex these as well as
the birds on the lake. I logged 37 [32] as drakes
- the eclipse drake Ruddy Duck not seen today
- no [1] Sparrowhawks today
- 6 [2] Buzzard sightings of at least 5 birds. The usual 'westbound'
movement of 4 birds singly, starting at 07:07. Another seen circling to
the E. And finally, perhaps one of the earlier birds, flew E
- no [1] Kestrels
- 11 [10] Moorhens today: 9 [6] of these were along the dam today
- 57 [54] Coots with the numbers using the SW grass steadily increasing -
34 today
- no Lapwings noted
- gulls today:
- - the first 300 Black-headed Gulls had flown in from the W early by
06:36. By 07:00 when they started to stream away to the S there were at
least 1750 [550] on the lake. Thereafter only present in modest numbers
with sample counts of just 83 at 08:00; 155 at 08:25; 146 at 09:00; c.340
at 09:20
- -the Lesser Black-backed gulls were back in good numbers with 921 [172]
logged flying over with most of them flying SW to the N. Probably many
more as a large swirling party to the N at 08:30 fed birds both to the
lake, birds that passed SW overhead and birds that seemed to head off W.
By this time birds had already started to arrive at the lake and I had
logged c.400 at 08:05, though at 08:25 there were fewer than 200 left.
Thereafter arrival continued until 10:00 when there were at least 1100 on
the lake. This was the point at which I flushed the Heron and put them all
to flight! That seems to give me a total of at least 2221 [187] (the 921
over; the 200 that had flown off by 08:25; and the 1100 at 10:00!)
- - 9 [2] different Herring Gulls logged: an immature flew off at 08:05.
Then 8 birds logged at 08:25 were 4 adults and 4 1st winter birds. In the
mass of gulls at 10:00 there seemed to be fewer Herring Gulls. None
identified in the parties flying over
- - no [0] Great Black-backed Gulls
- 5 [0] Feral Pigeons, all blue morphs, flew E together
- 3 [2] Stock Doves flew W together
- the first of a disappointing number of Wood Pigeons was logged at 07:35.
A total of 44 [145] birds counted in 3 [6] parties of apparently local
movements; 23 [c.45] more flew out of the Ward's Rough area today. There
were 6 [5] singles flying E; and 5 [27] singles flying low W; none [5] on
the wires today; and 10 [12] seen in the trees and bushes around the lake.
Equals 88 [239] for the day - I log more than this in mid-Summer!
- 1 [3] Great Spotted Woodpecker today with a bird calling as it flew off
E (from the SE?)
- no [0] Sky Larks today
- no [1] Meadow Pipit seen
- 1 [2] Grey Wagtail today with only the bird in the W end / Teece Drive
area logged
- 8 [9] Pied Wagtails: not a mild night, so another theory goes out the
window! The first was very late at 07:16
- 96 [60] Fieldfares all in 2 [2] parties heading S
- 4 [3] Song Thrushes today with 3 together in hawthorns at the Teece
Drive gate
- 13 [11] Redwings: 3 [5] heard before light-enough to see them; 5 [0] in
trees around the lake; the other 5 [6] in various small parties
- 2 [3] Mistle Thrushes today: in addition to the singing bird at the W
end, 1 seen on the wires to the E
- 3 [0] Goldcrests today - 1 seen and 2 more heard
- 3 [1] Long-tailed Tit parties seen and heard
- 1 [1] Coal Tit again: and in the same hawthorn as yesterday!
- 1 [0] Jay heard in the NE area, but not seen
- corvid passage was yet again different. For the first time I can
remember the first birds - both Jackdaws and Rooks - were logged flying
NW. Not many but ?! Usual outbound passage had some good-sized Jackdaw
flocks, but rather fewer Rooks. But passage of both species, but
especially Jackdaws, went on and on such that I ended with counts of 384
[310] Jackdaws and 216 [exactly 150] Rooks
- 3 Starlings seen flying SE at 07:25 seemed to be too high to have come
out of the reed-bed roost. I flying off S at 07:57 may have been the bird
that seems to roost along the N side all by itself - most odd. Just 5
otherwise in a single groups. The total for the day 9 [22]
- 22 [35] Greenfinches was a lower count: and as inexplicable as the
higher number yesterday
- the 2 [0] Siskins heading S
- 2 [6] Reed Buntings only heard and none seen flying off
Also
- 3 rabbits seen: 2 together at the W end in the early light(?) at 06:58
possibly noted only because they were noisy on the frosted grass! Much
later another at the W end
- 2 Squirrels upsetting the Redwings and Blackbirds in the N-side hawthorns
Checked any street lights I passed-by for insects etc. this morning
- 2 'black' blow-fly types sunning on one of the lamps, but they were
photo-shy
My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was:
no Little Grebes; 3 Great Crested Grebes; no Cormorants; 2 Herons; 2 adult Swans and 1 cygnet; no Greylag Geese; 43 Canada Geese (22 on the lake); 46
Mallard (not sexed); 33 Pochard (at least 19 drakes); 69 Tufted Ducks (at
least 37 drakes); no Ruddy Ducks; no Sparrowhawks; 6 Buzzards; no
Kestrels; no Water Rails; 11 Moorhens; 57 Coots; no Lapwings; no other
waders; >1750 Black-headed Gulls; 2251 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 9
specifically identified Herring Gulls; no Great Black-backed Gull; 5 Feral
Pigeons; 3 Stock Doves; 88 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; 22 Wrens; 11
Dunnocks; 26 Robins; 32 Blackbirds again; 96 Fieldfares; 4 Song Thrushes;
13 Redwings; 2 Mistle Thrushes; 3 Goldcrests; 3 Long-tailed Tit parties; 1
Coal Tit; no Willow Tits; 22 Blue Tits; 14 Great Tits; no Tree Creepers; 1
Jay; 19 Magpies; 384 Jackdaws; 216 Rooks; 24 Crows; 9 Starlings; 10
Chaffinches; 22 Greenfinch; 6 Goldfinches; 2 Siskins; no Linnets; no
Redpolls; 2 Bullfinches; 2 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers
Also recorded
Mammals:
- 3 Rabbits
- 2 Grey Squirrels
- more new molehills noted along the N side today
Insects:
- 2 'black' flies
(Ed Wilson)
Top
Monday, 20th (06:23 - 09:54) -
A mainly fine morning. As I arrived the weather was clearing after the
overnight rain and gales and it was pleasantly fine and mild. A few light
passing showers mainly passed-by! Light, later moderate, WSW wind. Back to the 'normal' watch-spots, with a lot less to watch. The overnight
gales seemed to have blown the gulls away rather than inland!
As scatter of interesting records, but as so often what might have been
the best 'got away': while along the N side in the wooded area I glimpsed
a raptor being harried by a Black-headed gull. I expected a Buzzard, but
the bird was far too grey-toned for that and had obvious white under-tail
coverts. These pointed to Accipiter sp. but it seemed very large and was
flying away, high up and with leisurely and elastic wing-beats with none
of the 'flap-flap-flap-glide' urgency of a Sparrowhawk. Could it have been
a Goshawk: I doubt it - 'funny Sparrowhawks' are usually just that! And
Goshawks are rarely away from cover. I guess an adult female Sparrowhawk
that despite what most bird-books say are often grey-backed
Main features of the day
- no matter what the unidentified raptor was I still logged the trio of Sparrowhawk, Buzzard and Kestrel again. And one of the Buzzards was,
unusually, flushed out of the trees along the N side
- 8 Lapwings over the lake for a while
- smaller numbers of both Black-headed Gulls and Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 3 different Great Spotted Woodpeckers logged
- a Mistle Thrush atop a tree at the W end not quite doing his full 'Storm
Cock' bit, but audibly in sub-song
- a few Starlings seen leaving their roost in the reeds: few others
The more detailed notes from the lake
[As usual some counts from yesterday are included in square brackets for
comparison]
- the Little Grebe seen briefly skittering across the lake
- the 3 Great Crested Grebes again, but the immature seemed to spend most
of the time along the S side rather than with its adult companion which
stayed in its NW home area
- 2 Herons I think today: with a bird heard in flight at 06:37 and then
right in front of me at the S end of the dam at 06:50 when it managed to
both fly in and out again without me noticing! This bird was presumably
one of the 2 birds that flew N across the lake before 07:00
- the Swans have definitely changed behaviour in the last week with the
cygnet often some way away from either of the adults; and the cob wanders
off across the lake on his own. Today a second cygnet was present on the
lake at 07:00 and did not seem to be arousing the ire of the cob, though
it had managed to disappear by 07:15
- no Greylag Geese today
- no Canada Geese when I arrived: 4 flew in from The Flash area at 07:24;
7 more from the direction of the Town Park at 07:36; and 9 more from the
same direction at 07:43. They all then stayed throughout
- the drake Teal not seen today
- 53 [52] Mallard today: 40 [42] recorded when I did the early (06:35)
'dam count' after which 9 flew in from the E; and 4 more were noted at the
W end
- 31 [34] Pochard again mostly loafing in the SE area. I made it 18 [22]
drakes today
- 52 [48] Tufted Duck today: 2 of these seen flying from the W at 07:04.
When I did the main count I logged 32 [29] as drakes
- the eclipse drake Ruddy Duck not seen today
- 1 [1] Sparrowhawk seen high to the E with a Jackdaw in pursuit: this in
addition to
- 1 unidentified Accipiter-type seen high to the W - see above
- 2 [3] Buzzards. One to the E at 07:03 though too dark to be certain
whether it was coming or going! Then the one in the N-side trees
- 1 [2] Kestrel. The male powered across the lake at 07:20 this morning
- Water Rail was not heard again: wonder if it has moved on?
- 10 [8] Moorhens today: 6 [6] of these were along the dam again
- 54 [49] Coots was today's variable count! I think I have a partial
explanation for the variability: the birds that congregate on the SW grass
are not in fact that sedentary, and will move away at times. Previously
when conditions have dictated that I do the lake count 'in bits' I have
counted those on the grass and assumes they stay there. Thus I can over-
or under-record. Today I did a single sweep when there were just 22 on the
grass - there had been 31 earlier; and then 25 later
- 8 [11] Lapwings were overhead at 09:08 but did not stay
- gulls today:
- - the first 4 Black-headed Gulls flew in at the later time of 06:43 this
morning. I kept careful count of the arrivals (as best as I could in the
pale dawn light!) and logged 144 more arriving all from the W. But that
did not stop there being 550 on the lake at 06:53. So where do they come
from? At this point the group broke up, but birds did not begin to leave
until 07:10. Thereafter there seemed to be few around today, confirmed by
periodic counts that gave me just 37 at 07:30; 165 at 0815; 91 at 09:00;
and 74 at 09:20
- -the Lesser Black-backed gulls were in much lower numbers today, with
almost all the birds passing W / SW to the N. When I totalled the
fly-overs logged today it was just 172 [710]. There were short-staying
singles at 07:56 and 08:35; and then a small arrival with a grand(?) total
of 13 birds at 09:12! The total for the morning is therefore 187 [1435]
- - 2 [1] different immature Herring Gulls logged flying off
- - no [0] Great Black-backed Gulls
- no [4] Feral Pigeons seen to the N
- 2 [3] single Stock Doves flying over
- the first Wood Pigeon was logged at 07:32. A total of 145 [114] birds
counted in 6 [8] parties of apparently local movements; c.45 [0] more seen
dropping in to Ward's Rough area today. There were 5 [7] singles flying E;
and 27 [70] singles or small groups (<6 birds) flying low W; 5 [0] on the
wires today; and 12 [11] seen in the trees and bushes around the lake.
Equals 239 [202] for the day
- 3 [0] Great Spotted Woodpeckers today: the bird from the far SE had the
sense to call in flight so I could log it as it flew to the N side! Later
1 seen on the flimsy top stem of one of the conifers to the E of Castle
Farm Way. And then as I was about to leave one was calling in the NW area
- no [0] Sky Larks today
- 1 [0] Meadow Pipit seen in flight to the S of the lake
- 2 [1] Grey Wagtail: back to 1 on the dam-face and another at the W end /
Teece Drive area
- 9 [12] Pied Wagtails: lower number reflecting the mild night?
- 60 [142] Fieldfares seen in 2 [5] parties and a scatter of singles
- 3 [3] Song Thrushes again today
- 11 [15] Redwings: 5 [7] heard before light-enough to see them; none [2]
in trees around the lake; the other 6 in various small parties
- 3 [0] Mistle Thrushes today: in addition to the sub-singing bird at the
W end, 2 more flew W to the N together
- no [2] Goldcrests heard today - first blank day for some weeks
- again only 1 Long-tailed Tit party seen and heard, but up early and
calling at 07:09
- 1 Coal Tit was my first here for a couple of weeks
- 1 Willow Tit heard was also the first for a while: near the Teece Drive
gate
- corvid passage was slightly better today with several parties but these
smaller than in some recent days. However passage continued for some while
and with small parties rather than singles such that I ended up with
respectable counts of 310 [158] Jackdaws and exactly 150 [after exactly
100] Rooks
- just 15 Starlings came out of the NW reeds at 07:20; perhaps another one
from the N side at 07:51. Otherwise just 6 over in 2 groups. So the total
for the day 22 [57]
- 35 Greenfinches was a good count: almost all of these seemed to come
from the W end hedge area, though I was too far away to be certain
- 6 [0] Reed Buntings with 3 heard and 3 different birds seen flying off
Checked any street lights I passed-by for insects etc. this morning
- 1 Greenbottle-type fly
- 1 spider that sits with its long legs kept parallel to its body
My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was:
1 Little Grebe; 3 Great Crested Grebes; no Cormorants; 2 Herons; 2 adult
Swans and 2 cygnets; no Greylag Geese; 20 Canada Geese (all on the lake);
53 Mallard (not sexed); 31 Pochard (at least 18 drakes); 52 Tufted Ducks
(at least 32 drakes); no Ruddy Ducks; 1 Sparrowhawk; 1 unidentified
Accipiter sp.; 2 Buzzards; 1 Kestrel; no Water Rails; 10 Moorhens; 54
Coots; 8 Lapwings; no other waders; >550 Black-headed Gulls; 187 Lesser
Black-backed Gulls; 2 specifically identified Herring Gulls; no Great
Black-backed Gull; no Feral Pigeons; 2 Stock Doves; 239 Wood Pigeons; no
Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; 3 Great Spotted
Woodpeckers; no Sky Larks; 1 Meadow Pipit; 2 Grey Wagtails; 9 Pied
Wagtails; 21 Wrens; 9 Dunnocks; 40 Robins; 32 Blackbirds; 60 Fieldfares; 3
Song Thrushes; 11 Redwings; 3 Mistle Thrushes; no Goldcrests; 1
Long-tailed Tit party; 1 Coal Tit; 1 Willow Tit; 12 Blue Tits; 7 Great
Tits; no Treecreepers; no Jays; 15 Magpies; 310 Jackdaws; 150 Rooks; 25
Crows; 22 Starlings; 4 Chaffinches; 35 Greenfinch; 12 Goldfinches; no
Siskins; no Linnets; no Redpolls; 2 Bullfinches; 6 Reed Buntings; no
Yellowhammers
Also recorded
Mammals:
- more new molehills noted along the S side
Insects:
- a Greenbottle fly (Muscidae sp.)
- a spider
(Ed Wilson)
Top
Sunday, 19th (06:21 - 10:32) Another fine and chilly morning with frost on the grass. Less wind made it less unpleasant.
For some days now most of the action has been with birds flying to the E so I thought I would do something different today and walk straight to the top of the lane to the E of Castle Farm Way and get a good view over the lake and the surrounds [See Local Area]. Not sure whether I picked the wrong day or whether it takes time to get to know where to look but, while I saw just about everything I expected to, the numbers were well down - even the corvids seemed to have gone AWOL - the larger flocks anyway. Suppose I will try it again: lot less road noise, not that this is a problem on Sundays.
Then at last a sunny day and little wind, so I spent a lot of time catching up on some autumn(?) colour pictures.
These two distractions mean that the passerine counts around the lake are rather low again.
Main feature of the day
- 25 geese over again - they were Greylag Geese, so I assume yesterday's same-sized party was too. They were heading W but were not at The Flash when I got there some 10 minutes later
- a drake Teal was lurking with a party of diving Tufted Ducks
- Sparrowhawk, Buzzards and Kestrels all seen again
- 11 Lapwing came from the fields to NE and stayed at the lake for a while - same number as seen yesterday
- biggest early arrival of Black-headed Gulls for a while - over 1000 before 07:00: relatively few later
- fewer Lesser Black-backed Gulls overhead and, perversely, almost all flying far to the N rather than S over my position at the E end! Later a good count of >700 birds on the lake before the arrival of the yacht folk put them to flight
- a reasonable number of Pied Wagtails again
- not in a position to see any Starlings leave the roost in the reeds, but small parties flying W
The more detailed notes from the lake
[As usual some counts from yesterday are included in square brackets for comparison]
- the Little Grebe seen consorting with 2 Great Crested Grebes in the NW area today
- the 3 Great Crested Grebes again
- 2 Herons seen fighting right in front of me at 06:42 after I heard one in flight at 06:31. 1 seen flying off SE at 07:47, but an adult in the NE area at 09:00 and an immature flushed out of the NW area at 09:45. This suggests perhaps 3 birds today
- the resident Swans untroubled this morning: they even managed a formation flight the length of the lake - the first time I have seen the cygnet fly!
- the 25 Greylag Geese flew W over at 10:25
- no Canada Geese when I arrived today. I heard them from the lake at 07:17 and at 08:30 I counted 10. There were 15 by 09:45 though
- the drake Teal was a real surprise, especially lurking with the diving ducks
- 52 [44] Mallard today: 42 recorded when I did the early [06:35] 'dam count' after which another 10 were seen flying in 3 groups, all from the E / SE
- 34 [36] Pochard mostly loafing in the SE area again. I made it 22 [23] drakes today
- 48 [47] Tufted Duck today: I noted none in flight today, though was hardly in the right position to do so. When I did the main count I logged 29 [28] as drakes
- the eclipse drake Ruddy Duck seen briefly, once, along the N side today
- 1 [2] Sparrowhawk seen to the N, being harried by a Crow, as usual
- 3 [4] Buzzards. One to the E at 07:00 with another heard calling at the same time. 1 flew S at 07:40 and seemed to be a different bird
- 2 [1] Kestrels. A male was seen to the NE at 07:04. After 08:00 a female was on the wires to the E despite the attentions of a Crow trying to dislodge her
- Water Rail was not heard today
- 9 [6] Moorhens today: 6 [3] of these were together along the top of the dam, almost running between my legs and along the S part of the dam today
- 49 [47] Coots was today's variable count
- 11 [11] Lapwings came from the NE at 07:35 and stayed until flushed just before 08:00
- gulls today:
- - the first 38 Black-headed Gulls flew in at the earlier time of 06:33 this morning and there was a rapid and sustained build-up until 06:50 when I had logged c.1080 arrivals, after which they started to leave. I only did one other count before the yacht-folk arrived: that gave me c.380 at 08:40
- -the Lesser Black-backed gulls were flying over in lower numbers and as noted were mainly passing W / SW to N, with few to the E / SE. When I totalled the fly-overs logged today it was 710 [1094]. There was a short-staying party of 23 birds on the lake which left at 08:40. After 08:55 there was a more general arrival from the N and I estimated 725 at 09:20 when the yacht folk's arrival put them to flight - but not to The Flash! The total for the morning becomes 1435 [1166]
- - no [2] Herring Gulls logged: there may have been some in amongst the big party of Lesser Black-backed Gulls - the birds were, as usual, pointing into the wind and that meant that they were cross-lit and the tone of the mantle was hard to discern, changing as the birds swayed in the breeze
- *** late note: I have just looked at some pix I took of a rather pale immature gull to check it was indeed a Lesser Black-backed Gull and lo - quite clear in the photo is an otherwise unnoticed preening adult Herring Gull! So the number goes to 1 - the immature was a Lesser ****
- - no [0] Great Black-backed Gulls either
- 4 [0] all-white Feral Pigeons seen to the N
- 3 [4] Stock Doves today: all W in a tight group
- the first Wood Pigeon logged at 07:26. A total of 114 [803] birds counted in 8 [12] parties but none of these was particularly high or large and all were presumably local movements; none [0] seen in the Ward's Rough area again, and I was close-enough to see in to the trees today. There were 7 [30] singles flying E; and 70 [36] as singles or small groups (<6 birds) flying low W; none [0] on the wires yet again; and just 11 [17] seen in the trees and bushes around the lake. Equals 202 [910] for the day
- no [1] Great Spotted Woodpecker today
- no [0] Sky Larks today
- no [2] Meadow Pipits over the lake
- 1 [2] Grey Wagtail only: 1 on the dam-face
- 12 [20] Pied Wagtails a reasonable number in the circumstances - as most pass over the lake going NE then from my position to the E many would be invisible - certainly inaudible. First at the unusually early time of 06:48, suggests a roost-dispersal
- 142 [258] Fieldfares seen in 5 [10] parties, again mostly westbound: must be a lot on the Welsh Coast by now!
- 3 [5] Song Thrushes today
- 15 [13] Redwings: 7 [1] heard before light-enough to see them; 2 [1] in trees around the lake; the other 6 in various small parties
- no [0] Mistle Thrushes again today
- 2 [1] Goldcrests heard
- only 1 Long-tailed Tit party seen and heard, containing at least 8 birds
- corvid passage defeated me in my different vantage point. Some of the birds I did see were passing low to the E where they would probably not have been visible from my usual watch-spots. And passage of both species carried on with many small groups for over an hour. But I logged no large parties at all and today's totals were a disappointing 158 [201] Jackdaws and exactly 100 [158] Rooks
- as noted I was not in a position to see whether any Starlings left the NW reed-bed, but 1 bird seen flying S did seem to have left the N side on its own yet again. Otherwise 56 seen flying over, all westbound in 4 groups. Total for the day 57 [348]
- the number of finches was remarkable only by being so low, though largely determined by my absence during roost-dispersal and dawn activity
- no [4] Reed Buntings for much the same reason
Checked those street lights I passed-by for insects etc. this morning without success, but did not make a complete search
My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was:
1 Little Grebe; 3 Great Crested Grebes; no Cormorants; 3 Herons; 2 adult Swans and 1 cygnet; 25 Greylag Geese (all over}; 15 Canada Geese (all on the lake); 1 drake Teal; 52 Mallard (not sexed); 34 Pochard (at least 22 drakes); 48 Tufted Ducks (at least 29 drakes); 1 eclipse drake Ruddy Ducks; 1 Sparrowhawk; 3 Buzzards; 2 Kestrels; no Water Rails; 9 Moorhens; 49 Coots; 11 Lapwings; no other waders; >1080 Black-headed Gulls; 1435 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; no specifically identified Herring Gulls; no Great Black-backed Gull; 1 unidentified Gull; 4 Feral Pigeons; 3 Stock Doves; 202 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; no Great Spotted Woodpeckers; no Sky Larks; no Meadow Pipits; 1 Grey Wagtail; 12 Pied Wagtails; 10 Wrens; 10 Dunnocks; 28 Robins; 16 Blackbirds; 142 Fieldfares; 3 Song Thrushes; 15 Redwings; no Mistle Thrushes; 2 Goldcrests; 1 Long-tailed Tit party; no Coal Tits; no Willow Tits; 7 Blue Tits; 5 Great Tits; no Treecreepers; no Jays; 13 Magpies; 158 Jackdaws; 100 Rooks; 11 Crows; 57 Starlings; 4 Chaffinches; 1 Greenfinch; no Goldfinches; no Siskins; no Linnets; no Redpolls; 2 Bullfinches; no Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers
Also recorded
Mammals:
- no Rabbits in the rain
- no Grey Squirrels
- more new molehills noted along the N side
Fungi:
the Shaggy Ink-cap no longer visible
(Ed Wilson)
Top
Saturday, 18th (13:00 - 14:00) (Lunchtime Report) - Despite being 10 degrees Centigrade the cold Sourth-westerley made it feel very chilly. When I arrived at the dam end it was a clear blue sky, but a few local showers came across as I was leaving. Main highlight was a Yellow-legged Gull seen at 13:50, in amongst the large number of Lesser-black Backed Gulls.
Other birds noted this lunchtime then were:
- 2 Great Crested Grebes on the lake, at either end of the lake
- The resident Mute Swans and Juvenile still together.
- Plenty of Ducks
-- Mallard were spread all around the edges of the lake
- - The Pochard however were all congregated in the southeast corner of the lake, in the shelter of the woods. I logged 22 drake and 10 ducks
-- There were three goups of Tufted Duck with a total of 49 spotted.
-- Just in front of the Wesley Reedbeds there was an eclipse drake Ruddy Duck
- Not many Coot with only 37 logged and there were 2 Moorhen by the dam
- At 13:25 a Buzzard drifted south, which didn't go unoticed by a a few Lesser Balck-backed Gulls that mobbed it, whilst it was over the lake.
- The Gulls were plentiful:
-- Lesser Black-backed Gulls totaled c.1700. When I arrived a party of 180 birds left the lake and flew north. But between 13:00 and 14:00 several large parties arrived and departed.
-- In amongst the Lessers were 2 Great Black-backed Gulls. They left at 13:15 with one of the main parties of Lessers.
-- At 13:00 there were 2 Herring Gull and then 3 others joined them later
-- Perserverence paid off by continually checking the Herring Gulls. At 13:50 I came across a Yellow-legged Gull. Having just arrived with a large flock of Lessers, they all started preening once on the water and I was given a great comparison between the legs. I was so pleased as half-an-hour earlier I was convinced I had spotted one but just couldn't be sure. However this individual was very different from the 5 Herring Gulls around it, with its clear unmarked head and distinct orbital ring around the eye, and of course the yellow legs
-- Black-headed Gulls totaled c.500 on the water, but fluctated throughout the next hour. On individual still had his summer head.
- Two small parties of 5 Jackdaw in each, headed northwest over the lake
at 13:25 and 13:27
- By the slipway there were 5 Magpie
- A Pied Wagtail was on the dam
- In the southeast corner of the lake in the tree line by the motorway slipway there was a small party of Long-tailed Tits and Goldcrest
-
Also in the same area there were 2 Robin, 1 Wrens and a Dunnock .
Totals then:
2 Great Crested Grebe; 2 + 1 Juv Mute Swan; 40 Mallard; 32 Pochard; 49 Tufted Duck; 1 Ruddy Duck; 37 Coot; 5 Moorhen; 1 Buzzard; c.1700 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 5 Herring Gull; 1 Yellow-legged Gull; 2 Great Black-backed Gulls; c.500 Black-headed Gulls; 5 Magpie; 1 Pied Wagtail; 3 Long-tailed Tit; 1 Goldcrests; 2 Robin; 1 Wren; 1 Dunnock
(Martin Adlam)
Top Saturday, 18th (06:18 - 10:06) (Morning Report) -
A fine and rather chilly morning where I was able to watch the grass
change from green to white in those areas sheltered from the brisk W wind.
Excellent visibility with good conditions for watching fly-overs. Quieter
around the lake
Main feature of the day
- some frustrating geese over: they called more like Greylag Geese, but 25
would be an exceptional number. In size though they looked too big for
Pink-footed Geese (though it was still rather dark at 07:04)
- eclipse drake Ruddy Duck put in a brief appearance again
- probably 2 different Sparrowhawks today
- probably 4 different Buzzards
- 11 Lapwing seen over fields to NE
- probable Woodcock pre-dawn
- fewer, but still high numbers of, Lesser Black-backed Gulls over again:
reasonable number on lake
- strange small-billed (like Common Gull) dark-backed (like Lesser
Black-backed Gull) (as yet?) unidentified gull
- larger number of Wood Pigeons, but I think local movements rather than
passage
- Great Spotted Woodpecker bounding in from the SE again
- many more Pied Wagtails - did the cold persuade them to a town-centre
roost last night?
- good numbers of Fieldfares
- Raven seen flying over
- over 200 Starlings roosted in the reeds
The more detailed notes from the lake
[As usual some counts from yesterday are included in square brackets for
comparison]
- the Little Grebe seen briefly right at the W end as I sneaked in to the
reeds for a sunrise shot
- the 3 Great Crested Grebes again
- 2 Herons with several sightings again: one bird heard and then seen on
the dam at 06:36, another flew off from the N side at 06:59
- the resident Swans untroubled this morning
- 22 Canada Geese today, I think! I counted 23 birds on the dark lake when
I arrived, but after 10 flew off E 06:38 I could only find 12! These
stayed until 09:58 when they too left but in the direction of the town
park
- the 25 unidentified geese noted above
- 44 [39] Mallard recorded when I did the early [06:35] 'dam count'
- 36 [37] Pochard mostly loafing in the SE area. I made it 23 [27] drakes,
but they were in deep shade and at an unhelpful angle against the wind and
some immatures were hard to ascribe
- 47 [55] Tufted Duck today: I noted none in flight today. All 47 [54]
present when I did the main count, and I logged 28 [24] of them as drakes
- the eclipse drake Ruddy Duck seen briefly, once, at the W end
- 2 [1] Sparrowhawks I think: a male flew E over the N side trees at
08:20. Just 7 minutes later another(?) did the similar thing
- 4 [3] Buzzards recorded. 3 of them flew, singly, W: the first heard
calling as it passed unseen at the very early time of 06:40; another at
06:56; and the 3rd at 08:04. One seen flying E far to the N was likely a
4th
- 1 [1] male Kestrel dashed S across the lake at 06:48
- Water Rail was not heard today
- just 6 [11] Moorhens today: only 3 [6] of these were together along the
N part of the dam
- 47 [54] Coots was today's variable count!
- 11 [0] Lapwings were over the fields far to the NE: my first for a few days
- what seemed to be a Woodcock shot from behind me at the W end and jinked
in to the bushes on the SW shore at 06:48. In the dark I was unable to see
anything other than a shape, but what else? Pigeon-sized, but quite a
different flight and no clatter of wings. Not seen again
- gulls today:
- - the first 90 Black-headed Gulls flew in at 06:47 this morning: by
06:55 there were at least 600 after which they started to leave. Sample
counts of the birds on the lake
- ----- 08:00: c.260
- ----- 09:10: c.320
- again I'll pick the largest count and say there were at least 600 [>625]
birds present
- -the Lesser Black-backed gulls were in good numbers again. The early
S-bound passage took place overhead with very few far to the E today.
Again at times there were other flocks cross-flying W-bound. There seemed
to be no N-bound movement today. When I totalled my fly-overs log it came
to 1094 birds. On the lake there was a single briefly and a short-staying
party of 6 birds before the more general arrival that reached 165 [168]
birds by 09:10 (= 172 [241]). The total for the morning becomes 1166
[2245]
- - 2 [2] different Herring Gulls logged: an adult and an immature
- - 0 [1] Great Black-backed Gulls
- - the 'strange' thin-billed dark-backed bird may reveal more in the
picture I took, but all the birds were bobbing in the wind in a tight
groups and out of sync with the tripod blowing in the wind (to say nothing
of me shivering): we shall see - or not!
- no [11] Feral Pigeons
- 4 [9] Stock Doves today: 3 of these flying E; and another on the wires
to the NE
- the first Wood Pigeon was seen at the very early time of 06:51 when a
bird 'lost its nerve' as I stood alongside its chosen roost spot at the W
end at 06:54. The next was logged at 07:31! A total of 803 [290] birds
were counted in 12 parties seen high overhead, all within a 20 minute
window and going in various directions. For reasons I cannot entirely
explain these birds did not look as if they were going somewhere, more
looking for somewhere to go! Indeed I am not 100% sure that all the flocks
were of different birds, though they were all of different sizes. Some
might have combined or split? 24 [57] more birds were logged flying low in
2 [3] smaller parties and were presumably local movements; none [50] seen
in the Ward's Rough area. A few others with 30 [9] singles flying E; 36
[18] flying W; none [0] on the wires again; and 17 [0] seen in the trees
and bushes around the lake. Equals 910 [424] for the day
- 1 [1] Great Spotted Woodpecker came bounding in from the SE again
- no [0] Sky Larks today
- 2 [0] Meadow Pipits flew W and looked as if they might land in the W end
trees, but I never saw them again
- 2 [2] Grey Wagtails as usual: 1 on the dam-face; and 1 in the SW area today
- 20 [6] Pied Wagtails a much better count: as I query above - did the
cold persuade them to a town-centre roost last night?
- 258 [374] Fieldfares seen in 10 [10] parties. One group of 11 birds was
mixed in a passing group of Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 5 [3] Song Thrushes today
- 13 [58] Redwings: 1 [1] heard before light-enough to see them; 1 [7] in
trees around the lake; the other 11 in various small parties
- no [0] Mistle Thrushes again today
- 1 [1] Goldcrest heard again
- 2 Long-tailed Tit parties heard, one of which was seen to contain at
least 15 birds
- corvid passage took place at an unexpectedly low-level this morning,
which means that I could not see many of the birds that (presumably still)
took the easterly track. The always higher-flying Rooks were less
affected. Today's totals were 201 [379] Jackdaws and 158 [151] Rooks
- the Raven flew N at 07:50, and called: what I thought was one flying S
at 08:20 turned out to be a Rook with a very full bill and crop
- 348 [28] Starlings logged today with 241[2] seen leaving the NW reed bed
- the first c.220 at 07:15, and then small parties of 15 & 6 at 07:24.
There were birds flying W again - 102 of the other 107 did so in 4 parties
- the number of finches was unremarkable again, though an unidentified
party of 10 birds was seen to the E at the early time of 07:10: now
Siskins are always early ?
- 4 [4] Reed Buntings heard only
Did not check the street lights for insects etc. this morning
My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was:
1 Little Grebe; 3 Great Crested Grebes; no Cormorants; 2 Herons; 2 adult
Swans and 1 cygnet; no Greylag Geese; 22 Canada Geese (all on the lake);
25 unidentified geese; 44 Mallard (not sexed); 36 Pochard (at least 23
drakes); 47 Tufted Ducks (at least 28 drakes); 1 eclipse drake Ruddy
Ducks; 2 Sparrowhawks; 3 Buzzards; 1 Kestrel; no Water Rails; 6 Moorhens;
47 Coots; 11 Lapwings; 1 probable Woodcock; no other waders; >600
Black-headed Gulls; 1166 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 2 specifically
identified Herring Gulls; no Yellow-legged Gulls; no Great Black-backed
Gull; 1 unidentified Gull; no Feral Pigeons; 4 Stock Doves; 910 Wood
Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; 1 Great
Spotted Woodpecker; no Sky Larks; 2 Meadow Pipits; 2 Grey Wagtails; 20
Pied Wagtails; 18 Wrens; 9 Dunnocks; 22 Robins; 21 Blackbirds; 258
Fieldfares; 5 Song Thrushes; 13 Redwings; no Mistle Thrushes; 1 Goldcrest;
2 Long-tailed Tit parties; no Coal Tits; no Willow Tits; 10 Blue Tits; 9
Great Tits; no Treecreepers; no Jays; 10 Magpies; 201 Jackdaws; 158
Rooks; 12 Crows; 348 Starlings; 9 Chaffinches; 24 Greenfinches; 5
Goldfinches; no Siskins; no Linnets; no Redpolls; 3 Bullfinches; 4 Reed
Buntings; no Yellowhammers; 10 unidentified finches in party
Also recorded
Mammals:
- new molehills noted along the N side again
Fungi:
- the Shaggy Ink-cap is all but 'ink'
(Ed Wilson)
Top Friday, 17th (06:24 - 10:20) - [08:50 - 09:45 with walk around the lanes etc. to E / SE - See Local Area]
Another strange weather day and nothing like the forecast I heard. Raining
in Newport as I was about to leave and I wondered whether to bother. But
it was just showery rain, though rather unpleasant in the fresh conditions
and with a fresh / strong SW wind, so I took shelter in the SW. It was
very dark at times too. Later the cloud lifted and it began to clear with
sparkling visibility but with a heavy shower that forced me away without
all the usual areas visited. The combination of rain, wind, sheltering in
the SW hut and the M-way road-noise kept all the passerine numbers
well-down
Main feature of the day
- Little Grebe present again
- 3 different Buzzards
- big number of Lesser Black-backed Gulls over again: fewer on lake
- immature Great Black-backed Gull
- small Wood Pigeons passage
- both Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers, almost next to each other
- good numbers of Fieldfares
- fewer Redwing over
The more detailed notes from the lake
[As usual some counts from yesterday are included in square brackets for
comparison]
- the Little Grebe seen briefly today
- the 3 Great Crested Grebes again
- 2 Herons with many sighting again: after one seen and heard in the NW
area at 06:39, one was seen flying off E. A presumably different bird, an
adult, was then seen along the N side and on the dam
- the resident Swans untroubled this morning
- 26 Canada Geese today: 22 had arrived me before I arrived; and 2 'pairs'
of birds flew in later
- 39 [47] Mallard recorded: did not do an early 'dam count' in the wet
weather (wimp!)
- 37 [29] Pochard mostly loafing in the SE area. At least 27 [19] adult
drakes
- 55 [54] Tufted Duck today: 8 flew off at 06:53 (but it was rather hard
to be certain they were not Pochard); 2 more left at 07:30 (these were
Tufted Ducks). Of the 45 [54] present when I did the main count, I logged
24 [33] of them as adult drakes
- the eclipse drake Ruddy Duck not seen today again
- Sparrowhawk dashing across the fields to the E - at least I think it was
Sparrowhawk and not what would have been a site-first Merlin! Views too
brief
- 3 Buzzard sightings, all I think different birds, all to the E with the
first at the early time of 06:57
- 1 [2] Kestrel on the wire to the E of the lake
- Water Rail was not heard today
- 11 [9] Moorhens today: 6 [3] of these were together along the N part of
the dam
- 54 [47] Coots was today's variable count!
- gulls today:
- - the first 15 Black-headed Gulls flew in at the late time of 06:49 this
morning: by 07:00 there were only c.90, and birds had already started to
leave. Again did some periodic counts of the birds on the lake
- ----- 08:10: 155
- ----- 09:45: c.625
- Again I'll pick the largest count and say there were at least 625 [>650]
birds present. Just prior to 09:45 some 200 of these birds (?) had flown
in along the line of the Wesley Brook from the SE (Shifnal) direction.
Also 1 was seen flying high W to N with Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- -the Lesser Black-backed Gulls were in high numbers again. With stronger
winds the early S-bound passage took place overhead and far to the E and
all-points in between, though at times there were other flocks
cross-flying W-bound. After 08:30 there was a small N-bound movement
again, but nothing equivalent to that seen yesterday. Neither was there
such a large or sustained arrival at the lake. When I totalled all the
fly-overs I had logged it came to 2004. There were short-staying small
parties of 6, 2, 29 and 36 on the lake before the more general arrival
that reached 168 birds by 09:40 (= 241). The total for the morning becomes
2245 [2571]
- - 2 [3] different Herring Gulls logged: different adults with each of
the early parties of Lesser Black-back Gulls: none with the largest group
- - 1 [0] Great Black-backed Gull seen flying off - appeared to be a 3rd
winter bird
- 11 [3] Feral Pigeons: all blue morph-types with 10 E in 4 small groups;
and 1 W with a Stock Dove!
- 9 [7] Stock Doves today: 7 of these flying W in 3 small groups (1 with
the Feral Pigeon); and 2 seen over the fields to the W
- 2 big parties totalling 290 [137] Wood Pigeons at height were likely
migrants, c.100 flew E and c.190 also E far to the N; 57 [97] more logged
flying low in 3 [4] smaller parties were presumably local movements;
another party of 50 [-] was over the trees in Ward's Rough to the E. Other
than these sightings birds were very scarce with 9 [9] singles flying E;
18 [17] flying W; none [2] was on the wires to the E; and none [10] was
seen in the trees and bushes around the lake. Equals 424 [272] for the day
- 1 Green Woodpecker heard calling in the rain in the NW area. While I was
looking for this bird
- 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker heard calling in the NW area as well
- 1 [2] Sky Larks seen flying E
- 2 [2] Grey Wagtails yet again - the usual: 1 on the dam-face; and 1 in
the Teece Drive area
- 6 [4] Pied Wagtails another poor showing
- even though all passerines were in low numbers in the wet and wind that
does not explain just 1 Dunnock!
- 374 [212] Fieldfares seen in 10 [6] parties and a few small groups,
mostly to the E, but moving off S, W and NW. Do not think there is any
duplication in the counts
- 3 [5] Song Thrushes today in generally lower numbers around the lake
- 58 [50] Redwings: 1 [3] heard before light-enough to see them; 7 [5] in
trees around the lake; a party of c.44 seen to the E; the other 6 in
various small parties
- no [7] Mistle Thrushes today after the bumper crop yesterday
- just 1 [5] Goldcrest heard in the wet and windy conditions today
- only 1 Long-tailed Tit party heard in the wet and windy conditions today
- no [1] Jays heard
- corvid passage was very good considering the conditions with some good
parties of Jackdaws low in the wind, and a reasonable passage of Rooks
that kept on coming. The day totals were 379 [563] Jackdaws and 151 [144] Rooks
- 28 [33] Starlings logged today with just 2 [21] seen leaving the NW reed
bed at 07:30 after the lone bird was seen exiting the N side at 07:24. The
other 25 were going in various directions again
- the number of finches was remarkable low!
- 4 [6] Reed Buntings with 2 seen flying off from the N-side reeds
Did not check the street lights for insects etc. this morning
My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was:
[remember all passerines in low numbers due to rain and wind]
1 Little Grebe; 3 Great Crested Grebes; no Cormorants; 2 Herons; 2 adult
Swans and 1 cygnet; no Greylag Geese; 26 Canada Geese (all on the lake);
39 Mallard (not sexed); 37 Pochard (27 adult drakes); 55 Tufted Ducks (at
least 24 adult drakes); no Ruddy Ducks; 1 Sparrowhawk; 3 Buzzards; 1
Kestrel; no Water Rails; 11 Moorhens; 54 Coots; no waders; >625
Black-headed Gulls; 2245 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 2 specifically
identified Herring Gulls; no Yellow-legged Gulls; 1 Great Black-backed
Gull; 11 Feral Pigeons; 9 Stock Doves; 424 Wood Pigeons; no Collared
Doves; no Kingfishers; 1 Green Woodpecker; 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker; 1
Sky Lark; no Meadow Pipits; 2 Grey Wagtails; 6 Pied Wagtails; 10 Wrens; 1
Dunnock only; 13 Robins; 23 Blackbirds; 374 Fieldfares; 3 Song Thrushes;
58 Redwings; no Mistle Thrushes; 1 Goldcrest; 1 Long-tailed Tit party; no
Coal Tits; no Willow Tits; 8 Blue Tits; 3 Great Tits; no Treecreepers; no
Jays; 9 Magpies; 379 Jackdaws; 151 Rooks; 10 Crows; 28 Starlings; 2
Chaffinches; 8 Greenfinches; 10 Goldfinches; no Siskins; no Linnets; no
Redpolls; no Bullfinches; 4 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers
Also recorded
Mammals:
- new molehills noted along the E side below the dam
(Ed Wilson)
Top Thursday, 16th (06:12 - 10:25) -
Weather was very odd this morning with periods of bright, almost
luminescent, high overcast and great conditions for spotting over-flying
birds; periods of lower cloud and very dull conditions; and even some
rather persistent and light rain that could be seen hanging in curtains
from the clouds. Mild again, especially before the SW breeze sprung up
Main feature of the day
- 4 Cormorants 'hovering' high overhead
- my first Greylag Goose at the lake for a while
- Good number of Lesser Black-backed Gulls again
- small Wood Pigeons passage
- some Fieldfare and Redwing over
- huge party of Corvids all mixed up with big party of Lesser Black-backed
Gulls and Fieldfare
- another Redpoll over (and several over Newport area later in the day)
and
- the first Rabbit sightings for ages
The more detailed notes from the lake
[As usual some counts from yesterday are included in square brackets for
comparison]
- to confound me the Little Grebe was nowhere to be seen today
- the 3 Great Crested Grebes again
- 4 Cormorants were high overhead at 08:04, checking their westbound
progress to pause and per down at the lake, with the birds seeming to
'hover' against the breeze at their height (calm at mine!) before they
moved on
- 2 Heron sighting again with one flushed from the SE area at 06:25. Not
seen then until an adult flew across the W end of the lake at 10:00:
assumed a different bird
- the resident Swans were probably too low-down and did not see the 2
adult potential interlopers that flew W to the N. Perhaps these were the 2
semi-resident birds seen at the Flash later?
- Canada Geese were calling overhead as I arrived at 06:12 and again a few
minutes later, but they must have flown straight over as none was present
on the lake until 2 arrived from the W with a Greylag Goose at 07:05. 3
more arrived from the SW at 07:20. 8 more flew W overhead at 09:50. With
the assumption that the 'heard' birds were at least groups of 2 then the
day count was at least 17
- 47 [45] Mallard was the full count. Only 38 [44] counted off the dam at
06:30.
- 29 [30] Pochard were again all loafing in the SE area. At least 19 [19]
adult drakes
- 54 [75] Tufted Duck today: None seen flying in or out. All 54 [59]
present when I did the main count, and I logged 33 [31] of them as adult
drakes
- the eclipse drake Ruddy Duck not seen today again
- 1 Buzzard noted flying SW overhead at 07:35 - and I do mean 'flying' as,
for a Buzzard, it was putting a lot of effort in
- 2 [0] Kestrels close together on the wires to the SE of the lake was
rather unusual
- Water Rail was not heard today
- 9 [9] Moorhens today: 3 [5] of these were together along the N part of
the dam
- 47 [50] Coots was today's variable count!
- gulls today:
- - the first 37 Black-headed Gulls flew in at 06:33 this morning: by 07:00 there were c.350,
after which birds started to leave. The usual periodic large (>100 birds)
groups from the W, followed by slow departure back. I did some periodic
counts of the birds on the lake
- ----- 07:30: 72
- ----- 08:00: c.230
- ----- 08:30: c.260
- ----- 09:00: c.650
- ----- 10:00: c.550
- but not sure what that tells me! So I'll pick the largest and say there
were at least 650 [>550] birds present. But I should note some 'odd'
records of: a lone bird flying high N; 23 flying W far to the N in with a
large party of Lesser Black-backed Gulls and nothing to do with the lake;
and 1 more flying high N also with Lesser Black-backed Gulls. That maked
675!
- -the Lesser Black-backed gulls are easier in way, but more to report.
Passage started at 07:20 with birds flying S to the E of the lake and I
counted 737 birds. After 08:00 I noted that birds were also flying SW and
passing to the N & W of the lake and I counted another 341. Then at 08:30
birds started, rather unusually, passing overhead going N and there were
at least 193 more. Finally I noted a huge group of birds to the N and this
was the prelude to a sustained mass arrival on the lake with a count -
well more an estimate - at 09:45 giving at least 1300 birds, after which I
ran out of enthusiasm (and ink) to keep track of small parties flying in
and out. That makes at least 2571 [1329] for the day. Again I note the
relative paucity of immatures and the preponderance of large darker backed
birds - it is hard to find Herring Gulls as they are so, relatively, small
- - 3 [7] different Herring Gulls was all I could find amongst the hordes
of Lesser Black-backs: 1 1st-winter type; and 2 (more or less) adults
- - nothing that looked like a Yellow-legged Gull or a Great Black-backed
Gull today: and no sign of Common Gulls either: most odd
- 3 [3] Feral Pigeons: 2 all-white birds circling over the estate to the
N; and a blue morph flew S
- 7 [0] Stock Doves today: 3 seen back on their old breeding-season haunt
of the wires to the NE; and 2 pairs flying over
- 2 parties totalling 137 Wood Pigeons at height were likely migrants,
c.90 N and 47 W; 97 more logged flying W in 4 smaller parties at low-level
were presumably local movements; 9 singles flew E; 17 flew W; 2 were on
the wires to the E; and 10 in the trees and bushes around the lake. Equals
272 [242] for the day
- no Great Spotted Woodpecker today
- 2 [2] Sky Larks again - 1 seen flying W to the N; the other heard
- 2 [2] Grey Wagtails today - the usual: 1 on the dam-face; and 1 in the
Teece Drive area
- 4 [6] Pied Wagtails a particularly poor showing
- 212 [72] Fieldfares seen in 6 [2] parties
- 5 [3] Song Thrushes today: one briefly, very briefly, in song
- 50 [22] Redwings: 3 [2] heard before light-enough to see them; 5 [7] in
trees around the lake; a party of c.30 seen flying to the N; the other 12
in various small parties
- 7 [0] Mistle Thrushes today: 2 different birds on the wires to the E;
much later 4 at the W end together; and then 1 atop a conifer near the
Teece Drive gate (I had one in full song later near Newport)
- 5 [4] Goldcrests seen or heard today
- 3, perhaps 4, Long-tailed Tit parties heard: one seen with at least 15
birds; and another with at least 8 birds
- 1 [0] Jay heard from the NW area again
- corvid passage was truly amazing: at 07:20 there were at least 500 birds
very high far to the N, apparently forming up to fly off SSE to the E of
the lake. While I was trying to sort out how many were Jackdaws and how
many were Rooks they crossed the path of hitherto unseen V-formations of
some 150 gulls, several closer groups of Jackdaws flew through the scope;
and to add to the confusion there was a party of some 70 Fieldfare flying
the other way. On the assumption that my first impression was correct and
there were c.400 Jackdaws and c.100 Rooks in this large party, then the
day totals are 563 [40] Jackdaws and 144 [54] Rooks. But ?
- 33 [0] Starlings logged today with 21 counted leaving the NW reed bed at
07:32. The other 12 were going in various directions and no westbound
movement was recorded
- Greenfinches were heard (and some seen) leaving a small roost in the
hedge at the W end. Otherwise numbers of finches were unremarkable
- the Redpoll was heard flying N at 07:40
- 6 [3] Reed Buntings with 1 seen flying off from the N-side reeds
Did not check the street lights for insects etc. this morning
My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was:
no Little Grebe; 3 Great Crested Grebes; 4 Cormorants; 2 Herons; 4 adult
Swans and 1 cygnet; 1 Greylag Goose (on the lake); 17 Canada Geese (5 on
the lake); 47 Mallard (not sexed); 29 Pochard (19 adult drakes); 54 Tufted
Ducks (at least 33 adult drakes); no Ruddy Ducks; no Sparrowhawks; 1
Buzzard; 2 Kestrels; no Water Rails; 9 Moorhens; 47 Coots; no waders; >675
Black-headed Gulls; 2571 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 3 specifically
identified Herring Gulls; no probable Yellow-legged Gulls; no Great
Black-backed Gulls; 3 Feral Pigeons; 7 Stock Doves; 272 Wood Pigeons; no
Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; no Great Spotted
Woodpeckers; 2 Sky Larks; no Meadow Pipits; 2 Grey Wagtails; 4 Pied
Wagtails; 23 Wrens; 11 Dunnocks; 32 Robins; 26 Blackbirds; 212 Fieldfares;
5 Song Thrushes; 50 Redwings; 7 Mistle Thrushes; 5 Goldcrests; 3 (4?)
Long-tailed Tit parties; no Coal Tits; no Willow Tits; 15 Blue Tits; 12
Great Tits; no Treecreepers; 1 Jay; 13 Magpies; 563 Jackdaws; 144 Rooks;
11 Crows; 33 Starlings; 6 Chaffinches; 20 Greenfinches; 7 Goldfinches; no
Siskins; no Linnets; 1 Redpoll; no Bullfinches; 6 Reed Buntings; no
Yellowhammers
Also recorded
Mammals:
- 2 Rabbits at the W end - the first for weeks
- new molehills noted along the N side
Fungi:
-
a single rather late Shaggy Ink Cap is fast fading in the grass of the
factory at the Teece Drive gate
(Ed Wilson)
Top
Wednesday, 15th
(06:10 - 09:57) -
Again the weather was better than forecast: it stayed dry and there was
even some sunny bits, though it was very dull at times as well. Always
breezy. Main feature of the day
- the number of, especially Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- possible Yellow-legged Gull in amongst the Lesser Black-backs
- fewer of most other things
- Redpoll over the best of the rest
The more detailed notes from the lake
[As usual some counts from yesterday are included in square brackets for
comparison]
- the Little Grebe still present: because I said "it seems to be a
permanent feature off the NE reeds" it was elsewhere today
- the 3 Great Crested Grebes again
- several Heron sighting with one flying across the lake at 06:24. That
seemed to be an adult (hard to be certain at that time!); later a juvenile
seen several times
- the resident Swans had 2 adult interlopers that took nearly 20 minutes
to see off. As so often happens the flying in and out of these large,
conspicuous birds went unseen by me and it was the 'Easter egg' pose of
the cob that alerted me to their arrival
- apparently no Canada Geese on the lake at first light, though there were
22 present by 07:55! 34 flew overhead, eastbound, in a single noisy party
at 06:41
- 45 [47] Mallard 44 was the count of birds off the dam at 06:30. A drake
flew in from the SE soon after
- 30 [35] Pochard were today all asleep in the SE area - until now there
have been 2 or 3 groups and some birds feeding (the books say they are
nocturnal feeders, but Pochard can't read. At least 19 [22] adult drakes)
- 75 [56] Tufted Duck today: 16 (as groups of 14 & 2) apparently all this
species seen flying off W in the gloom at 06:49. Of the 59 [56] present
when I did the main count, I logged 31 [22] of these as adult drakes
- the eclipse drake Ruddy Duck not seen today
- 2 sightings of probably the same male Sparrowhawk over the N trees, the
first at the pre-dawn time of 07:10
- no Buzzards noted today!
- no Kestrels today
- Water Rail was not heard today either: the ditch in the NE area now had
a lot more water and is beginning to look more suitable
- 9 [8] Moorhens today: 5 [4] of these were together along the N part of
the dam
- 50 [46] Coots: I did not today that now many of these birds have moved
to the traditional winter feeding site of the SW grass that, because that
area has not been mown recently, they can disappear behind the tussocks.
Not sure that this explains why the numbers fluctuate as normally I wait
for a dog-walker to flush all the birds on to the water and count them
there
- gulls today:
- - not sure how to come up with a number for this species today. I
thought there were none as I arrived but as the Heron flew low across the
lake at 06:25 there were 22 Black-headed Gulls flying about. Whether these were present
overnight and were flushed or whether they just happened to be arriving is
rather conjecture, but I think the latter, though only 2 singles were seen
until 26 more arrived until 06:43. Numbers built up to c.300 by 06:55 when
they started to leave to the S & SE. Thereafter several large groups flew
in from the W totalling at least 700 birds, but I am inclined to think
that these were the same c.250 birds being periodically flushed from
loafing / feeding areas to the W to which they drift back. My periodic
counts of birds on the lake gave me 470 birds at 0805; 340 birds at 08:35;
and 550 birds at 09:05 (thereafter I concentrated on the larger gulls).
Being conservative there were at least 550 [>750] birds involved
- - many Lesser Black-backed Gulls again today. Overflying there were at
least 269 birds mainly flying W / SW in small groups; and 220 more in two
large groups flying S to the E. After an early single and a small party of
5 on the lake birds started to arrive early and there were 128 by 08:00. I
attempted to get around them on the N shore to get some closer shots, but
something spooked them before I got there and they all flew off S. It was
then almost 09:00 when more started to drift in from the north and numbers
steadily built while I was taking pictures until there were at least 706
when I got too close and some flushed. So today's total was at least 1329
[>825]. An amazing percentage of these gulls seemed to be adults. And one
objective of the photos was to examine the range in the strength and
extent of the dark flecking on the head - indeed many are to me (I learned
my gulls in SW coastal England) very dark-mantled; larger than I would
expect; and much whiter-headed
- - 7 [4] different Herring Gulls today with 4 different first-winters, 2
near-adults and a full adult
- - 1 other Herring Gull-type had a very white head and a darker than
normal mantle: took some shots that I hope may show the bill pattern ad
orbital ring better to perhaps clinch a Yellow-legged Gull
- - no [1] apparent Great Black-backed Gulls today
- 3 Feral Pigeons flew E
- no [1] Stock Doves today
- there seemed to be no migrant parties of Wood Pigeons. There were 3
parties totalling 81 birds that were probably local movements as they were
at very low level. There were also at least 120 in the trees to the E of
Castle Farm Way today. I logged another 6 [15] birds flying E; 24 [80]
birds flying W; 10 [9] in the trees around the lake; 1 [4] on the wires;
but none [20] in trees to the N of the lake. A total of 242 [660] for the
day
- 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker yet again: seen flying in to the SW area at
07:42 but disappeared before I could get the scope on it to sex it
- 2 [0] Sky Larks heard overhead
- no [0] Meadow Pipit recorded
- 2 [1] Grey Wagtails today - as so often 1 on the dam-face; and 1 in the
Teece Drive area
- 6 [8] Pied Wagtails logged, with one heard flying off the dam
- 72 [155] Fieldfares seen in 2 [6] parties, both
- 3 [5] Song Thrushes only today
- 22 [23] Redwings: 2 [2] heard before light-enough to see them; 7 [5] in
trees around the lake; a party of 12 flying over the fields to the E; and
a single over as well
- no [1] Mistle Thrushes today
- 4 [4] Goldcrests heard again today: they seem more-or-less 'resident'
with 2 in the bushes alongside the M54; 1 in the SE trees alongside Castle
Farm Interchange; and another near the Teece Drive gate
- 2 Long-tailed Tit parties heard: one seen with at least 16 birds
- no [1] Jays seen or heard
- corvid passage was, for some reason, not apparent this morning with no
flocks of either species. My totals for the morning were 40 [415] Jackdaws
and 54 [94] Rooks
- just 9 [14] Crows today with none seen coming from the E
- I failed to find a single [69] Starling this morning! Was not in the
best position to see birds leaving any NW reed-bed roost, though had they
circled before departure I should have seen them. But none seen flying
over either
- the Redpoll was heard flying S at 07:58
- 3 [3] Reed Buntings again, with 2 calling birds seen flying off W
Did not check the street lights for insects etc. this morning
My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was:
1 Little Grebes; 3 Great Crested Grebes; no Cormorants; 2 Herons; 4 adult
Swans and 1 cygnet; no Greylag Goose; 56 Canada Geese (22 on the lake); 45
Mallard (not sexed); 30 Pochard (19 adult drakes); 75 Tufted Ducks (at
least 31 adult drakes); no Ruddy Ducks; 1 Sparrowhawk; no Buzzards; no
Kestrel; no Water Rail; 8 Moorhens; 50 Coots; no waders; >550 Black-headed
Gulls; 1329 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 7 specifically identified Herring
Gulls; 1 probable Yellow-legged Gull; no Great Black-backed Gulls; 3 Feral
Pigeons; no Stock Doves; 242 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no
Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker; 2 Sky
Larks; no Meadow Pipits; 2 Grey Wagtails; 6 Pied Wagtails; 26 Wrens; 10
Dunnocks; 36 Robins; 22 Blackbirds; 72 Fieldfares; 3 Song Thrushes; 22
Redwings; no Mistle Thrushes; 4 Goldcrests; 2 Long-tailed Tit parties; no
Coal Tits; no Willow Tits; 12 Blue Tits; 9 Great Tits again; no Tree
Creepers; no Jays; 10 Magpies; 40 Jackdaws; 54 Rooks; 9 Crows; no
Starlings; 4 Chaffinches; 12 Greenfinches; 8 Goldfinches; no Siskins; no
Linnets; 1 Redpoll; 1 Bullfinch; 3 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers
Also recorded
Mammals:
- new molehills noted
(Ed Wilson)
Top Tuesday, 14th
(06:10 - 09:57) -
After a better than expected start with breaks developing in the high
cloud before low cloud and then drizzle set in and it became rather wet at
the end. The light winds were replaced by a freshening SW breeze. Nothing to pull out as the 'highlight' with a good scatter of interesting
records.
Oh all right: the highlights from the lake
- an apparent immature Great Black-backed Gull was on the lake. I say
apparent as it seemed that way, but having looked at the picture I took of
it some of the features are correct - mainly the very white head, but
other features seem more like a large Lesser Black-backed Gull (indeed the
pictures that I took of the adult that was present yesterday make it look
less convincing than it did 'live': it had a very dark mantle, but neither
the overall size nor the bill look large enough even for a female Great
Black-backed Gull)
- more migrant Wood Pigeons today - 532 noted: oddly these were all moving
north apart from the first flock which was flying SE
- fewer, but still good number of Fieldfare (155 [293]) and Redwings (23
[105]) logged today
The more detailed notes from the lake
[As usual some counts from yesterday are included in square brackets for
comparison]
- the Little Grebe still present: now seems to be a permanent feature off
the NE reeds
- the 3 Great Crested Grebes again
- the only Heron sighting was one flushed from one end of the dam to the
other at 06:27
- the resident Swans had no interlopers on the lake, but gazed
disapprovingly as an adult pair flew W overhead
- no Canada Geese on the lake until 4 arrived at 09:12. I failed to locate
any birds that I thought I heard distantly before 07:30, but it is
possible that I could hear the birds on / leaving The Flash
- 47 [38] Mallard today: this was a count of birds off the dam at 06:30.
Later there seemed to be fewer dispersed all around the lake
- 35 [39] Pochard was another reasonable count (at least 22 [26] adult
drakes)
- 56 [52] Tufted Duck today: none seen flying in or out. I logged 30 [26]
of these as adult drakes
- the eclipse drake Ruddy Duck seen again today, giving even better views
as it paddled alongside the N shore
- just 2 Buzzards noted today!
- a male Kestrel flew low over the NE trees, eliciting the response from
the tits that I associate with Sparrowhawks
- Water Rail was not heard today
- 8 [11] Moorhens today: 4 [7] of these were together along the N part of
the dam
- 46 [41] Coots: still no idea why the numbers fluctuate
- gulls today:
- - c.90 Black-headed Gulls 'appeared' among the resting Lesser
Black-backed Gulls at 06:49 but I don't think they had roosted here. These
all started to leave at 07:00. Thereafter it was all a bit chaotic with
groups leaving and then seeming to be panicked back to the lake from the
fields to the W and NW. When it seemed to calm down I took a count at
07:55 and there were 270 birds present. Without birds seeming to leave or
arrive a count an hour later produced 730 on the lake. I am inclined to
think this may well have included most of the earlier birds as well so I
am using c.750 [>435] as the day's total
- - Lesser Black-backed Gulls were flying low over the lake by 06:25, but
I am not sure whether these were arriving or had been here all night. When
it got light-enough I made the total 96. There was a strong passage of
these large gulls, more SW than W this morning and flying more to the E
than usual as well. The total of the fly-overs logged was 338. After all
the early birds had left I noted no more until 4 stopped briefly at 07:55,
but these too left. Movement in started at c.08:15 and gradually built
with a rush just after 09:15 to give me a count of 387 at 09:25 though
there were plenty flying about and there were probably more individuals. So today's total was at least 825 [>435]
- - 4 [2] different Herring Gulls today with 2 different first-winters and
2 different adults
- - 1 [1] apparent Great Black-backed Gull: what appeared to be a 3rd /
4th winter bird with a very white head. As noted above the photographs I
took suggest it might just be a very large immature Lesser Black-back,
though the white head is hard to explain
- no Feral Pigeons logged
- 1 [1] Stock Dove flew E again today
- as noted above the Wood Pigeon migrant count was 532 [228] birds in 10
[6] flocks, all heading E / NE. There were many more 'non' migrants
(singles or small groups flying at lower-level) and I logged another 15
[6] birds flying E; 80 [11] birds flying W; 9 [5] in the trees around the
lake; 4 [1] on the wires; and at least another 20 [-] in trees to the N of
the lake. A total of 660 [251]
- 1 splendid Kingfisher glowing in the dreary drizzle along the Wesley Brook
- 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker again heard along the N side while I was busy
on something else
- no [0] Sky Larks again
- no [0] Meadow Pipit again either
- 1 [1] Grey Wagtail only again today: and again heard only
- 8 [7] Pied Wagtails logged
- all the passerines back in good voice this mild morning with, for
instance, 31 [20] Robins noted
- 155 [293] Fieldfares seen in 6 [9] parties and 4 singles. Again most
flying W
- 5 [5] Song Thrushes today
- 23 [105] Redwings logged. 2 [0] of these birds were heard overhead
pre-dawn. 5 [7] in the trees around the lake: 1 [3] more flying over
singly; and all the other 12 flew W in 2 parties
- 1 [0] Mistle Thrush seen on top of a conifer in the NW area, but not
disposed to start singing yet
- 4 [1] Goldcrests, all heard
- a Willow Tit heard near the Teece Drive gate
- at least 1 Jay heard in the NE / N area
- the corvid passage took place 'all of a rush' with big groups over the
lake as well as to the far E at more or less the same time. One mixed
party of Jackdaws and Rooks, but all the other big groups were exclusively
Jackdaws, the rest of Rooks trailing out in small groups for over 30
minutes. My totals for the morning were 415 [145] Jackdaws and 94 [53]
Rooks
- just 14 Crows logged today with only 6 birds noted coming in from the E
this morning
- 69 [12] Starlings logged today. 21 roosting birds left the NW reeds at
07:16; and another 2 seemed to emerge from the NE area much later at
07:31. Otherwise 45 [4] birds were noted flying W in 3 [1] parties. 1 [4]
seen flying otherwise
- not positioned well for hearing / seeing finches around the lake, so
numbers are low
- 3 [2] Reed Buntings heard: none seen flying off today
- party of at least 20 finches seen to the E must again remain
unidentified: the 'open' nature of the group would suggest Goldfinch, but
they did not seem to 'bounce' enough
After the mild night I checked the street lights for insects etc. this
morning
- just 1 of the lights was occupied: occupied by 4 spiders of 3 different
species!
My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was:
1 Little Grebes; 3 Great Crested Grebes; no Cormorants; 1 Heron; 4 adult
Swans and 1 cygnet; no Greylag Goose; 4 Canada Geese (all on the lake); 47
Mallard (not sexed); 35 Pochard (22 adult drakes); 56 Tufted Ducks (30
adult drakes); 1 eclipse drake Ruddy Duck; no Sparrowhawks; 2 Buzzards; 1
Kestrel; no Water Rails; 8 Moorhens; 46 Coots; no waders; >750
Black-headed Gulls; >825 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 4 specifically
identified Herring Gulls; 1 Great Black-backed Gull; no Feral Pigeons; 1
Stock Dove; 660 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; 1 Kingfisher; no Green
Woodpeckers; 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker; no Sky Larks; no Meadow Pipits; 1
Grey Wagtail; 8 Pied Wagtails; 22 Wrens; 11 Dunnocks; 31 Robins; 27
Blackbirds; 155 Fieldfares; 4 Song Thrushes; 23 Redwings; 1 Mistle Thrush;
4 Goldcrests; 3 Long-tailed Tit parties; no Coal Tits; 1 Willow Tit; 17
Blue Tits; 13 Great Tits; no Tree Creepers; 1 Jay; 14 Magpies; 415
Jackdaws; 194 Rooks; 14 Crows; 69 Starlings; 4 Chaffinches; 7
Greenfinches; 4 Goldfinches; no Siskins; no Linnets; no Redpolls; 1
Bullfinch; 3 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers; c.20 unidentified finches
Also recorded
Mammals:
- new molehills noted along the N side
Insects:
- 4 spiders of 3 species on one of the lights
Despite the lack of frosts some of the trees around the lake are now
looking great in their autumn colours (I was going to write 'finery', but
of course it is yellows and browns as the leaves shrivel and die, so
perhaps not an apposite choice!)
(Ed Wilson)
Top Monday, 13th (06:09 - 10:39) -
[08:50 - 09:20: checked the wooded area to the E / SE of Castle Farm Way - See Local Area]
Bright and rather breezy this morning with a few light passing showers.
The wind kept many of the passerines in low numbers - and most larger
birds did not seem too keen on flying around either!
Highlight was the record of apparently 8 different Buzzards! Improbable as
it seems I logged 7 birds flying low W / SW over or just to the S of the
lake. No suggestion that these 'looped around' and they all seem to have
been different birds. Later another seen over the trees to the east of
Castle Farm Way
Other highlights from the lake
- a Cormorant seen flying away - suspect it had flown 'over' rather than
'off'
- fewer Pochard (and Tufted Duck) today, but 39 is still a good count
- an adult Great Black-backed Gull was on the lake with the rather small
number of Lesser Black-backs - my first of the winter here
- good number of Fieldfare (293) and Redwings (105) logged today
- was closer to the corvids flying NW to the E / NE this morning - after
the 42 yesterday I logged 40 birds in one spread-out group: and they did
indeed seem to be Crows. Very odd
The more detailed notes from the lake
[As usual some counts from yesterday are included in square brackets for
comparison]
- the Little Grebe again
- the 3 Great Crested Grebes again
- the Cormorant to the S at 07:33
- more multiple Heron sightings again, but did seem to be all the same
bird today
- the resident Swans had no interlopers on the lake
- no Canada Geese on the lake; 2 small parties totalling 23 birds flew E
- 38 [39] Mallard today: again a pair flew in from the SE, today at 08:55
- 39 [65] Pochard was another good count (at least 26 [32] adult drakes,
which suggests it is most of the females / immatures that have flown off)
- 52 [65] Tufted Duck today: 2 of these left to the W at 06:29; and 5 more
at 06:45. When I did the count at 08:55, in the 45 [57] present at that
time I logged 26 [30] of these as adult drakes
- the eclipse drake Ruddy Duck seen again today, giving good views as it
slept amongst the roosting Pochard
- the 8 Buzzards noted above
- Water Rail was only heard again today
- 11 [14] Moorhens today: 7 [8] of these were together along the N part of
the dam. Unusually one was sitting on the water in the middle of lake
- 41 [50] Coots: still no idea why the numbers fluctuate
- gulls today:
- - Black-headed Gulls were late arriving and in reduced numbers. None
roosted. The first arrivals were about 25 [20] birds at 06:36 [06:24];
thereafter a few more arrived with c.95 [c.400] present at 06:50 [06:45]
after which they started to leave. I took sample counts of the birds on
the lake: at 07:15 - 135 birds; at 08:05 - c.340 birds; 08:35 - c.275
birds. At least 435 [c.790] birds today - the initial 96; and the 340 at
08:05
- - the Lesser Black-backed Gulls were also in reduced numbers. A lone
bird arrived with the Black-headed Gulls by 06:48; a different single was
present at 08:03; a small party of 11 dropped in at 08:30; and there were
30 at 09:45. Only 89 [485] logged flying over. Today's log therefore 132
[1753]
- - 2 [2] different Herring Gulls again; today both adults, one of which
had almost no head-streaking, but did not seem to be a Yellow-legged type
- - 1 [0] adult Great Black-backed Gull with the small flock of Lesser
Blacked Gulls at 08:30. but not thereafter
- just 1 Feral Pigeon logged: most unusually sitting (swaying?) on the
wire to the E
- 1 [2] Stock Dove flew E today
- considering the weather a reasonable Wood Pigeon passage with the
migrant count of 228 [852] birds in 6 [11] flocks, all heading E / NE.
Another 6 [19] birds flew E; 11 [64] birds flew W; 5 [11] were in the
trees around the lake; and 1 [16] was on the wires. A total of 251 [962]
- no Great Spotted Woodpecker today: seems like the first blank day for
about 2 weeks
- no [2] Sky Larks
- no [0] Meadow Pipit either
- 1 [3] Grey Wagtails today: heard only
- 7 [4] Pied Wagtails logged
- 293 [130] Fieldfares seen in 9 [8] parties and most flying W again. 2 of
the parties contained at least 100 birds
- 5 [5] Song Thrushes yet again today
- 105 [93] Redwings was the largest count for some days. Again none [0] of
these birds was heard overhead pre-dawn. 7 [1] in the trees around the
lake: 3 [10] more flying over in singles / pairs; and all the other 95
[82] flew out of the trees to the east of Castle Farm Way, with another
party of at least 50 birds
- no [7] Mistle Thrushes today
- 1 [3] Goldcrests heard today
- at least 1 Jay heard in the N / NW area on several occasions
- corvid passage in strong winds is always hard to see as the Jackdaws tend to speed through low-down in tight groups, giving little warning of
their approach or departure, while the Rooks often fly higher than normal
and circle as they orientate themselves against the drift imposed by the
wind. Today neither of these traits was obvious amongst the rather few
birds located! My totals for the morning were 145 [393] Jackdaws and 53
[135] Rooks
- in addition to the 40 [42] Crows noted above there were sightings of at
least 5 [6] more normally behaved birds
- just 12 [174] Starlings logged today. I was not in a position to see any
roosting birds leave the NW reeds but 3 seemed to emerge from the NE area
at 07:05; and another from along the N side somewhere at 07:20. Otherwise
just 4 [59] birds were noted flying W in 1 [6] party. 4 [3] more seen
flying otherwise
- 4 [9] Chaffinches again today
- 14 [34] Greenfinches today
- 5 [17] Goldfinches today
- 2 [4] Bullfinches heard
- 2 [6] Reed Buntings only, but never in the right position to see birds
leaving the roost-sites
Did not check the street lights for insects etc. this morning
My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was:
1 Little Grebes; 3 Great Crested Grebes; 1 Cormorant; 1 Heron; 2 adult
Swans and 1 cygnet; no Greylag Goose; 23 Canada Geese (none on the lake);
38 Mallard (not sexed); 39 Pochard (26 adult drakes); 52 Tufted Ducks (26
adult drakes); 1 eclipse drake Ruddy Duck; no Sparrowhawks; 8 Buzzards; no
Kestrel; 1 Water Rail heard; 11 Moorhens; 41 Coots; no waders; >435
Black-headed Gulls; 132 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 2 specifically
identified Herring Gulls; 1 Great Black-backed Gull; 1 Feral Pigeon; 1
Stock Dove; 251 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green
Woodpeckers; no Great Spotted Woodpeckers; no Sky Larks; no Meadow Pipits;
1 Grey Wagtail; 7 Pied Wagtails; 17 Wrens; 7 Dunnocks; 20 Robins again; 19
Blackbirds; 293 Fieldfares; 5 Song Thrushes; 105 Redwings; no Mistle
Thrushes; 1 Goldcrest; 2 Long-tailed Tit parties; no Coal Tits; no Willow
Tits; 9 Blue Tits; 6 Great Tits again; no Treecreepers; 1 Jay; 16
Magpies; 145 Jackdaws; 53 Rooks; 45 Crows; 12 Starlings; 4 Chaffinches; 14
Greenfinches; 5 Goldfinches; no Siskins; no Linnets; no Redpolls; 2
Bullfinches; 2 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers
Also recorded
Mammals:
- 2 Grey Squirrels fighting along the N side
- new molehills noted along the S side
Fungi
The large number of fungi growing in the NW area still await identification
(Ed Wilson)
Top Sunday, 12th (06:11 - 10:47)
- [09:00 - 10:00: walked the lanes and fields to the E / SE. See Local Area ]
Another fine start with a fiery red sun through increasing high cloud.
Mild considering it was clear with brisk W wind, though that tended to die
away and it became calm for a while.
Highlight was yet another of those 'probables': probably a Woodcock flushed off the N shore - right colour, right jizz as it shot away over
the trees. But not seen well-enough to get any features and it flushed
from some way ahead of me from an area that several other folks, including
at least one dog-walker had passed within the previous 15 minutes.
Lots of fly-overs again with high numbers of Lesser Black-backed Gulls again
Other highlights from the lake
- highest count of Pochard so far this winter - 65 birds! Same as the
number of Tufted Duck recorded today, though some of those had flown off
-
possibly my largest-ever Shropshire count of Golden Plover with a flock
containing, at the very least, 500 birds seen in a characteristic
shifting, dense flock very high indeed and very far to the east at 07:40
-
Sparrowhawk, Buzzard and Kestrel all seen today
- Not sure what was going on with the Crows this morning. I noted 42 birds
in 5 groups (largest 17 birds) all flying low NW to the E between 07:00
and 07:10. To me they all looked like Crows, but this would be an
unprecedented number: I could be have been mistaken and they might have
been other corvids, but which? And this would have been an usual movement
for them in any case, both in direction and height. Very odd
- over 100 Starlings seen leaving the reed-bed roost this morning.
The more detailed notes from the lake
[As usual some counts from yesterday are included in square brackets for
comparison: and remember that the passerine numbers were exceptionally low
today]
- the Little Grebe again
- the 3 Great Crested Grebes again
- more multiple Heron sightings again, starting with one in flight at 06:34
- the resident Swans had no interlopers on the lake
- 20 Canada Geese when I arrived: and there they stayed throughout with no
visitors
- 39 [34] Mallard today: 9 of these birds flew in at 06:45 - not sure
where from; a pair flew in from the SE much later at 09:45
- 65 [28] Pochard was an exceptional count (at least 32 [16] adult drakes)
- 65 [58] Tufted Duck today: 8 of these left to the W at 06:35; but 2
arrived from the W at 08:30. When I did the count of the 57 present at
08:55 I logged 30 of these as adult drakes, but when I rechecked at 10:02
there were still 57 birds on the lake, but only 21 seemed to be adult
drakes - shows how the angle of light and view can affect things at the
moment as most birds still coming out of eclipse
- the eclipse drake Ruddy Duck seen again today, but only once and briefly
just as I was leaving the lake - can be elusive
- a male Sparrowhawk circled low over the N-side trees at 08:17 and did
not seem to flush anything other than a Redwing that dived for cover;
neither did it prompt the gulls to give chase
- 2 Buzzards today: one flew low W pursued by gulls; the other was seen to
the SE over the trees the other side of Castle Farm Way (presumably this
bird gave good views while I was in the lanes later)
- a male Kestrel seen hovering just to the NE
- Water Rail was heard today, but not seen
- 14 [8] Moorhens a very good count: 8 of these were together along the N
part of the dam - an area where I normally see 4 or 5 birds
- 50 [38] Coots: still no idea why the numbers fluctuate
- the huge party of Golden Plover already noted
- the possible Woodcock off from the tussocks near the N shore, also
already noted
- gulls today:
- - Black-headed Gulls much as yesterday. None roosted. The first arrivals
were about 20 [17] birds at 06:24 [06:29]; thereafter rather few arrived
with c.400 [c.250] present at 06:45 after which they started to leave to
SE and, later to the SW as well. I took counts of the birds on the lake:
at 07:45 just 35 birds; at 08:40 - c.230 birds; 10:00 - c.370 birds.
Unusual were c.20 seen flying W to N in with one of the larger parties of
Lesser Black-backed Gulls. At least 790 [c.670] birds today - the initial
400; the 20 definite fly-overs; and the 370 at 10:00
- - the Lesser Black-backed Gulls were also behaving similar to yesterday.
I logged 485 [801] flying over / passed. There were two parties to the N
in the area of the tip - c.600 at 08:05 and c.500 at 08:45 [c.800] which I
think were different birds as the former birds all seemed to fly off W /
SW. After an early lone bird, more started to arrive at 08:45 with numbers
building to 55 [7] by 08:55. These all flew off when something spooked
them and the lake was pretty much devoid of this species until after 09:30
when more arrived from the E, building to 115 by 10:00 [c. 400]. Today's
log therefore 1753 [2008]
- - 2 [2] different Herring Gulls again; and again an immature on its own
early on; and a near-adult with main Lesser Black-backed Gull party
- the
11 Feral Pigeon logged were all-white 'loft' birds over Priorslee estate
- 2 [0] Stock Doves flew E today
- another reasonable Wood Pigeon passage with the migrant count of 852
[1178] birds in 11 [13] flocks, all but 1 westbound party were heading E /
NE. Another 19 [8] birds flew E; 64 [17] birds flew W; 11 [2] were in the
trees around the lake; and 16 [2] were on the wires. A total of 962 [1207]
- a Great Spotted Woodpecker heard along the N side yet again
- 2 [8] Sky Larks seen to the NE
- no [0] Meadow Pipit logged over the lake, but 1 heard while in the lanes
to the E
- 3 [2] Grey Wagtails today with 2 birds seen and heard around the dam;
and another at the W end
- now 4 [5] Pied Wagtails logged, tending to confirm that there is no
roost-dispersal over the lake at the moment
- 20 [13] Robins was a return to somewhere near normal numbers and a few
were singing as I arrived at 06:11
- 130 [88] Fieldfares seen in 8 [6] parties and most flying W again
- 5
[5] Song Thrushes again today
- 93 [24] Redwings was the largest count for some days. Again none [0] of
these birds was heard overhead pre-dawn. 1 [2] in the trees around the
lake in response to the passing Sparrowhawk: 10 others flying over in
singles / pairs; and all the other 82 [22] flew out of the trees to the
east of Castle Farm Way, mainly in a single party of at least 50 birds
- 7
[3] Mistle Thrushes: 1 bird heard at the W end again; 3 on the wires to
the NE; and 3 different birds on the wires to the SE
- 3 [1] single Goldcrests heard today
- Long-tailed Tits were not heard until 08:05 [08:00]. 3 parties today
- 1
Jay heard in the NW area was the first for a while here
- the corvid passage today started with several good-sized Jackdaw parties, though most of the birds were well to the E. One party of at
least 150 birds at 07:24 was flying in a very unusual orientation and
until I got my scope on them I had dismissed the flock as Wood Pigeons.
Rather fewer Rooks and no large groups of these noted. My totals for the
morning were 393 [254] Jackdaws and 135 [229] Rooks. (see also the special
note on Crows this morning)
- in addition to the 42 Crows noted above there were sightings of at least
6 more normally behaved birds
- 174 [795] Starlings logged today. c.110 [19] birds came out of the NW
reeds at the rather later time of 07:19; 2 [2] more seemed to emerge from
the NE area at 07:24. 59 [71] birds were noted flying W in 6 [5] parties.
3 [0] more seen flying N. None [c.700] seen over the fields to the NE
- 9
[9] Chaffinches again today
- 34 [7] Greenfinches a better count with at least 9 leaving a roost in
the W end hedge
- 17 [12] Goldfinches included a party of 9 birds at the W end
- 4 [4] Bullfinches again today, with 2 seen in flight, rather unusually,
along the S end
- 6 [10] Reed Buntings with just 2 [10] of these seen leaving roost
Did not check the street lights for insects etc. this morning
My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was:
1 Little Grebes; 3 Great Crested Grebes; no Cormorants; 1 Heron; 2 adult
Swans and 1 cygnet; no Greylag Goose; 20 Canada Geese (all on the lake);
39 Mallard (not sexed); 65 Pochard (32 adult drakes); 65 Tufted Ducks (30
adult drakes); 1 eclipse drake Ruddy Duck; 1 Sparrowhawk; 1 Buzzard; 1
Kestrel; [the only Pheasant to the E]; 1 Water Rail heard; 14 Moorhens; 50
Coots; >500 Golden Plover; 1 possible Woodcock; no other waders; >790
Black-headed Gulls; >1753 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 2 specifically
identified Herring Gulls; 11 Feral Pigeon; 2 Stock Doves; 962 Wood
Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; 1 Great
Spotted Woodpecker; 2 Sky Larks; [the only Meadow Pipit to the E]; 3 Grey
Wagtails; 4 Pied Wagtails; 12 Wrens; 11 Dunnocks; 20 Robins; 25
Blackbirds; 130 Fieldfare; 5 Song Thrushes; 93 Redwings; 7 Mistle
Thrushes; 3 Goldcrests; 3 Long-tailed Tit parties; no Coal Tits; no Willow
Tits; 12 Blue Tits; 6 Great Tits; no Treecreepers; 1 Jay; 10 Magpies
again; 393 Jackdaws; 135 Rooks; 48 Crows; 174 Starlings; 9 Chaffinches; 34
Greenfinches; 17 Goldfinches; no Siskins; no Linnets; no Redpolls; 4
Bullfinches; 6 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers
Also recorded
Mammals:
- new molehills noted at the E end
[forgot to add that on Thursday 09 November I found a large number of
fungi growing in the NW area: I have a few pictures, but have not had a
chance to do any work on them yet]
(Ed Wilson)
Top
11th November, Saturday (06:06 - 09:54) -
A fine start with the remnant cloud from last night's rain far to the E.
Did not stay clear, with patches of both high and thin low cloud appearing
by 08:00 before tending to break after 09:00. Good visibility initially,
but rather hazy later. Moderate, occasionally fresh, WNW wind. Lots of fly-overs and a particularly frustrating period where the corvids
were flying SSE; lots of Wood Pigeons were flying NE; and partied of
Lesser Black-backed Gulls were flying NW, all crossing the same area of
sky. While all this was going on there were some flocks of Fieldfares
passing. I did not know where to look and had little time to take detailed
notes.
While all this was going on there were rather few birds around the lake -
when I arrived there was nothing calling (it had been unusually quiet on
the journey from Newport, though the only Blackbird I heard was actually
in full song!). And birds seemed reluctant to start.
Other highlights
- 15 Lapwings seen over the lake today
- no big early arrival of Black-headed Gulls today - perhaps just 250.
More later
- big movement of Lesser Black-backed Gulls though with over 800 logged
passing over; a huge swirling party to the N that I estimated to consist
of another 800 birds was perhaps in the area of the tip; and after several
small groups paused at the lake a serious arrival occurred after 08:50 -
earlier than weekdays - reaching a peak of some 380 birds. One flock of
c.100 of these birds was first noted swirling and gaining height to the
ESE as if they might have roosted on the fishing pools behind the M54
Services
- [one of the regular dog-walkers quizzed me as to why there had been so
many yesterday afternoon - 'the water was white with gulls' (at c.14:45)
was his comment]
- a Buzzard flew very low W over the lake at 06:45 when it was still quite
dark: what was presumably the same bird flew back E 10 minutes later; and
was also the bird being chased across the lake by both gulls and Jackdaws
10 minutes after that
- Wood Pigeon flocks were very distant to the E and mostly heading NE
(birds that had gone too far, returning?). Some large (>250) flocks and a
total of 1178 counted, but in the rather hazy conditions they were not
easy to see and I am sure that there were many more
- 7 Sky Larks together flying W was my largest single party seen from here
- 24 Starlings seen leaving at least 2 roost sites around the lake; 71
more flew W across the lake; but a party of at least 700 seen to the N
-
in keeping with the general lack of calls and song I heard just 1 Reed
Bunting, but saw no fewer than 10 birds fly off without so much as a sound.
Most bizarre sighting was a red toy balloon, complete with string (but no
child clinging to it!), drifting across the N side trees before 07:00 and
being quizzically inspected by some of the passing corvids. Now where had
that come from?
The more detailed notes from the lake
[As usual some counts from yesterday are included in square brackets for
comparison: and remember that the passerine numbers were exceptionally low
today]
- the Little Grebe back again today (indeed I am sure it has been here,
but hiding, all along: John Isherwood saw it yesterday afternoon)
- 3 Great Crested Grebes again with the adult and juvenile together in the
NW corner again
- multiple Heron sightings again, starting with one heard calling in
flight at 06:26; and ending with an immature flying out of the NW reeds
and to the boat-launching platform at 09:30
- the resident Swans had no interlopers on the lake
- apparently 9 Canada Geese when I arrived: 14 more flew in from the W at
06:29. These left as parties of 11 and 12 to the SW much later, but not
before 9 had flown SW overhead
- 34 [36] Mallard today: did not count the birds off the dam pre-dawn
today as the direction of the wind and / or the presence of several
fishing tents on the dam meant they weren't there! 3 of these birds
arrived from the E before 07:00
- 28 [20] Pochard noted (at least 16 [13] adult drakes)
- 58 [60] Tufted Duck noted today: 2 of these left to the W at 06:34; but
then 6 arrived from the W at 06:37. Of the 56 [51] on the lake when I did
the full count there were 31 [20] adult drakes - a very different
composition this morning
- the eclipse drake Ruddy Duck not seen today
- 1 Buzzard as noted above
- Water Rail not heard today
- 8 [10] Moorhens
- 38 [44] Coots: not sure why the numbers fluctuate. Only some of them
seem to roost in the NW reeds, but they should be out of there by the time
I do the counts
- 15 Lapwings seen over the fields to the NE at 08:20, but not before or
after
- gulls today:
- - no Black-headed Gulls roosted. The first arrivals were just 17 birds
at 06:29; thereafter rather few arrived with c.250 [1500] present at 06:41
after which they started to leave to SE. After c.07:00 about 240 more
birds arrived in groups from the W. I took counts of the birds on the
lake: at 08:10 - 330 birds; 09:05 - 420 birds. So at least 670 [c.1700]
birds today - the initial 250 and the 420 at 09:05
- - the Lesser Black-backed Gull data has been described above. In summary
801 [109] flying over; a party of c.800 [0] to the N; at least 407 [c.400]
birds on the lake. Today's log is therefore at least 2008 [518]
- - 2 [1] different Herring Gulls in with the Lesser Black-backed Gulls:
an immature at 07:35; and a near-adult at 08:50
- 9 Feral Pigeon logged: 2 seen flying high E; and 7 all-white 'loft'
birds over Priorslee estate
- no [2] Stock Doves today
- as noted a bigger Wood Pigeon passage with the migrant count of 1178
[302] in 13 flocks. Apart from these another 8 [9] birds flew E; 17 [20]
birds flew W; just 2 [3] were in the trees around the lake; and 2 [0] were
on the wires. A total of 1207 [334]
- a Great Spotted Woodpecker was flushed from the bushes alongside the M54
and flew off N calling loudly. Still not seen well-enough to sex!
- 8 [2] Sky Larks logged with a party of 7 flying W, with at least another
heard
- no [1] Meadow Pipit logged today
- 2 [2] Grey Wagtails again, with 1 bird seen and heard around the dam;
and another at the W end
- just 5 [14] Pied Wagtails logged. As there are so few and they are not
necessarily flying E / NE I assume that there is no roost in the town
centre at the moment and the birds logged are 'casual' over-flyers rather
than roost dispersal. Would also account for the fact that the first bird
was heard at 06:35, but no more until the late time of 07:02
- 13 [23] Robins was an even lower count and again none was singing as I
arrived (and today I only logged 14 [33] in song en route from Newport).
All this despite it being a clear morning, with the sky already beginning
to colour before 06:00!
- the low number of Robins was also reflected in the low count of 16 [27]
Blackbirds
- 88 [1] Fieldfares seen, all flying W in 6 parties
- 5 [8] Song Thrushes today
- 24 [12] Redwings noted. None [8] of these birds was heard overhead. 2
[0] were seen in the trees / bushes around the lake: all the other 22 [4]
flew over in one party
- 3 [1] Mistle Thrushes: 1 at the W end again; and 2 on the wires to the E
09:15
- 1 [2] Goldcrest heard today
- Long-tailed Tits were not heard until 08:00 [07:59]. 3 parties today
-
the corvid passage started with a bang and some 150 birds of both species
powering out at 06:55. Passage then steady for the next hour or so with
small groups, though one exciting moment when a party of at least 18
Jackdaws and 40 Rooks met a group of 22 Wood Pigeons crossing their path
right to left just as at least 46 Lesser Black-gulls were crossing left to
right and a party of Fieldfare was leaving the trees - where was ATC when
they needed it!. My totals for the morning were 254 [52] Jackdaws and 229
[142] Rooks. I am quite unable to explain why the numbers differ from
day-to-day
- 795 [14] Starlings logged today! 19 birds came out of the NW reeds (17
at 07:05; and 2 much later at 07:12); 2 more seemed to emerge from the NE
area at 07:14. 71 birds were noted flying W in 5 parties. The other 700
were in a big swirl over the fields to the NE
- 9 [10] Chaffinches today
- just 7 [17] Greenfinches
- 12 [16] Goldfinches included a party of 7 birds in the alders in the NW
area
- 4 [0] Bullfinches today, mostly heard
- 10 [5] Reed Buntings with all 10 [3] seen leaving roosts
Also
- once again the street lights were devoid of insects or spiders
My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was:
1 Little Grebes; 3 Great Crested Grebes; no Cormorants; 1 Heron; 2 adult
Swans and 1 cygnet; no Greylag Goose; 32 Canada Geese (23 on the lake); 34
Mallard (not sexed); 28 Pochard (16 adult drakes); 58 Tufted Ducks (31
adult drakes); no Ruddy Duck; no Sparrowhawks; 1 Buzzard; no Kestrels; no
Pheasants; no Water Rails; 8 Moorhens; 38 Coots; 15 Lapwings; no other
waders; >670 Black-headed Gulls; >2008 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 2
specifically identified Herring Gulls; 9 Feral Pigeon; no Stock Doves;
1207 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green
Woodpeckers; 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker; 8 Sky Larks; no Meadow Pipits; 2
Grey Wagtails; 5 Pied Wagtails; 13 Wrens; 9 Dunnocks; 12 Robins; 16
Blackbirds; 88 Fieldfare; 5 Song Thrushes; 24 Redwings; 3 Mistle Thrushes;
1 Goldcrest; 3 Long-tailed Tit parties; no Coal Tits; no Willow Tits; 10
Blue Tits again; 7 Great Tits; no Treecreepers; no Jays; 10 Magpies; 254
Jackdaws; 229 Rooks; 12 Crows yet again; 795 Starlings; 9 Chaffinches; 7
Greenfinches; 12 Goldfinches; no Siskins; no Linnets; no Redpolls; 4
Bullfinches; 10 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammer
Also recorded
Mammals:
- new molehills noted at the E end
Insects:
- not even a spider sp. on any of the street-lights!
1 red toy balloon!
(Ed Wilson)
Top 10th November, Friday (06:10 - 10:01) -
Fine again with some frost on the grass. The promising sunrise was cut off
by incoming high cloud. There was a chill SE breeze when I arrived
bringing much road-noise from the lorries on the M54, but it thankfully
dropped away, though later it did spring up again from the S
It should have been a bumper morning with the thin-ish high cloud
providing excellent viewing conditions for over-flying birds but for some
reason my expectation was misplaced. Basically similar to yesterday, but
fewer of just about everything!
Highlights
- 16 Lapwings seen: 14 noted apparently flying off the SW grass at 07:25;
then at 09:50 2 birds were seen to the NW over Priorslee estate
- 2 of the Black-headed Gulls logged were seen VERY high over the lake
flying N - unusual for fly-overs not to at least pause; or be part of
general gull movement at much lower-level
The more detailed notes from the lake
[As usual some counts from yesterday are included in square brackets for
comparison]
- the Little Grebe was not logged today
- just 3 Great Crested Grebes again and I may have been misplaced in
thinking that there were 4 earlier this week. There are 2 adults and 1
juvenile, but to my surprise the 'pair' in the NW corner seems not to be
the long-term residents here, but an adult and a 1st winter immature. The
other adult seems to be one of the birds that used the N-side reeds as a
nest site
- several Heron sightings again, starting with one flushed at 06:20 and
ending with an adult flying off SW at 08:30
- the resident Swans had no interlopers on the lake, but 2 adults flew W
past the lake
- apparently 27 Canada Geese when I arrived: 3 more flew in from the SW
(Town Park?) at 07:35. No others logged
- 36 [29] Mallard today with 32 just off the dam and 4 more in the SW area
pre-dawn
- 20 [23] Pochard noted (at least 13 [14] adult drakes)
- 60 [75] Tufted Duck noted today: 7 of these flew off W at 06:42; 1
arrived from the W 07:31; 2 more flew in at 07:50, but out again at 07:52.
Of the 51 on the lake when I did the full count there were 20 adult drakes
- the eclipse drake Ruddy Duck seen again
- 1 Sparrowhawk being mobbed by a Jackdaw high to the NE of the lake this
morning
- 1 Kestrel powered through S
- Water Rail heard only - in the NW area. There remains no sign of the
bird in the largely still-dry ditch in the NE area
- 10 [7] Moorhens
- 44 [54] Coots: back to 'normal' this morning
- gulls today:
- - no Black-headed Gulls roosted. The first arrivals were a party of at
least 700 birds that spiralled in at 06:24 and quickly built to at least
1500, with 200 more arriving before the 'roost' broke at 06:42 and birds
started leaving at 06:44. Just c.220 were left by 07:15 and thereafter
there was was only small movement as birds continued to drift away such
that by 09:00 there were only c.140 present. Very few were seen flying in
with the larger gulls. But the post-roost total of c.1700 [c.950] was a
significant increase
- - many fewer Lesser Black-backed Gulls today: just 109 [453] logged
flying over, again mostly W / NW. On the lake there was a small group of 9
birds briefly at 08:30; and then birds started arriving again just before
09:00, with a peak count of c.400 [c.700] birds by 10:00 (there were 236
by 09:15; 357 by 09:30; with very few additions after that). Today's log
therefore of 518 [1204] birds. Did not go on to The Flash to see whether
there were any there
- - 1 [3] adult Herring Gull in with the Lesser Black-backed Gulls on the
lake
- 2 [0] Feral Pigeons seen flying N over the fields to the E
- 2 [4] Stock Doves also flew N over the fields to the E
- the smaller Wood Pigeon passage today took place mainly before 08:00 and
comprised 11 small / medium-sized groups flying to the east - some to the
NE; and some to the SE. Today's migrant count was 302 [447]. Few birds
apart from these, with a dearth of birds in the trees around the lake. For
the record another 9 [21] birds flew E; 20 [18] W; 3 [10] were in the
trees around the lake; and none [3] was on the wires. A day-total of 334
[499]
- the Great Spotted Woodpecker seen in flight and then heard calling to
the N again: one day I will see it well-enough to sex!
- 2 [0] single Sky Larks heard flying E overhead today
- 1 [11] Meadow Pipit logged flying S today
- the usual 2 [2] Grey Wagtails, with 1 bird seen and heard around the
dam; and another at the W end
- 14 [9] Pied Wagtails logged
- at least 1 [13] Fieldfare, but only heard in flight - might have been a
flock somewhere, though there would have been less chance of my being
unable to locate a flock
- 8 [4] Song Thrushes were almost all along the N side and flushed as I
walked by
- 12 [18] Redwings noted, with 8 [4] of these birds heard and perhaps part
of larger unseen groups. none [0] seen in the trees / bushes around the
lake, all the other 4 [14] seen flying over after dawn
- 1 [0] Mistle Thrushes heard at the W end as often at the moment
- 2 [2] Goldcrest heard again
- Long-tailed Tits were not heard until 07:59 [07:48]. Just 2 parties,
though one largely out of site in the dense bushes alongside the M54
sounded as if it was very large
- exactly where the corvids were today is a bit of a mystery. The
conditions should have made for a bumper count, but there seemed to be
very few Jackdaws with no large parties located. My totals for the morning
were 52 [321] Jackdaws and 142 [241] Rooks
- 14 [14] Starlings again: once again a lone bird was seen leaving a roost
around the lake - in the NW reeds today!. Otherwise just small groups
again (largest 6 birds again)
- 10 [8] Chaffinches today
- 17 [22] Greenfinches: again not present to see the N side roost disperse
- 16 [5] Goldfinches included a party of 6 birds in the alders in the NW area
- no [1] Bullfinches today
- 5 [9] Reed Buntings with 3 [9] seen leaving roosts
Also
- once again the street lights were devoid of insects or spiders
My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was:
0 Little Grebes; 3 Great Crested Grebes; no Cormorants; 1 Heron; 4 adult
Swans and 1 cygnet; no Greylag Geese; 30 Canada Geese (all on the lake);
36 Mallard (not sexed); 20 Pochard (13 adult drakes); 60 Tufted Ducks (20
adult drakes); 1 drake Ruddy Ducks; 1 Sparrowhawk; no Buzzards; 1 Kestrel;
no Pheasants; 1 Water Rail heard; 10 Moorhens; 44 Coots; 19 Lapwings; no
other waders; >1700 Black-headed Gulls; >518 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 1
specifically identified Herring Gull; 2 Feral Pigeon; 2 Stock Doves; 334
Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; 1
Great Spotted Woodpecker; 2 Sky Larks; 1 Meadow Pipit; 2 Grey Wagtails; 14
Pied Wagtails; 20 Wrens; 13 Dunnocks; 24 Robins; 27 Blackbirds; 1
Fieldfare; 8 Song Thrushes; 12 Redwings; 1 Mistle Thrush; 2 Goldcrests; 2
Long-tailed Tit parties; no Coal Tits; no Willow Tits; 10 Blue Tits; 9
Great Tits; no Treecreepers; no Jays; 10 Magpies; 52 Jackdaws; 142 Rooks;
12 Crows again; 14 Starlings again; 10 Chaffinches; 17 Greenfinches; 16
Goldfinches; no Siskins; no Linnets; no Redpolls; no Bullfinches; 5 Reed
Buntings; no Yellowhammer
Also recorded
Mammals:
- new molehills noted along the S side
(Ed Wilson)
Top
9th November, Thursday (06:06 - 10:05) -
Fine and not too chilly this morning at the lake. An even greater number
of large gulls and a small Wood Pigeon passage Other highlights
- Little Grebe seen again
- I spent more time on the large gulls today: as I was heading back to the
car a larger than normal gull flew low over my head and seemed not to have
any black on the wings. I was in the trees at the time and only glimpsed
the bird, but decided it was worth pursuit. It was quite difficult to get
near the gulls with the light at a reasonable angle as they were very
jumpy. By walking along the very edge of the grass, camouflaged against
the bushes I managed a reasonably close approach, though the birds had
already had 2 'panics'. Was unable to locate any 'large' bird, none of the
Herring Gulls present being any larger than many of the Lesser
Black-backed Gulls. So I am not sure what I saw: it would be early for a
Glaucous Gull and there has been no hard weather as yet (though the sudden
increase in numbers suggests that somewhere the weather has been
bad-enough to move them on?)
- a total of 11 Meadow Pipits logged including a party of 8 together
- a
few Fieldfare seen today - 2 parties totalling 13 birds
- first Willow Tits for a while
- a Starling seen emerging from roost around the lake: a Starling - just
the one!
The more detailed notes from the lake
[As usual some counts from yesterday are included in square brackets for
comparison]
- the Little Grebe (as noted above)
- all 4 Great Crested Grebes seen today
- several Heron sightings, but only an immature seen well-enough to age
-
the resident Swans had no interlopers on or over the lake
- apparently no Canada Geese when I arrived: 17 flew in at 06:34, but by
07:00 there were 19 - the other 2 might have been present overnight. 14
more flew E; and later 2 flew W
- only 29 [46] Mallard today, though I did not so a count just off the dam
pre-dawn
- 23 [20] Pochard noted (at least 14 [12] adult drakes): 2 of these birds
flew off W at 06:47
- 75 [108] Tufted Duck noted today: 4 of these flew off W while still dark
at 06:15! Another 15 flew off 09:10
- no Ruddy Duck seen
- 1 Sparrowhawk being mobbed by both Black-headed Gull and Jackdaw high to
the N of the lake
- 1 Buzzard flew low W over the lake, also with a trail of Black-headed
Gulls in pursuit, though they steered clear of pressing home any actual
attack
- no Water Rail seen or heard
- 7 [11] Moorhens
- 54 [43] Coots the highest total for some while
- gulls today:
- - no Black-headed Gulls roosted and the first 25 appeared at 06:19.
Subsequently birds were seen arriving from the W, though the early parties
came in so high that they were only really evident as they spiralled down.
Later arrivals came in low as usual. By 06:40, when birds started to leave
there seemed to be .c.750 on the lake! I took a count at 08:20 and there
were just 182 (remaining?). Another count at 09:30 gave me c.375 birds, so
I am assuming that at least 950 [587] different birds - the original c.750
and the c.200 increase between the two counts
- - Lesser Black-backed Gulls were once again in good numbers. There was
no real passage S to the E - the few birds seen on this line then swung W
and continued. I logged 453 birds flying over, almost all heading SW / W
or NW, though of these some 25 paused at the lake. The largest single
parties were 82 at07:19; and 88 at 07:49. Then birds began to arrive from
the N at 08:45 with 51 by 08:55, though these were all flushed off by a
dog-walker. Birds started returning c.09:15 and numbers rapidly increased
and by 09:30 there were at least 700 birds on the lake. Thereafter birds
were coming and going and it was impossible to tell whether these were new
birds. But a great count of at least 1204 [938] birds (with another 135
[230] seen later at The Flash)
- - 3 [0] Herring Gulls today - 2 adults and a first-winter bird
- 1 Feral Pigeon was seen flying very high SE across the path of W-bound
gulls
- 4 [0] Stock Doves logged
- the Wood Pigeon passage today was rather strange: most of the flocks I
saw were heading N / NE and usually to the E before I located them, so not
sure where they came from. A party that I did see approaching to the SW,
continued to the S and then all the birds seemed to spiral down in to
trees somewhere out of sight - Nedge Hill way? Today's migrant count was
447 [109]. Another 21 [8] birds flew E; 18 [22] W; 10 [16] were in the
trees around the lake; and up to 3 [6] on the wires. A grand total of 499
[161]
- a Great Spotted Woodpecker heard calling to the N again
- no [2] Sky Larks heard today
- 11 [5] Meadow Pipits today, unusually all seen; and more unusually still
(especially for the date) a party of 8 flew W
- 2 [2] Grey Wagtails today, with 1 seen and heard around the dam; and 1
at the W end over the Ricoh factory
- 9 [6] Pied Wagtails logged. A slightly better number
- 23 Robins was a lower than usual count and unusually none was singing as
I arrived (though I had logged 33 in song en route from Newport)
- 13 [0] Fieldfares (as noted above)
- 4 [7] Song Thrush today
- 18 [13] Redwings noted, with 4 [4] of these birds heard and probably
part of larger unseen groups. none [8] of these birds were seen in the
trees / bushes around the lake, all the other 14 seen flying over after
dawn
- no [4] Mistle Thrushes today
- 2 [3] Goldcrest heard, with apparently just 1 noisy birds alongside the
M54 today
- Long-tailed Tits were not heard until 07:48 [06:49] where I was today: 4
parties, though one of then seemed only to have 3 birds in it!
- a Willow Tit heard today
- the corvids were easier to see against a largely clear sky with good
visibility. A large party of >100 Jackdaws started the passage; an
evenly-mixed party of c.180 birds followed a few minutes later; and then a
long 'tail' of singles / small groups throughout the time I was at the
lake giving me totals for the morning of 321 [202] Jackdaws and 241 [163]
Rooks
- 14 [12] Starling started with a lone bird apparently emerging from the N
side bushes. Otherwise just small groups (largest 6 birds) often passing
high and unseen with the naked eye - checking the corvids revealed some of
these
- 8 [5] Chaffinches today
- 22 [29] Greenfinches: I was nowhere near the N side roost again today.
Just 6 [12] birds seemed to be leaving a roost in the Ricoh hedge at the W
end
- 5 [16] Goldfinches
- 1 [8] Bullfinch only heard today after a few days with higher than
normal numbers
- 9 [4] Reed Buntings were all seen leaving roosts, usually after calling.
3 birds heard calling earlier may or may not have been other birds
Also
- the street lights were again devoid of insects or spiders
- a Grey Squirrel and a Moorhen were seen staring at each other with less
than a foot between them: what would have happened had I not chanced
along?
My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was:
1 Little Grebes; 4 Great Crested Grebes; no Cormorants; 1 Heron; 2 adult
Swans and 1 cygnet; no Greylag Goose; 35 Canada Geese (19 on the lake); 29
Mallard (not sexed); 23 Pochard (14 adult drakes); 75 Tufted Ducks (not
sexed); no Ruddy Ducks; 1 Sparrowhawk; 1 Buzzard; no Kestrels; no
Pheasants; no Water Rails; 7 Moorhens; 54 Coots; no waders; >950
Black-headed Gulls; >1204 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 3 specifically
identified Herring Gulls; 1 Feral Pigeon; 4 Stock Doves; 499 Wood Pigeons;
no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; 1 Great Spotted
Woodpecker; no Sky Larks; 11 Meadow Pipits; 2 Grey Wagtails; 9 Pied
Wagtails; 21 Wrens; 14 Dunnocks; 23 Robins; 23 Blackbirds; 13 Fieldfares;
4 Song Thrushes; 18 Redwings; no Mistle Thrushes; 2 Goldcrests; 4
Long-tailed Tit parties; no Coal Tits; 1 Willow Tit; 11 Blue Tits; 10
Great Tits; no Treecreepers; no Jays; 15 Magpies; 321 Jackdaws; 241
Rooks; 12 Crows; 14 Starlings; 8 Chaffinches; 22 Greenfinches; 5
Goldfinches; no Siskins; no Linnets; no Redpolls; 1 Bullfinch; 9 Reed
Buntings; no Yellowhammer
Also recorded
Mammals:
- 1 Grey Squirrel
(Ed Wilson)
Top 8th November, Wednesday (06:05 - 09:47) -
Another day with mixed weather: looked like being a good sunrise, but then
the clouds rolled in and it became rather dark for a while and there was
some light rain. Mild though A very different day with a notable passage and arrival of large gulls -
all Lesser Black-backed Gulls with not a Herring Gull amongst the >900
logged!
Other highlights
- the Tufted Duck count today topped 100 for the birds on the lake
- a
Lapwing flock to the NE. Only 15 birds, but better than nothing. Strangely
these were flying around at speed in a tight-knit group with none of the
usual flapping about. Could not see any predator that might have
encouraged this behaviour
The more detailed notes from the lake
[As usual some counts from yesterday are included in square brackets for
comparison]
- the Little Grebe not seen
- just 3 Great Crested Grebes again . But today it seemed to be 3 adults
-
at least two different Herons - a full adult; and one showing immature
plumage
- the resident Swans had no interlopers again, but 2 adults flew by in the
direction of The Flash (though the 2 adults I logged there had been there
yesterday)
- 19 Canada Geese were at the lake today, throughout
- 46 [49] Mallard were just off the dam pre-dawn
- 20 [26] Pochard noted (12 adult drakes)
- 108 [86] Tufted Duck possibly a record count of birds on the lake:
possibly more as it was hard to keep track of them as many were
continually diving and moving about
- no Ruddy Duck seen
- 1 Kestrel on the wires to the E
- no Water Rail seen or heard today
- 11 [12] Moorhens
- 43 [40] Coots
- gulls today:
- - no Black-headed Gulls roosted and the first 8 appeared from the N at
06:30: thereafter 69 more flew in from the W before they all started
heading off again. A count at 07:30 gave me 180 birds, but these too
largely departed. A count at 09:10 gave me 280 more. Unusual was the
flight of at least 50 birds flying S to the far E with Lesser Black-backed
Gulls at 06:20. So 587 [c.750] birds logged today
- - Lesser Black-backed Gulls were in much larger numbers than recently.
At 07:20 there was a passage of at least 234 birds flying S to the E of
the lake. Another large group of at least 137 birds flew W at 08:10. And I
logged another 127 flying over, mainly SW / W in small groups. But the
largest number started to appear on the lake at 08:45 with birds arriving
from the unusual direction of N / NW and settling such that by 09:30
there were at least 440 birds, with more drifting in all the time. Almost
all these birds were adults. So the total for the morning at least 938
[128] birds - more like mid-winter! (later another 230 seen at The Flash)
- - no Herring Gulls again, which is amazing when over 900 large gulls
seen: sometimes as much as 10% of the large gull flock is Herring Gulls
[0]
- no [0] Stock Doves logged
- no real Wood Pigeon passage: of the 109 [0] 'migrants' logged only 45
were in a large group, flying high in a tight group, and these were flying
E rather than W or south. All the migrants were in rather loose,
low-flying parties moving W or S. Another 8 [4] singles flew E; and 22 [2]
singles flew W. There were 16 [4] in the trees around the lake; and up to
6 [0] on the wires to the E. So a better total of 161[10]
- a Great Spotted Woodpecker heard calling in flight as it bounded NW
across the lake, though it may have only come from the SE bushes. Over an
hour later 1 called in the NW area, possibly a different bird
- 2 [0] single Sky Larks heard flying E today
- 5 [1] single Meadow Pipits heard flying over
- 2 [3] Grey Wagtails today, with 1 seen and heard around the dam; and 1
at the W end over the Ricoh factory
- just 6 [20] Pied Wagtails logged. Not clear why this might have been
- no [0] Fieldfares again
- 7 [1] Song Thrush today, mainly along the S side bushes where I assume
there is fruit, though neither Blackbirds nor Redwings were seen here
- 13
[16] Redwings noted, with 4 [5] of these birds heard and probably part of
larger unseen groups. 8 [7] of these birds were seen in the trees / bushes
around the lake
- 4 Mistle Thrushes today with 2 on the pylon-wires to the SE and another
2 on the same wires but to the NE
- 3 [2] Goldcrest heard, with 2 very noisy birds alongside the M54
-
Long-tailed Tits were once again heard at an early time of 06:49 [06:48],
though today the party waking up was at the W end. 2 parties logged with a
very big, noisy party in the SE area
- the corvids were better behaved today, with a scatter of Rooks ahead of
the main groups of Jackdaws just after 07:00; and then a long 'tail' of
small and often mixed parties. The visibility did not allow the distant
birds to be logged so the totals were not high - today 202 [40] Jackdaws;
and 163 [55] Rooks
- 12 [12] Starlings again: 3 singles were located flying high W as they
crossed the paths of departing corvids. Then a small party of 9 flew SW at
08:14. I was in position to see birds leave the NW reed-bed roost today,
but did not notice any [as I was leaving The Flash much later a party of
at least 25 birds flew low-down along Priorslee Avenue]
- 5 [5] Chaffinches today
- 29 [41] Greenfinches: I was nowhere near the N side roost today but did
see some 7 birds flying from that direction; another 12 birds seemed to be
leaving a roost in the Ricoh hedge at the W end. The others were mainly
single fly-overs
- 16 [5] Goldfinches today with a party of 8 in the trees at the W end
briefly
- no [1] Siskin
- no [0] Redpolls
- 8 [4] Bullfinches logged, 5 together in the poplars near the Teece Drive
gate
- 4 [3 ] Reed Buntings logged today: all only heard
Also
- the street lights were devoid of all insects and spiders
- more new molehills along both N & S shores
My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was:
no Little Grebes; 3 Great Crested Grebes; no Cormorants; 2 Herons; 4 adult
Swans and 1 cygnet; no Greylag Goose; 19 Canada Geese (all on the lake);
46 Mallard (not sexed); 20 Pochard (12 adult drakes); 108 Tufted Ducks
(not sexed); no Ruddy Ducks; no Sparrowhawks; no Buzzards; 1 Kestrel; no
Pheasants; no Water Rails; 11 Moorhens; 43 Coots; 15 Lapwings; no other
waders; c.587 Black-headed Gulls; 938 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; no
specifically identified Herring Gull; no Feral Pigeons; no Stock Doves;
161 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers;
2 Great Spotted Woodpecker; 2 Sky Larks; 5 Meadow Pipits; 2 Grey Wagtails;
6 Pied Wagtails; 26 Wrens; 10 Dunnocks; 36 Robins; 25 Blackbirds; no
Fieldfares; 7 Song Thrushes; 13 Redwings; 4 Mistle Thrushes; 3 Goldcrests;
2 Long-tailed Tit parties; no Coal Tits; no Willow Tits; 15 Blue Tits; 9
Great Tits; no Treecreepers; no Jay; 7 Magpies; 202 Jackdaws; 163 Rooks;
13 Crows; 12 Starlings; 8 Chaffinches; 29 Greenfinches; 16 Goldfinches; no
Siskins; no Linnets; no Redpolls; 8 Bullfinches; 4 Reed Buntings; no
Yellowhammer
Also recorded
Mammals:
- even more molehills along the S sides
Insects:
- not even a spider sp. on any of the street-lights!
(Ed Wilson)
Top 7th November, Tuesday (06:04 - 09:33) -
Clear when I left Newport but misty from Limekiln onwards and when I
arrived at the lake. This tended to get worse and opposite ends were
rarely both visible. Add the very low cloud and it was an unpromising
start. But, as so often, there were distinct compensations Spent most of the time on the N side again - giving about the best
opportunities in the conditions, but over-flying birds were few and far
between
Highlights
- the first Cormorant for a while, a white-bellied juvenile, managed to find
the lake in the mist, but not sure whether it stopped or not
- at 07:20 I heard what sounded like a Redshank call above the cacophony
of the Black-headed Gulls. But I had rather dismissed this as unlikely
when at 08:45 I not only heard it again, more clearly: but also saw it fly
across the lake!
- spent some 5 minutes watching the Water Rail feeding in the Wesley
brook, just downstream of the footbridge! After that time one of the 2
accompanying juvenile Moorhens decided to get aggressive and chased it off.
One of my longest-ever looks at this species here (or elsewhere)
- a Green Woodpecker calling, as well as a Great-spotted Woodpecker both
heard and later it or another seen
- as I walked across the dam-top trying to keep track of the Tufted Ducks as they appeared and disappeared in the mist I flushed a pipit. I would
like to have seen it, but it did sound like a 'regular' Meadow Pipit and
indeed it may well have been flushed from the adjacent grass rather then
the dam. But I need Rock Pipit for my lake list!
- a rather odd record of probable Treecreeper: heard it apparently
calling twice. Why apparently? well the sound was coming from the reeds
along the N side! It was for sure no Reed Bunting and the Kingfisher had
flown off. If it wasn't a Treecreeper what was it? and if it was a Treecreeper what was it doing there?
- no Starlings roosting in the N side bushes, but a party of 12 flew over
In the counts below treat all the numbers with more than usual caution: as
it was rarely possible to see all the lake at once they are composite
counts and some birds may have moved so as to get counted twice (though
some may have, by the same token, avoided being seen)
The more detailed notes from the lake
[As usual some counts from yesterday are included in square brackets for
comparison]
- the Little Grebe was seen again: once more I heard it patter away before
I saw it
- just 3 Great Crested Grebes noted today, but the mist. One of these
was the immature. The birds in the NW area were rather vocal again today -
they have a good call to each other before dawn, but then tend to go their
separate ways
- as I crossed the dam pre-dawn there was only 1 Heron today: a few
minutes later one called and I suspect it was a 2nd bird (or the first
chasing off an unseen second bird)
- the Cormorant was very observant: as it flew, at some height, from the N
it saw me standing amongst the bushes on the N shore, and swerved away.
Whether that prompted it to fly on I have no idea, but I did not see it
again
- the resident Swans had no interlopers but that cob had a perfunctory
chase of some of the Canada Geese
- 25 Canada Geese were at the lake today: I heard birds arrive at 07:00; 4
more arrived from the N at 07:12 and it was probably these birds that had
circled and approached from the E at 07:15 as there were 4 separate birds
away from the main group of 21 on the lake
- 49 [53] Mallard were just off the dam pre-dawn: once again this seemed
to be all the birds later spread out
- 26 [30] Pochard noted (15 adult drakes)
- 86 [111] Tufted Duck another good count. I did not attempt to sex these
birds
- the eclipse drake Ruddy Duck was present again, though it is often elusive
- 1 Buzzard flew low S over the lake
- the splendid view of the Water Rail was worth the trip. Pity that what I
took a picture of was one of the Moorhens, but then they were some way
away!
- 12 [8] Moorhens
- 40 [47] Coots found in the mist today
- the surprising Redshank record systematically belongs here!
- gulls today:
- - not sure whether the Black-headed Gulls roosted or not - it seemed to
be clear-enough at 06:15 to say they did not. But there were at least 500
present by 06:25 and I had not seen any fly in. Neither were there any
birds on any of the buoys, where some birds seem to head as soon as they
arrive or the roost begins to disperse. By 06:35 there were at least 750
birds, but that may reflect increased light rather than any more
arrivals!. I did a 'best effort' count at 09:10 when the visibility was
better - 180. Let's leave the day's total c.750 [c.562]
- - the first Lesser Black-backed Gulls arrived by 06:50 and thereafter
whenever I looked there seemed to be a few more, rising to a maximum of 27
birds by 07:25. By 07:45 they had gone. After 08:00 more arrived and this
group peaked at 46. Finally at 09:30 another 36 were seen arriving from
the N. The vast majority of these 109 birds were adults and many also
rather large birds. One of the large juveniles could almost have been a
small Great Black-backed Gull - but wasn't! In the conditions the 2
parties totalling 19 birds flying low over was a good count. So 128 [63]
for the day
- - no Herring Gulls again [0]
- no [0] Stock Doves logged
- an even worse day and I logged no [41] Wood Pigeons flying over in
migrant parties. There were only 4 [5] flying E; 2 [22] flying W; just 4
[8] in trees around the lake; and none [8] visible on the wires to the E.
So a 'grand' total of just 10 [89]
- 1 Kingfisher heard flying off from the N side reeds
- 1 Green Woodpecker heard in the NW area - probably out on the playing
field grass
- a Great Spotted Woodpecker heard calling far to the N and then about 20
minutes later one seen circling the W end, not calling
- no [1] Sky Larks today
- 1 [0] Meadow Pipits today, and unusually flushed off the dam
- probably 3 [3] Grey Wagtails again today, with 2 heard around the dam;
and 1 in the Teece Drive
- 20 [22] Pied Wagtails logged: some of these were unusually flying W
- no
[0] Fieldfares again
- only 1 [5] Song Thrush today
- 16 [22] Redwings noted, with 5 [12] of these birds heard and probably
part of larger unseen groups. 7 [5] of these birds were seen in the trees
/ bushes around the lake
- no Mistle Thrushes today
- 2 [1] Goldcrest heard
- Long-tailed Tits were once again heard at an early time of 06:48
[06:45]. 3 parties again, one with at least 16 birds
- lucky to be able to see any departing corvids!. My totals today were 40
[111] Jackdaws; and 55 [68] Rooks
- 12 [1] Starling flew low W across the N side
- 5 [5] Chaffinches again today
- 41 [86] Greenfinches with just 34 [82] of these emerging from the N side
roost
- 5 [4] Goldfinches today
- 1 [0] Siskin heard over
- no [0] Redpolls
- 4 [7] Bullfinches logged with the first calling as early as 07:01 - just
3 [7 ] Reed Buntings logged today
Also
- the street lights were again devoid of insects, but again a spider was
seen - a very different spider today
- more new molehills along both N & S shores
My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was:
1 Little Grebe; 3 Great Crested Grebes; 1 Cormorant; 2 Herons; 2 adult Swans and 1 cygnet; no Greylag Goose; 25 Canada Geese (all on the lake);
49 Mallard (not sexed); 26 Pochard (15 drakes); 86 Tufted Ducks (not
sexed); 1 drake Ruddy Duck; no Sparrowhawks; 1 Buzzard; no Kestrels; no
Pheasants; 1 Water Rail; 12 Moorhens; 40 Coots; 1 Redshank; no other
waders; c.750 Black-headed Gulls; 128 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; no
specifically identified Herring Gull; no Feral Pigeons; no Stock Doves;
only 10 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; 1 Kingfisher; 1 Green Woodpecker;
2 Great Spotted Woodpecker; no Sky Larks; 1 Meadow Pipit; 3 Grey Wagtails;
20 Pied Wagtails; 16 Wrens; 9 Dunnocks; 34 Robins; 32 Blackbirds; no
Fieldfares; 1 Song Thrush; 16 Redwings; no Mistle Thrushes; 2 Goldcrests;
3 Long-tailed Tit parties; no Coal Tits; no Willow Tits; 12 Blue Tits; 8
Great Tits; 1 Treecreeper?; no Jay; 12 Magpies; 40 Jackdaws; 55 Rooks; 4
Crows; 12 Starlings; 5 Chaffinches again; 41 Greenfinches; 5 Goldfinches;
1 Siskin; no Linnets; no Redpolls; 4 Bullfinches; 3 Reed Buntings; no
Yellowhammer
Also recorded
Mammals:
- more recent molehills along both N & S sides
Insects:
- a different spider sp. on one of the street-lights
(Ed Wilson)
Top
6th November, Monday (06:01 - 09:36) -
Well it was a complete contrast today and not sure why
- it was a foggy morning - the loud bangs from the fireworks last night might have moved all the
migrants on (to where though?)
- the noise of the traffic from the M54 was so great that I repositioned
along the N side to try and hear the birds, but it does restrict the view
But there were very few Wood Pigeons (flying over; or around the lake); no
Fieldfares at all; a scatter of Redwings mainly heard; and a lone
Starling! There was also a lone Sky Lark over but no other migrant
passerines apart from the usual Pied Wagtails. Gulls were in smaller
numbers too. The only positive note was the ducks, but even they were
behaving very differently
The sunrise again looked promising but at the crucial moment one of the
fog banks rolled in
Another day with strange weather: hoar frost in the Donnington area with
fog patches, but strangely at the normally cold Limekiln Bank the
temperature reported by he car rapidly rose from zero to 4C. Backed off to
2.5C at the lake at that stage devoid of mist. There was a hint frost on
the grass only in the sheltered areas
Other highlights
- a surprised Little Grebe that seemed to give up 'holding its breath' and
after I had been standing alongside the reeds it was in, it burst out of
cover and scuttled off, as they do
- a Teal was heard calling, but never located
- eventually 30 Pochard on the lake - appeared when the light was at the
wrong angle to accurately sex them. But quite where 9 of them came from
was unclear: they were not present when I did the count from the dam (and
before all the Tufted Duck flew off)
- and quite where the party of 44 Tufted Duck were coming from as they
flew high NW; and quite where most of them went is unclear: some may well
have gone to the Flash, but all 63 of the Tufted Duck from the lake also
left in that direction and there weren't that many at the Flash when I
went there later
- as a result of being positioned along the N side I was able to count the
Greenfinch departure - 82 birds left the roost
- a party of 6 Bullfinches were demolishing Ash keys along the N shore.
Did I know that Bullfinches ate Ash keys? (and why were the Redwings in
the same trees?). The Bullfinches were up early with the first heard at
06:44
[As usual some counts from yesterday are included in square brackets for
comparison]
The more detailed notes from the lake
- the Little Grebe was seen again after it was flushed: it was lurking
with a party of Mallard
- 4 Great Crested Grebes present again today
- as I crossed the dam pre-dawn there were 2 Herons: saw neither after
they flushed
- the resident Swans yet again had the same two interlopers - the adult
and juvenile (which again were seen later seen at The Flash)
- Canada Geese were heard but not seen on any of the usual flight-lines
- the / a Teal was heard only and never located (and never called again)
- 53 [48] Mallard were just off the dam pre-dawn: this seemed to be all
the birds which later were spread out all around the lake. Perhaps they
all roost together?
- 30 [16] Pochard noted, though when I did the count from the dam at 08:45
there appeared to be only 21
- 111 [55] Tufted Duck recorded today - best count this year (ever?). At
07:50 while I was along the N side looking in vain for migrant flocks I
spied a party of 44 Tufted Ducks flying high from the SE. All but 6 of
these powered on through and disappeared high in the direction of the
Flash. I did the count at 08:45 and located 63 on the lake (6 of these
presumed to be from the overflying birds). But they all suddenly took wing
at 09:05 even though they were in numerous groups all around the lake.
They headed off NW, also towards The Flash. Oddly the Pochard that were
among many of the groups of Tufted Ducks stayed put. After my experience
yesterday I did not attempt to sex these birds
- the eclipse drake Ruddy Duck was present again
- no Buzzard seen today - or any other raptors
- the Water Rail was not heard today but I was in the wrong place most of
the time
- 8 [12] Moorhens, but in the misty conditions hard to find them, though I
seem to have found all the Coots
- 47 [48] Coots today
- gulls today:
- - the first Black-headed Gulls arrived at 06:23 again and by 06:30 there
were at least 350 present, all apparently arriving from the W again. Birds
then started to leave to the N as well as the SE. I would have been unable
to see birds leaving to (or more arrivals from) the W. A count at 08:40
gave me 212 birds, assumed to be new arrivals. So the day's total c.562
[c.600]
- - 5 adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls dropped in at 08:20; 2 single
immatures before that. Otherwise there was only a small visible passage
mainly SW / W comprising at least 56 birds. Making 63 [189] for the day
- - no Herring Gulls [1]
- no [1] Stock Doves logged
- I logged just 41 [746] Wood Pigeons flying over in 3 migrant parties,
the largest of 32 birds. Also there were at least 5 [12] others flying E;
22 [29] singles flying W; just 8 [12] in trees around the lake; and
another 8 [4] on the wires to the E. So a grand total of just 89 [803]
- 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker heard along the N side: if it had flown in
from the far SE today then I did not see it do so!
- 1 [1] Sky Larks heard flying E again
- no [1] Meadow Pipits today
- probably 3 [2] Grey Wagtails today, with 1 on the dam; 1 in the Teece
Drive area; and 1 on the SW grass
- 22 [17] Pied Wagtails logged: the larger number may in part be due to
the relative peace of the N shore!
- no [128] Fieldfares at all
- 5 [4] Song Thrushes today
- 22 [24] Redwings noted, though the 12 birds heard early on were probably
part of larger unseen groups. 5 [2] of these birds were seen in the trees
/ bushes around the lake
- no Mistle Thrushes today
- 1 [1] Goldcrest heard again
- Long-tailed Tits were heard at the early time of 06:45 - clearly I was
near where one of the 3 parties seen today was roosting
- no massed corvid departure seen - not from the N shore anyway. A steady
stream with the largest party of Jackdaws just 28 birds and of Rooks just
14 birds. My totals today were 111 [347] Jackdaws; and 68 [160] Rooks
- 1 [223] Starling noted as it left the N-side bushes. While I was not in
a position to see any birds leave the NW reeds I logged no other parties
either - a feature of the last few days
- 5 [3] Chaffinches today
- 86 [24] Greenfinches with 82 of these emerging from the N side roost
- 4 [17] Goldfinches only: one of these did seem to come from the
Greenfinch roost
- no [2] Siskins
- no [0] Redpolls
- 7 [4] Bullfinches logged, with the party of 6 eating the Ash keys
- 7 [8 ] Reed Buntings logged today: 2 more birds heard giving the
'hoarse' call and then seen flying off from the hawthorns at the W end
Also
- the street lights were again devoid of insects, but 1 spider was still
lurking
- a Grey Squirrel heard again
My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was:
1 Little Grebe; 4 Great Crested Grebes; no Cormorants; 2 Herons; 3 adult
Swans and 2 cygnets; no Greylag Goose; no Canada Geese seen; 53 Mallard
(not sexed); 30 Pochard (not sexed); 111 Tufted Ducks (63 on the lake); 1
drake Ruddy Duck; no Sparrowhawks; no Buzzards; no Kestrels; no Pheasants;
8 Moorhens; 47 Coots; no waders; c.562 Black-headed Gulls; 63 Lesser
Black-backed Gulls; no specifically identified Herring Gull; no Feral
Pigeons; no Stock Doves; 89 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no
Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker; 1 Sky Lark;
no Meadow Pipits; 3 Grey Wagtails; 22 Pied Wagtails; 20 Wrens; 12 Dunnocks
again; 27 Robins; 31 Blackbirds; no Fieldfares; 5 Song Thrushes; 22
Redwings; no Mistle Thrushes; 1Goldcrest; 3 Long-tailed Tit parties; no
Coal Tits; no Willow Tits; 14 Blue Tits; 7 Great Tits; no Treecreepers;
no Jay; 16 Magpies; 111 Jackdaws; 68 Rooks; 8 Crows; 1 Starling; 5
Chaffinches; 86 Greenfinches; 4 Goldfinches; no Siskins; no Linnets; no
Redpolls; 7 Bullfinches; 7 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammer
Also recorded
Mammals:
- 1 Grey Squirrel heard again
- more recent molehills at the E end
Insects:
- a spiders on one of the street-lights
(Ed Wilson)
Top 5th November, Sunday (06:01 - 09:30) -
Another relatively uninteresting morning, much the same as the last few
days - passage of Wood Pigeons, Redwings and Fieldfare, but in
unexceptional numbers
The sunrise looked promising but there was an area of cloud overhead and
this moved off E to blot the sun out at the crucial moment
After 3 days of hoar frost, this morning was unexpectedly mild. There was
a moderate NW wind which would have helped; and some areas of cloud as
well, but I would have judged insufficient to raise the temperature to an
almost balmy 8.0C even at 06:00!
[As usual some counts from yesterday are included in square brackets for
comparison]
Again things were similar, but different in detail
- there was a 4th Great Crested Grebe present today - one still without
the adult head-plumes
- Canada Geese present throughout and largely untroubled by the Swans,
though one did get a nip when it tried to muscle-in on the grain feed
supplied by one of the locals
- the resident Swans had the same two interlopers - the adult and juvenile
(later seen at The Flash); 2 cygnets flew over and decided not to stop!
The cygnet from the lake is now very often on its own. It does not seem to
fly much, though it clearly can
- more gulls, but none roosted
- small passage of Wood Pigeons today. Once again they were all to the E
and mostly heading SW. Passage faded rather early - when I was working the
passage seemed to be in full swing: now I can stay (and it was a Sunday
anyway) there was only 1 party after 08:00
- amazingly I picked up a / the Great Spotted Woodpecker flying in from
very, very far SE while watching one of the approaching gull parties.
Today it stopped along the N side
- a Blackbird seemed to be tempted by the milder weather and gave a brief
burst of song
- the corvids were very different today: I noted a huge group of c.330
birds swirling to the N of the lake, these sorting themselves out and
heading off in 2 main groups, one overhead and the other well to the E. As
far as I could tell there were c.270 Jackdaws and c.60 Rooks. Another
party of c.50 Jackdaws some 30 minutes later, otherwise is was a
continuous small passage of both species
- at least 120 [46] Starlings roosted in the reeds: oddly a lone bird
broke cover some 2 minutes ahead of the main party. Just 91 [210] flew W
in 5 [10] parties. And a lone bird [2] was seen on the wires to the E
- 2 single overflying Siskins yet again, one apparently incurring the
wrath of a Pied Wagtail on the dam and chased off from the NW area
- a single Yellowhammer heard in flight eastbound at 06:55
The more detailed notes from the lake
- 3 adult and 1 immature Great Crested Grebes today
- 1 Heron seen in flight over the lake
- 3 adult Swans and 4 cygnets seen today
- 25 Canada Geese present when I arrived. 2 left but 4 more birds arrived
unusually from the E
- 48 [47] Mallard today. I have noted for some weeks that there is a
rather pale duck and wondered whether to discount it, but it seemed paired
with an ordinary-looking drake, so I have included it. Today it was being
very vocal and had am amazing 'gruff' tone, suggesting some 'feral' genes,
but as I have counted it to date perhaps I had better continue
- 16 [23] Pochard noted when I did the count from the dam at 08:15. 12
drakes; and just 4 ducks
- 55 [48] Tufted Duck recorded today. I tried to sex these today and came
up with 24 drakes and 31 ducks, but later when I did the same with the
birds at The Flash I hit a snag. While talking to one of the locals and
pointing out the difference between drakes and ducks the closest bird that
I had previously ascribed to 'duck' turned out to have a dull iris and a
rather prominent crest suggesting that it was a drake still in eclipse or,
more probably, moulting out of immature plumage!
- the eclipse drake Ruddy Duck was present again
- another Buzzard flying low across the lake, scattering the gulls
- the Water Rail was heard today [0]. This is in the NW reed area where it
always difficult to see. But the 'ditch' in the NE area where it is easier
to see this bird contains rather little water at the moment and may not be
suitable
- 12 [16] Moorhens another good count
- 48 [41] Coots today
- gulls today:
- - the first Black-headed Gulls arrived at 06:23 and by 06:35 there were
at least 450 present, all apparently arriving from the W. Birds then
started to leave to the SSW and the SE. Another c.150 were noted flying in
from the W over the next hour, but most moved through such that only 88
were present at 08:00. There was no 'return' passage and the count at 0925
was a miserly 57. So the day's total c.600 [>650]
- - 1 immature Lesser Black-backed Gull was seen with the early arriving
Black-headed parties (as was a lone Herring Gull). 7 adults dropped in at
09:15. Otherwise there was a steady passage mainly SW / W of at least 181
birds. Making 189 [176] for the day
- - the immature Herring Gull with the early arrivals was the only one of
its species seen [1]
- 1 [no] Stock Dove flew over
- I logged 746 [357] Wood Pigeons flying over in migrant parties, the
largest of c.240 birds. Also there were at least 12 [12] others flying E;
29 [31] singles flying W; and just 12 [37] in trees around the lake; and 4
[13] on the wires to the E. So a grand total of 803 [450]
- the Great Spotted Woodpecker seen flying from afar
- 1 [1] Sky Larks heard flying E again
- 1 [1] Meadow Pipit over as well
- 2 [2] Grey Wagtails again, but only 1 on the dam; one in Teece Drive
area as well
- 17 [15] Pied Wagtails logged: today I saw 2, one of which was the bird
chasing off the Siskin from the dam
- despite the milder conditions there were no Robins singing as I arrived, it was 3 minutes before any burst in to song
- 128 [155] Fieldfares all flying W
- 4 [5] Song Thrushes today
- 24 [85] Redwings noted, though again the 9 birds heard early on were
probably part of larger unseen flocks. 2 [7] of these were seen in the
trees / bushes around the lake
- 1 [1] Mistle Thrush again at the W end
- 1 Goldcrest heard this morning
- just 1 party of Long-tailed Tits heard again this morning on a day with
few tits generally
- 1 Jay was seen flying E across Castle Farm Way - my first for a while
- the massed corvids departure is documented above. My totals today were
347 [159] Jackdaws; and 160 [98] Rooks
- 223 [259] Starlings in total
- just 3 [10] Chaffinches today
- 24 [14] Greenfinches a better number
- 17 [7] Goldfinches also a good count
- 2 [2] single Siskins again, with the bird being chased off from the
dam-area by the Pied Wagtail
- no [0] Redpolls
- 4 [2] Bullfinches logged, unusually all singles and one of these seen
flying off
- 8 [4 ] Reed Buntings logged today with 3 seen flying off from roost
Also
- the street lights were again devoid of insects, but 2 spiders were
looking hopeful this milder morning
- a Grey Squirrel heard
- no fungi were noted today
My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was:
4 Great Crested Grebes; no Cormorants; 1 Heron; 3 adult Swans and 4
cygnets; no Greylag Goose; 29 Canada Geese (all on the lake); 48 Mallard
(not sexed); 16 Pochard (12 drakes); 55 Tufted Ducks (24 drakes?); 1 drake
Ruddy Duck; no Sparrowhawks; 1 Buzzard; no Kestrels; no Pheasants; 12
Moorhens; 48 Coots; no waders; c.600 Black-headed Gulls; 189 Lesser
Black-backed Gulls; 1 specifically identified Herring Gull; no Feral
Pigeons; 1 Stock Dove; 803 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no
Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker; 1 Sky Lark;
1 Meadow Pipit; 2 Grey Wagtails; 17 Pied Wagtails; 19 Wrens; 12 Dunnocks;
30 Robins; 21 Blackbirds; 128 Fieldfares; 4 Song Thrushes; 24 Redwings; 1
Mistle Thrush; no Blackcaps; no Chiffchaffs; 1Goldcrest; 1 Long-tailed Tit
party; no Coal Tits; no Willow Tits; 16 Blue Tits; 11 Great Tits; no Treecreepers; 1 Jay; 13 Magpies; 347 Jackdaws; 160 Rooks; 12 Crows; 223
Starlings; 3 Chaffinches; 24 Greenfinches; 17 Goldfinches; 2 Siskins; no
Linnets; no Redpolls; 4 Bullfinches; 8 Reed Buntings; 1 Yellowhammer
Also recorded
Mammals:
- 1 Grey Squirrel heard
- more recent molehills in the SW area
Insects:
- 2 spiders on one of the street-lights
(Ed Wilson)
Top 4th November, Saturday (16:35 - 17:10) Evening update. Still large numbers of Gulls about this evening, none on the water but all in the RICOH grounds. I think there is a large grassed area behind the buildings which has somehow attracted their attention. Having only logged 2 Mallard at lunchtime it is quite obvious that they spend the night on the lake as there were 48 logged this evening. The Buzzard was back again at 16:45 heading east alongside the southbank. I didn't miss them but for some reason the main parties of Corvids must have been further east behind me, as the numbers were really poor.
At least the sunset was spectacular.
|
 |
| |
November Sunset |
Highlights this evening were:
- The resident Mute Swans and Juvenile were enjoying a quite evening when an adult and a juvenile crashed the party at 16:45. Not sure where they came from but it did look like it might have been from the Flash. The resident adults managed to chase the adult away but were finding it difficult with the juvenile. I left the lake at 17:10 and they were still chasing it around the lake.
- At 16:50, 28 Canada Geese crossed the lake and headed north.
- The Mallard numbers were down on last night at 48. The Pochard numbers were still at 25 from lunchtime, but it was difficult to see any Tufted Duck as the light was poor.
- Only managed 2 Coot and 1 Moorhen.
- Plenty of Gulls about
-- The number of Lesser Black-backed gulls around the lake is quite high at the moment and though there weren't that many on the lake, at least c.500 took off from the RICOH grounds and headed east towards Belvide Reservoir at around 17:00.
-- Not many Black-headed Gulls about.
- A Buzzard headed east between the southbank and M54 5 minutes earlier than yesterday evening
- A Kestrel followed me around the roundabout at junction 4 off the M54 and landed on the wires above the fields to the east of the lake.
- The number of Corvids was very disappointing and like I said earlier, its possible they were further east. Jackdaws were in small flocks 12, 3, 12, 4, 6 and 14. As for the Rooks the numbers were well down with small flocks of 2, 2, 2, 4 and then at 17:05 slightly bigger with groups of 18, 12, 12, 11 and 6. At least 3 Magpie headed for the woods on the northbank at 17:05 and a single Carrion Crow flew south.
- After the 45 Starling from last night I was hoping to see them again tonight. But unbelievably there wasn't one!
- There were few more Pied Wagtails heading west tonight including one party of 8.
- A Grey Wagtail was heard calling from the dam
- There were a few more Thrushes tonight coming into roost:
- - There were at least 3 Song Thrush coming into roost in the woods on the northbank at 16:55
- - 5 Blackbirds settled into the bushes opposite the layby
- - Redwing were calling overhead at 17:05, but it was too dark to count them.
3 + 2 Juv Mute Swan; 28 Canada Geese; 48 Mallard; 25 Pochard; 2 Coot; 1 Moorhen; c.590 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 20 Black-headed Gulls; 1 Buzzard; 1 Kestrel; 68 Rook; 51 Jackdaw; 1 Carrion Crow; 3 Magpie; 10 Pied Wagtails; 1 Grey Wagtail; 3 Song Thrush; 5 Blackbird; 2+ Redwing
(Martin Adlam/Arther Harper)
Top 4th November, Saturday (13:00 - 14:00) Lunchtime update. Thought I would give the lake a visit and what a view it was with at least 2,500 Gulls in every corner of the lake. Extraordinary though was the fact that with so many Gulls I could only record 1 Herring Gull. The other highlight was at 13:25 when 33 Lapwing majestically glided low over the lake from the dam end and landed, albeit after after several attempts, on the grass bank next to the boat jetty. They would probably have landed first time, but for the Canada Geese and Coot that were already grazing there.
Highlights this lunchtime then were:
- 3 Great Crested Grebes on the lake, the resident pair at the west end and a lone adult by the dam.
- A Dabchick was a welcome addition to the lake, haven't seen one for awhile so the individual up by the mouth of Wesley Brook was good to see.
- The resident Mute Swans and Juvenile didn't seem to bothered by the masses of gulls on the water, and they also seemed to be quite tolerant of the Canada Geese.
- Grazing on the southbank there were 21 Canada Geese.
- Where have all the Mallard gone. Yesterday evening there were 62 but I managed to find 2 and one of those was hidden in the Wesley Reed beds. Very strange! The number of Pochard was up and i logged 17drake and 8 ducks, as for the Tufted Duck there were 6 drake and 11 duck.
- With so many gulls on the water it wasn't that easy to spot the Coot but I did log 11 and 5 Moorhen
- The Gulls were plentiful:
-- Lesser Black-backed Gulls totaled c.800
-- 1 Herring Gull was a bit of surprise. I did think I would see a few more.
-- Black-headed Gulls totaled c.500 on the water and a further c.1000 birds were in the RICOH grounds. The latter took off at 13:30 with a few landing on the lake and the remainder either heading north or settling back in the RICOH grounds.
- By the overflow there were 5 Magpie squabbling over some food.
- Two Starling flew west over the lake at 14:00
- In the southeast corner of the lake in the tree line by the motorway slipway there was a large party of Tits, which included 21 Long-tailed Tits, 2 Great Tit, 4 Blue Tit, 2 Coal Tits, 2 Goldcrest and a Treecreeper. Also in the same area there was a Robin and 2 Wrens.
Totals then:
3 Great Crested Grebe; 1 Dabchick; 2 + 1 Juv Mute Swan; 21 Canada Geese; 2 Mallard; 25 Pochard; 17 Tufted Duck; 11 Coot; 5 Moorhen; c.800 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 1 Herring Gull; c.1500 Black-headed Gulls; 5 Magpie; 2 Starling; 21 Long-tailed Tit; 2 Great Tit; 4 Blue Tit; 2 Coal Tits; 2 Goldcrests; 1 Treecreeper; 1 Robin; 1 Wren
(Martin Adlam)
Top 4th November, Saturday (05:59 - 10:00) Morning Report [with short walk to the E between 08:45 and 09:20 See Local News] -
A less interesting morning at the lake, though the usual few bits and
pieces. A hoar frost when I left Newport, but an area of cloud over the
Priorslee area had the temperature several degrees above freezing and no
sign of frost as I arrived. But the cloud quickly cleared and the
temperature dropped and the hoar frost developed. The area of cloud was
sufficiently organised and far-enough to the E to inhibit any sunrise
through what was by now rather a misty morning
The resultant clear skies made watching for overflying flocks rather hard
and a much smaller passage of, in particular, Wood Pigeons was recorded
Looks like we won't get any autumn colours this year: after three mornings
of hoar frost when a slight breeze sprang up this morning the leaves
started to fall in quantity even though they were mostly still (rather
faded) green
[As usual some counts from yesterday are included in square brackets for
comparison]
Things were the similar, but different this morning with the highlights today
- the resident cob is slipping: an interloper adult Swan with a cygnet was
allowed to come to corn from one of the regular feeders before giving
chase. When it did give chase both the pen and, unusually, the cygnet also
joined in. Managed a 'provisional' read of the rings on these as they fled
- the adult was '7DSB' and the juvenile was yellow (Staffordshire ring?)
'U08'
- similar numbers of gulls, but an overflying adult Common Gull was a good
find
- no real passage of Wood Pigeons today, just several parties, mostly
rather small - one of 140 birds was exceptional. More in the trees around
the lake suggested that at least some birds were not migrating
- a Great Spotted Woodpecker was noted flying in from very far to the SE,
across the lake and away to the NW
- fewer Starlings roosting in the NW reed-bed this morning: c.30 came out
unheralded at 06:46 and then another 16 at the later time of 07:04. I
logged no birds that seemed to come out of the SE bushes today. I also
logged 210 more flying W in 10 parties. 2 birds were on the wires to the
E; and 1 was seen in the bushes alongside the M54
- 2 single overflying Siskins were the only interesting finches again: one
of these stopped atop a conifer to the E of Castle Farm Way
Also 2 of those frustrating records that will have to pass
- - at 06:25 when it was still dark a medium / large (pigeon-sized) bird
flew N across the water some 30' up in the air. Looked shorter and
fatter-bodied than a pigeon, with very direct flight. It disappeared in to
the N side trees. No idea!
- - at 08:45 I heard what I instantly recognised as the song of a Willow
Warbler! Hang on! It is November!! Sadly the song was not repeated and in
the absence of any supporting calls or sightings I have to put it down to
mis-hearing a similar call from, say, a Starling
The more detailed notes from the lake
- the 3 adult Great Crested Grebes again today
- no Heron today
- the 2 resident adult Swans eventually dealt with the interlopers: the
cygnet still present
- 19 Canada Geese present when I arrived. 2 more birds arrived at 06:25
- 9 unidentified geese flew E at 06:27: once again I only saw them after
they had passed over - and they looked too small for Canada Geese. But ?
- 47 [25] Mallard was a better count
- 23 [21] Pochard noted when I did the count from the dam at 08:45. There
seemed to be 17 drakes; and 6 ducks, but they were flying around and hard
to definitively pin-down
- the (same?) eclipse drake Ruddy Duck was present again
- 48 [58] Tufted Duck recorded today. Of these 14 flew off W at 08:20
after circling the lake for 5 minutes
- a Sparrowhawk - a female on size - shot low S across the at 08:32, but
as far as I could tell elicited no response whatsoever from the gulls;
ducks or passerines
- another Buzzard flying low, today pursued by Crows in the NW area. Seems
to be one or more birds wintering in the area
- 16 [11] Moorhens an excellent count
- 41 [34] Coots a better count
- gulls today:
- - the first Black-headed Gulls arrived at 06:28 and over the next hour I
logged almost exactly 300 arriving from the W. Most stayed only a short
while and by 08:20 there were just 124. A count at 09:20 gave 460 birds -
so I assume at least 350 'new' birds making the morning total c.650
[c.900]
- - an adult Common Gull was seen flying W at 08:10 and had probably flown
straight through
- - just 9 Lesser Black-backed Gulls on the lake at various times for
short periods. 125 more flying over, almost all 'W' . So 134 [176] for the
day
- - 1 Herring Gull flew over
- no [2] Feral Pigeons today
- no [no] Stock Doves recorded
- in addition to the 357 [743] Wood Pigeons noted flying over in parties
there were at least 12 [16] others flying E; 31 [19] singles flying W; 37
[25] in trees around the lake; up to 13 [4] on the wires to the E. So a
grand total of 450 [807]
- the Great Spotted Woodpecker seen flying from afar
- 1 or more [2 or 3] Sky Larks heard flying E
- 1 [0] Meadow Pipitover as well
- 2 [2] Grey Wagtails yet again on the dam and then flying off W and back.
The bird seen in the sluice on the E of Castle Farm Way is assumed to be
one of these birds
- 15 [16] Pied Wagtails logged: today I saw one!
- 155 [213] Fieldfares. 1 of these, most unusually, was seen on the trees
around the lake
- 5 [6] Song Thrushes today
- 85 [150] Redwings noted, though some heard early on were probably part
of unseen flocks. 7 of these were seen in the trees / bushes around the
lake. Another 10 of these - at least - were seen landing in the bushes to
the E of Castle Farm Way
- 1 [5] Mistle Thrush again at the W end
- 2 Goldcrests heard this morning
- just 1 party of Long-tailed Tits heard this morning on a day with few
tits generally
- better recorded corvids departure today, but unexceptional again. My
totals today were 159 [106] Jackdaws; and 98 [81] Rooks. But this included
a handful of birds that were not going in the 'standard' direction! A few
were going 'back' N; but a party of 8 Jackdaws appeared from the W, though
they headed off SSE as usual
- 259 [447] Starlings in total
- 10 [16] Chaffinches today
- 14 [17] Greenfinches logged
- 7 [8] Goldfinches noted
- 2 [2] single Siskins over again, with 1 sitting on top of a conifer to
the E for a while
- no [0] Redpolls
- 2 [2] Bullfinches logged
- 4 [7] Reed Buntings only logged today: but I did hear the 'hoarse call'
again today and it does seem to be given by this species
Also
- the street lights were again devoid of insects / spiders
- no fungi were noted either
My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was
3 adult Great Crested Grebes; no Cormorants; no Heron; 3 adult Swans and 2
cygnets; no Greylag Goose; 21 Canada Geese (all on the lake); 9
unidentified geese; 47 Mallard (not sexed); 23 Pochard (17 drakes); 48
Tufted Ducks (not sexed); 1 Ruddy Ducks; 1 Sparrowhawk; 1 Buzzard; no
Kestrels; no Pheasants; 14 Moorhens; 41 Coots; no Golden Plover; no other
waders; >650 Black-headed Gulls; 1 Common Gull; 134 Lesser Black-backed
Gulls; 1 specifically identified Herring Gull; no Feral Pigeons; no Stock
Doves; 450 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green
Woodpeckers; 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker; 1 Sky Lark; 1 Meadow Pipit; 2
Grey Wagtails; 15 Pied Wagtails; 18 Wrens; 13 Dunnocks; 25 Robins; 18
Blackbirds; 155 Fieldfares; 5 Song Thrushes; 85 Redwings; 1 Mistle Thrush;
no Blackcaps; no Chiffchaffs; 2 Goldcrests; 1 Long-tailed Tit party; no
Coal Tits; no Willow Tits; 12 Blue Tits; just 7 Great Tits; no Treecreepers; no Jays; 8 Magpies again; 159 Jackdaws; 98 Rooks; 17 Crows; no
Ravens; 259 Starlings; no House Sparrows; 10 Chaffinches; 14 Greenfinches;
7 Goldfinches; 2 Siskins; no Linnets; no Redpolls; 1 Bullfinch; 4 Reed
Buntings; no Yellowhammers
Also recorded
Mammals:
- more recent molehills
(Ed Wilson)
Top 3rd November, Friday (16:30 - 17:15) Evening update. The reason I have been missing the Jackdaw passage, is that they have been passing north to their roost half-an-hour earlier than the Rooks. I arrived just as 160 birds passed over the lake, followed by another large party of 71 and then a few stragglers. Highlights this evening then were:
- A pair of Great Crested Grebes tucked up against northbank
- A Grey Heron came in low over the main road behind me, over the dam and glided across the lake to the southbank, just as I was leaving at 17:15.
- The resident Mute Swans and Juvenile seemed to be having a quieter night than last lasts melee, with the 3 interlopers.
- Right on 17:15, 22 Canada Geese flew northwest towards the Flash, with two birds splitting away and settling on the lake.
- There were a few more ducks visible, with Mallard topping the table with 62 logged, followed by 7 drake and 6 duck Pochard. As for Tufted Duck I only saw 3 duck and 2 drakes, but I suspect there were more a the west end of the lake.
- Coot seen were 12 and I saw 1 Moorhen at the dam.
- There were plenty of Gulls about, with a good flock of 55 Lesser Black-backs taking off as I arrived. After that, there were good numbers all evening, with birds dropping in and then moving north. The largest was c.150 birds at 16:50 and then 5 minutes later 80 birds dropped in and headed north. A good number of these birds had either been "scared off" or triggered into leaving the RICOH grounds to the west of the lake. There were at least 40 Black-headed Gulls around the lake all evening.
- A Buzzard headed east between the southbank and M54 at 16:55
- The Jackdaws, as I mentioned earlier, were in good numbers and the Rooks appeared at around 16:45 with small flocks of between 2 - 6 birds passing north. This evening there were no real large flocks and right up until 17:05 their numbers never went beyond a maximum of 30. Also around the lake at 17:15 a pair of Magpie headed for the woods on the northbank
- At long last a Starling roost on the lakeside. However after watching 45 birds circling and weaving their way from one reedbed to the next, they eventually headed at speed towards the tree line that separates the lake from the RICOH. Where they landed I couldn't tell as it was such totally unexpected maneuver I lost sight of their heading. The only thing I'm sure about is that they didn't go over the tree tops. Looking at Ed's report from yesterday morning, it appears they are roosting in the trees/bushes by the motorway footbridge in the southwest corner of the lake.
- Two Pied Wagtails flew high over the lake at 16:49 in the direction of the Town Centre.
- A
Song Thrush came across the lake and landed in the woods on the northbank at 16:44
Totals then:
2 Great Crested Grebe; 1 Grey Heron; 2 + 1 Juv Mute Swan; 22 Canada Geese; 62 Mallard; 13 Pochard; 5 Tufted Duck; 12 Coot; 1 Moorhen; 338 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 40 Black-headed Gulls; 1 Buzzard; 131 Rook; 240 Jackdaw; 1 Magpie; 45 Starling; 2 Pied Wagtails; 1 Song Thrush
(Martin Adlam)
Top
3rd November, Friday (05:57 - 10:22) Morning Report: -
Another excellent sunrise again distracted me from the job in hand this
morning and some of the totals - corvids, finches and perhaps overflying
Wood Pigeon and thrushes may have suffered as a result
[As usual some counts from yesterday are included in square brackets for
comparison]
Things were the similar, but different this morning with the highlights today
- a Water Rail heard again
- gulls in the larger numbers again and for the first time this winter I
recorded birds roosting. Largest numbers were c.500 Black-headed Gulls and
91 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (with 58 more of the latter flying over)
- passage of Wood Pigeons took place high to the NW today, with birds
flying S. It took me some while to locate them today and then against the
clear blue sky they were rather hard to see at altitude. One of the larger
flocks (I counted 194 birds) was growing before my eyes and 'sucking'
birds from all the trees to the N of the lake with the birds heading off
SW. 743 [1118] was today's count of the over-flights
- the passage of Fieldfares was also different with most of the 213 birds
heading NW and well to the N of the lake [298 flew W, mainly overhead]
- Redwings were in greater numbers with 77 apparently leaving the trees
around the lake [17]; and at least 73 [7] more overhead
- a female / immature Blackcap was seen very briefly in the trees
alongside the Wesley Brook, too briefly to age properly. Interestingly it
is 1 year and 2 days since I recorded my previous (and only)
'non-breeding-season' Blackcap here
- there were Starlings roosting in the NW reed-bed this morning: c.225
burst out unheralded at 06:49 and then another c.75 was another surprise
at 07:01. I logged just 5 birds that seemed to come out of the SE bushes.
I also logged 141 more flying W in 7 parties. 2 lone birds went E against
the flow!
- 2 single overflying Siskins were the only interesting finches
Also
- a 'splash' in the Wesley Brook near the Teece Drive gate may well have
been something like a water vole, but it was gone before I could react to
the sound
The more detailed notes from the lake
- the 3 adult Great Crested Grebes again today
- 1 Heron was seen in the NW reeds by 08:20
- the 2 resident adult Swans were untroubled by interlopers while I was
present: the cygnet still present
- no Canada Geese when I arrived. 40 birds arrived in 3 parties at various
times, prompting a rather desultory chase by the cob Swan that had little
effect. A lone bird flew over. Others were heard at first light but
checking all the usual flight lines failed to reveal any
- 8 unidentified grey geese flew E at 06:45: one bird called briefly and
just once and while my first reaction was 'Greylag' it sounded a bit
different and the birds looked rather smaller than Greylags: but they were
flying away before I saw them, so they will remain a mystery
- 25 [20] Mallard another very low count
- 21 [17] Pochard noted when I did the count from the dam at 08:45. There
seemed to be 14 drakes; and 7 ducks, though some of the 1st winter drakes
still seem hard to separate from ducks. Earlier parties of 5 birds were
seen in flight but seemed not to leave the lake
- 58 [57] Tufted Duck recorded today. There were 48 when I did the count
at 08:45, but two parties totalling 10 birds had flown off W earlier
- 2 apparently different Buzzards flew low S across the lake
- 11 [8] Moorhens a good count
- 34 [30] Coots logged
- gulls today:
- - while I checked the lake as soon as I arrived and it seemed to be
devoid of gulls I suspect they were lurking unseen in the shadow of the
dam as at 06:10 there were c.500 Black-headed Gulls up in the air,
reluctant to settle back. Birds started to leave to the W by 06:19, though
a few minutes later there seemed to be new arrivals from the W! I
estimated some 400 arriving that also seemed likely to be new arrivals as
birds mostly left the lake to the NW and SE. A count of gulls at 09:55
showed that c.350 were present: whether these were new birds remains an
open question
- - in the roosting gulls there was at least 1 immature Lesser
Black-backed Gull; another stopped briefly at 07:30, but after 08:45 there
was a distinct arrival from the N with 25 birds by 08:50. These all left
to the W soon after. At 09:55 however there were 91 fresh arrivals on the
lake. With 58 recorded flying over a grand total of 176 [132]
- - all the large gulls were specifically checked and just 1 Herring Gull
- a 1st winter bird on the lake at 09:55 - was located. This contrasts
with the same period last year when Herring Gulls made up nearly 10% of
the large gulls
- 2 [0] Feral Pigeons today
- no [3] Stock Doves recorded
- in addition to the 743 [1118] Wood Pigeons noted flying over in parties
there were at least 16 [10] others flying E; 19 [24] singles flying W; 25
[23] in trees around the lake; and 4 [0] on the wires to the E. So a grand
total of 807 [1175]
- no [3] Collared Doves seen
- no [1] Kingfisher either
- the / a Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard calling from the N side
- 2 [3 singles] Sky Larks flew E together
- no [1] Meadow Pipits
- 2 [2] Grey Wagtails again
- 16 [16] Pied Wagtails logged, again all heard flying NE
- unusually there were no Robins singing as I arrived (though I had logged
32 en route from Newport) and it was several minutes before the first song
heard - by which time I had already logged Blackbird, Magpie and Crow
- 213 [298] Fieldfares
- 6 [8] Song Thrushes today
- 150 [24] Redwings
- at least 5 [1] different Mistle Thrushes today - 3 of them on the wires
to the E
- the female / immature Blackcap was bird of the day
- 1 Goldcrest heard this morning
- 4 parties of Long-tailed Tits with at least 9 in the largest party
- the Treecreeper was heard calling again
- once again the corvids departure clashed with the sunrise photography.
Once again there were stragglers after 09:00 - even after 10:00! My totals
today were 106 [181] Jackdaws; and 81 [73] Rooks
- 447 [69] Starlings in total
- 16 [12] Chaffinches today
- 17 [33] Greenfinches logged
- 8 [11] Goldfinches noted
- 2 single Siskins heard over
- no [1] Redpolls
- 2 Bullfinches logged
- 7 Reed Buntings logged today with 2 birds noted flying out of the N side
at the early time of 06:31, but pitching in to the NW reeds
And
- some new mole-hills again
- the street lights were devoid of insects / spiders again on this frosty
morning
- no fungi were noted either
My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was:
3 adult Great Crested Grebes; no Cormorants; 1 Heron; 2 adult Swans and 1
cygnet; no Greylag Goose; 41 Canada Geese (40 on the lake); 8 unidentified
grey geese; 25 Mallard (not sexed); 21 Pochard (14 drakes); 58 Tufted
Ducks (not sexed); no Ruddy Ducks; no Sparrowhawks; 2 Buzzards; no
Kestrels; no Pheasants; 11 Moorhens; 34 Coots; no Golden Plover; no other
waders; >900 Black-headed Gulls; 176 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 1
specifically identified Herring Gull; 2 Feral Pigeons; no Stock Doves; 807
Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; 1
Great Spotted Woodpecker; 2 Sky Larks; no Meadow Pipits; 2 Grey Wagtails;
16 Pied Wagtails; 26 Wrens; 14 Dunnocks; 34 Robins; 24 Blackbirds; 213
Fieldfares; 6 Song Thrushes; 150 Redwings; 5 Mistle Thrushes; 1 Blackcap;
no Chiffchaffs; 1 Goldcrest; 4 Long-tailed Tit parties; no Coal Tits; no
Willow Tits; 13 Blue Tits; 18 Great Tits; 1 Treecreepers; no Jays; 8
Magpies; 106 Jackdaws; 81 Rooks; 11 Crows; no Ravens; 447 Starlings; no
House Sparrows; 16 Chaffinches; 17 Greenfinches; 8 Goldfinches; 2 Siskins;
no Linnets; no Redpolls; 2 Bullfinches; 7 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers
Also recorded
Mammals:
- recent molehills
- possible water vole / water rat heard
(Ed Wilson)
Top 2nd November, Thursday (16:55 - 17:15) - Evening update. The extra 5 minutes gave me a few more birds to log, but I still missed the passage of Jackdaws, which must pass over the lake before 16:55. The number of Lesser Black-backed Gulls tonight was well up on last night and still followed the same pattern by flying east and then heading north when they arrived at the lake.
Highlights then were:
- A single Adult Great Crested Grebe still at the dam end.
- A Grey Heron came across the lake and headed northwest towards Priorslee Flash at 17:05
- The Mute Swans with juv in tow, had some interlopers to contend with, as three adult birds decided to rest up on the lake for the night. Unfortunately for them the resident pair had different ideas and after 10 minutes of hard chasing, the three visitors took off and headed west.
- with the local taxi driver arriving and feeding the ducks with bread scraps, it was a lot easier this evening to top yesterdays 47 Mallard with 60 tonight and I even managed to log a few Pochard 4 drake and 5 duck, plus 3 Tufted Duck
- The light was a little better, but I couldn't account for more than 3 Coot, which was the same as yesterday evening.
- With the bread, came one Moorhen.
- There were no Black-headed Gulls logged, but the Lesser Black-backed Gull numbers were well up on last night, with flocks of 150, 60, 14, 13, 12 ,7, 8 and 3 all logged heading north.
- It was good to see at least one bird of prey, having missed out last night, as a Kestrel headed north in the twilight.
- The first party of 78 Rooks came over at 16:55 and groups of 19, 14, 13, 6, 4, 2 and 1 flew north up until 17:13.
- I believe the main party of Jackdaws passed through before I arrived, but I still managed to log 5 at 16:55.
- A single Magpie was seen coming into roost on the northbank at 17:05.
Totals then:
1 Great Crested Grebe; 1 Grey Heron; 5 + 1 Juv Mute Swan; 60 Mallard; 9 Pochard; 3 Tufted Duck; 3 Coot; 1 Moorhen; 267 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 1 Kestrel; 128 Rook; 5 Jackdaw; 1 Magpie
(Martin Adlam)
2nd November, Thursday (06:02 - 10:14) Morning report -
Back from the SW and at the lake for dawn again on what promised to be a
clear and frosty morning. But in fact an area of medium-level 'scaly'
cloud came across. This was a mixed blessing in that while it warmed up
the air and melted the frost before I could get any ice-effect pictures it
did a brief but spectacular fiery sunrise, providing plenty of work for
the camera. As a result I was not in my 'usual' positions and rather
distracted at times and thus some of the passerine dawn calls would have
missed, as (I suspect) some of the departing corvids
The highlights today were
- party of at least 110 Golden Plover seen VERY high and distantly to the
W; and then 60 (more?) flying W
- a Water Rail was heard several times
- gulls in somewhat larger numbers than before I went away, though none
seemed to have roosted. Largest numbers were c.380 Black-headed Gulls and
69 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (with 63 more of the latter flying over)
- passage of Wood Pigeons has started with a log of 1118 birds flying SW.
Most of these were flying rather low and in small groups (<100) and I
would judge that most of them had roosted locally and were setting off -
indeed some did seem to emerge from Ward's Rough to the E. There was no
big S-bound passage high to the W as is usual
- 3 separate Sky Larks and a single Meadow Pipit were logged over
- passage of Fieldfare's as well with 298 logged
- in with the Fieldfare's was a scattering of Redwings, but there were
Redwings around the lake as well
- an over flying Redpollwas the only interesting finch
The more detailed notes from the lake [no figures in square brackets today
as 'yesterday' was 2 weeks ago!]
- just 3 adult Great Crested Grebes today: the juveniles seem to have gone
- 1 Heron flew in from the E at 06:40: later one flew off E from the NW
reed bed was assumed to be the same
- the 2 resident adult Swans had 2 visiting adult to deal with: the cygnet
still present but now getting many white feathers and may soon be chased
off
- 21 Canada Geese when I arrived; 2 more flew in from Town Park(?) area
before dawn. later I counted 26 present. Also logged 8 flying W to the N
- just 20 Mallard a very low count for some reason
- 17 Pochard seemed to be 10 drakes; and 7 ducks
- 57 Tufted Duck counted today. Soon be advanced-enough in acquiring
breeding plumage that I will be able to start sexing these without
spending too much time doing so
- 1eclipse drake Ruddy Duck still here
- 1 Buzzard flew low NE across the lake, scattering the gulls
- 8 Moorhens a good count as they seem to have abandoned the dam-face and
were scattered all around the lake
- only 30 Coots logged now
- gull today:
- - Black-headed Gulls were heard calling as I arrived, but there were
none on or around the lake when I could view it. The first birds arrived
at 06:20. I logged some 150 birds arriving from the W (many flying on E)
but this was clearly not the origin of many of the birds on the lake with
the 09:05 count of 380
- - small parties of Lesser Black-backed type Gulls, first noted at 07:15,
were mainly, but not exclusively, flying W. Most were checked and were in
fact Lesser Black-backs. 63 noted flying over and then at 08:50 birds
started arriving from the N / NE with at least 69 birds
- - 1 immature Herring Gull specifically identified flying over. The large
gulls that arrived c.09:00 contained none of this species
- no [0] Feral Pigeons again
- 3 Stock Doves flew E and then off S
- in addition to the 1118 Wood Pigeons noted flying SW in parties there
were at least 10 others flying E; 24 singles flying W; and 23 in trees
around the lake (some of these flew off and joined the passing migrants).
So a grand total of 175
- 3 Collared Doves seen, 2 rather unusually to the E
- the Kingfisher was heard along the N side at 09:20 rather than the usual
dawn expedition
- a Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard calling from the NW area
- 3 single Sky Larks heard over at widely separate times
- just 1 Meadow Pipit heard over
- 2 Grey Wagtails at least
- 16 Pied Wagtails logged, all heard flying off NE
- 298 Fieldfare's were seen, all flying W in parties varying in size
between 7 and 61 birds
- 8 Song Thrushes today with at least 4 with some of the Redwings at the W
end
- 24 Redwings at least: just 7 seen in the flocks of the Fieldfare's; 15 at
the W end; and 2 along the N shore
- 1 Mistle Thrush at the W end to provide a clean-sweep of all the likely
thrushes here
- 1 Goldcrest at least this morning. Another probable, though the calls
sounded more like Firecrest: however it was high in conifers which is an
unlikely location for a Firecrest
- 2 parties of Long-tailed Tits with at least 16 in a single-species party
at the W end
- a Treecreeper called in the NW area
- the corvids departure clashed with the sunrise photography. It seemed
that the Jackdaws preceded the Rooks today with the first at 06:45. I
noted only one sizeable party comprising c.110 all Jackdaws, and
thereafter there were many small groups still with stragglers after 09:00.
The totals today were 181 Jackdaws; and 73 Rooks
- plenty of small parties of Starlings today and it seemed as if many of
these came out of the bushes in the SE area - will try and check that
tomorrow. 69 birds in total
- more Chaffinches than during my visits last month, though 12 is hardly
spectacular
- not in position to see the N-side roost departure of Greenfinches though
some of the over-flying birds seemed to come from this area. 33 birds
logged
- 11 Goldfinches notes, 9 of them flying over
- 1 Redpoll heard in flight, but distantly
- 5 Bullfinches with a group of 4 together along the N side
- 2 single Siskin's heard over
- at least 9 Reed Buntings: 6 seen flying off (they usually call just
before they leave, but rarely call in flight); 2 others at the W end; and
1 heard along the N side
And
- some mole-hills
- the street lights were devoid of insects / spiders this cold clear morning
- no fungi were noted
My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was:
no Little Grebes; 3 adult but no juvenile Great Crested Grebes; no
Cormorants; 1 Heron; 4 adult Swans and 1 cygnet; no Greylag Goose; 34
Canada Geese (26 on the lake); 20 Mallard (not sexed); 17 Pochard (10
drakes); 57 Tufted Ducks (not sexed); 1 drake Ruddy Duck; no Sparrowhawk's;
1 Buzzard; no Kestrels; no Pheasants; 8 Moorhens; 30 Coots; c.170 Golden
Plover; no other waders; >380 Black-headed Gulls; 132 Lesser
Black-backed-type Gulls; 1 specifically identified Herring Gull; no Feral
Pigeons; 3 Stock Doves; 1175 Wood Pigeons; 3 Collared Doves; 1 Kingfisher;
no Green Woodpeckers; 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker; 3 Sky Larks; 1 Meadow
Pipit; 2 Grey Wagtails; 16 Pied Wagtails; 22 Wrens; 10 Dunnocks; 27
Robins; 22 Blackbirds; 298 Fieldfare's; 8 Song Thrushes; 24 Redwings; 1
Mistle Thrush; no Chiffchaffs; 2? Goldcrests; 2 Long-tailed Tit parties; 2
Coal Tits; no Willow Tits; 11 Blue Tits; 13 Great Tits; 1 Treecreeper;
no Jays; 10 Magpies; 181 Jackdaws; 73 Rooks; 6 Crows; no Ravens; 69
Starlings; no House Sparrows; 12 Chaffinches; 33 Greenfinches; 11
Goldfinches; no Siskin's; no Linnets; 1 Redpoll; 5 Bullfinches; 9 Reed
Buntings; no Yellowhammers
Also recorded
Mammals:
- recent molehills
(Ed Wilson)
Top 1st November, Wednesday (17:00 - 17:15) - Evening update. No Buzzard this evening, which was disappointing. Just managed to catch part of the Corvid passage as they headed north, hence there only being one Jackdaw sighted in amongst the Rooks. There were plenty of large gulls passing through, with a reasonable flock of 55 Lesser Black-backs just leaving the lake as I arrived. The remainder of the larger gulls, which were all logged coming in from the west, all took a dog-leg north when they reached the lake. Not one of them came down for a bathe/drink. Other highlights were:
- A single Adult Great Crested Grebe was at the dam end.
- The Mute Swans with juv in tow, came across the lake to where I was standing on the overflow. I suspect they are fed at this time of day by the taxi driver who has often been seen here feeding the ducks with scraps of bread.
- A pair of Canada Geese flew west along the northbank as I was leaving.
- 47 Mallard which were a little easier to see in the twilight
- There were three Coot close to where I was standing but others were not visible.
- In total I logged 155 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- The first party of 30 Rooks that came over included a solitary Jackdaw, which turned out to be the only one recorded before the sun set. Other flocks logged were 50, 20, 4, 4, 13, 5 and single bird at 17:15.
Totals then:
1 Great Crested Grebe; 2 + 1 Juv Mute Swan; 2 Canada Geese; 47 Mallard; 3 Coot; 155 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 127 Rook; 1 Jackdaw
(Martin Adlam)
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