31st December 2011
– Mostly overcast, mild westerly wind, occasional showers.
The best of the bird of the day was a first winter Yellowlegged Gull during the late morning on Car Park Pool along with 37 Common Gulls and 15 Lesser Black-backs. The femalePeregrine was present again and Yellowhammers were up to 40 in the crop field. Water Rails showed well both in the causeway and the Marsh and there were some good duck counts with 244 Wigeon and 74 Gadwall, the most for the autumn so far.
The regular counts were as follows: 30 Cormorants, five Heron, a Dabchick, eight Mute Swans, a Black Swan, 193 Greylags, seven Farmyard Geese, a Shelduck, 244 Wigeon, 145 Teal, 74 Gadwall, 103 Mallard, 17 Shoveler, 11 Pochard, 17 Tufted Ducks, 11Moorhen, 64 Coot, 60 Lapwing, three Snipe.
30th December 2011
– Rain for most of the day, mild westerly wind.
The drake Shelduck reappeared again after an absence of 13 days. Otherwise the birds were similar to the previous few days, aside from two Redpolls along the Old Road.
29th December 2011
– Brisk westerly wind, sunshine and showers.
In the crop field this morning there were 15 Chaffinches, 25 Yellowhammers, five to tenReed Buntings and 15 Linnets with another 15 Chaffinches in the Old Road game crop. At least 100 each of Fieldfare and Redwing was spread down the Old Road, mostly towards the aeromodellers where there were also 60 Starlings. 12 Long-tailed Tits, two Treecreepersand two Goldcrests were also along the Old Road and Raptors today included Buzzards,Sparrowhawk and the regular female Peregrine. A Kingfisher was on the Reedbed and last, but not least, two Ravens went over.
28th December 2011
– Light overnight rain, clearing quickly, sunny intervals, brisk south-westerly wind.
An adult Greater Black-backed Gull to the north of the Reserve and a first-winter which flew over to the south and then back to the north later on, probably the best birds of the day. ThePeregrine was again seen, albeit distantly to the north and the Kingfisher was, as usual, seen from the causeway today on the Reedbed side.
Other birds of note were 47 Golden Plover which flew over to the west, 113 Teal, 229Wigeon, 24 Pochard, 29 Cormorants (there was a colour-ringed bird yesterday details of which are awaited), 116 Lapwing, 24 Common Gulls, three Herring Gulls and 15 Snipe.
27th December 2011
– Sunny a.m., clouding over p.m., light westerly wind.
Two Nuthatches and a Coal Tit were at the Oak Hide feeders and a flock of 30 mobileSiskins were in the Alders by the south-west pond. 69 Gadwall was another good count and there were still five Meadow Pipits present. A Peregrine again put in a brief appearance.
26th December 2011
– Overcast, mild, westerly wind.
A further influx of Thrushes again up from yesterday to over 300 mixed Fieldfares andRedwings, with approximately two thirds of them Fieldfares. 15 Siskin and three Redpollswere in the Alders by the south-west pond and the Common Gull numbers were again impressive with 48 on Car Park Pool.
Other birds of note included four Meadow Pipits, 15 Yellowhammers, a Coal Tit at the Oak Hide feeder and six Herring Gulls.
25th December 2011
– Overcast, mild, westerly wind.
The Peregrine was as regular as ever and, as a consequence, many of the birds on the pools, especially the Lapwings, were twitchy. Two Water Rails showed, with patience, from the causeway screen and in the crop field 25 Pheasants and ten Yellowhammers were feeding on the grain. At least 100 mixed Thrushes were mostly along the Old Road.
24th December 2011
– Mostly overcast, occasional showers and mild.
150 Starlings left their reedbed roost at dawn this morning and there were still over 100Fieldfares spread along the Old Road. Ten Yellowhammers and 40 Jackdaws were in the crop field, a Nuthatch at the Oak Hide feeder, Kingfisher on the causeway and twoBullfinches by the back gate.
Graham’s Saturday counts were as follows: 29 Cormorants, five Herons, two Dabchicks, 13Mute Swans, a Black Swan, 196 Greylags, 11 Farmyard Geese, 190 Wigeon, 72Gadwall, 132 Teal, 84 Mallard, 25 Shoveler, 13 Pochard, 26 Tufteds, 15 Moorhen, 52Coot, 178 Lapwing, five Snipe, 107 Black-headed Gulls, five Common Gulls and fourLesser Black-backs.
In the afternoon the immature female Peregrine appeared again and 14 Golden Plover flew over, the first of the month.
23rd December 2011
– Generally wet, north-westerly wind.
No records.
22nd December 2011
– Sunny, mild, 13°.
The mildness of the weather was exemplified by the fact that there was a Bumblebee on the wing today. Otherwise, 26 Yellowhammers, ten Reed Buntings and a Sparrowhawk on the prowl were the main birds of note.
21st December 2011
– Sunny and mild – 13 degrees.
Plenty of birds, though nothing particularly out of the ordinary. Still lots of Thrushes along the Old Road and around the Reserve with a minimum of 100 each of Fieldfare and Redwings, though the plentiful supply of hawthorn berries is being rapidly depleted. A flock of just over 40Linnets was in the Old Road game crop with about 15 Chaffinches and six Bullfinches,Treecreeper, Nuthatch and Grey Wagtails were spread along the Old Road. Seven Meadow Pipits (three by the horse paddock and four by car park hide) were new in. The Kingfisherwas, as ever, by the causeway.
20th December 2011
– Frost, sunshine and showers.
A further increase in Fieldfare and Yellowhammers today, with at least 500 Fieldfares, 100Redwings and 30 Blackbirds mostly down the Old Road. The 60 Yellowhammers were confined to the crop field, where Reed Bunting numbers at 30 were the best of the autumn. Two Ravens and two Kingfishers were the other birds of note.
In the Old Road game crop there were 30 Linnets, 25 Chaffinches and a Bullfinch.
19th December 2011
– Mostly wet all day.
The female Peregrine showed again on and off during the morning, and a Mink was an unwelcome sighting in the Reedbed.
18th December 2011
– Sunshine and showers, north-westerly wind.
A notable increase in Yellowhammer numbers to 42 and plenty of Thrushes including 200Fieldfares and 50 Redwings around the car park. A 20 Strong Linnet flock was mostly confined to the Old Road game crop.
17th December 2011
– Sunny a.m., wet p.m.
The best bird of the day was a Woodcock which was flushed from the side of the central stream at first light. The juvenile female Peregrine again put in an appearance and at least 300 Fieldfares and 30 Redwings were feeding on berries along the Old Road and occasionally in the grass fields along the river.
The normal counts were as follows: six Herons, nine Cormorants, two Dabchicks, sevenMute Swans, the Black Swan, 397 Greylags, 19 Farmyard Geese, a Shelduck, 176Wigeon, 61 Gadwall, another increase in Teal numbers to 170, 72 Mallard, 21 Shoveler, sixPochard, 19 Tufteds, 12 Moorhen, 39 Coot, a Water Rail, 16 Lapwings only, one Snipe, 150 Black-headed Gulls, one Common Gull, six Lesser Black-backed Gulls, one Herring Gull, a Kingfisher, ten Siskins and ten Yellowhammers.
Yellowhammer numbers reached their best total of the autumn, 42. There were also 20Linnets.
16th December 2011
– Cold north-westerly wind, showery.
The Bewick’s Swans appear to have departed some time between yesterday afternoon and this morning.
A pair of Kingfishers showed by the causeway screen throughout much of the day and aGreen Sandpiper put in a brief appearance. There were 250 mixed Thrushes, predominantlyFieldfares, spread across the Reserve but mostly along the Old Road and 40 Linnets were in the Old Road game crop.
Other birds of note included Bullfinch, Sparrowhawk, two Buzzards, ten Common Gullsand a Redpoll.
15th December 2011
– Cold westerly wind, sunny intervals.
The pair of Bewick’s Swans remain for the fifth day and up until 10.30, two Little Egretsroosted on Car Park Pool but then departed. The Kingfisher again showed well around the causeway screens in the morning.
There were 17 Mute Swans spread across the pools which suggests that probably there was some disturbance elsewhere.
14th December 2011
– Mostly sunny, cold west, south-westerly wind.
The pair of adult Bewick’s Swans remain on Car Park Pool and at 9 a.m. they showed well from River Hide. A Kingfisher perched on the reedmace just in front of the north causeway screen and at least one is a daily occurrence, either side of the causeway.
At least 40 mixed Thrushes, mostly Fieldfares were feeding on the good crop of Hawthorn berries along the causeway and a pair of Bullfinches also showed well there.
In the afternoon, in addition to the swans, the regular juvenile female Peregrine was perched in the top of the Larch in Siden Hill Wood and occasionally did a “fly by”. It dwarfed a Magpiewhen perched in the Larch, to give some idea of the size of this bird.
The stream has started to re-flow into the Marsh in the last few days and perhaps for this reason the first record of Water Rail this winter occurred this afternoon, when one was heard calling to the right of the channel. Approximately 30 Redwings and a pair of Bullfinches were in the fenced off compounds by the back gate, and there were at least 15 to 20Yellowhammers dropping into the crop field from the Old Road hedge.
13th December 2011
– Windy and heavy rain overnight. Today, mostly sunny, cold westerly wind.
The two Bewick’s Swans were again on Car Park Pool this morning, and probably as a result of yesterday’s rain, Teal numbers had jumped to 154. 16 Snipe flew south over the Reedbed where there as a Kingfisher again.
In the crop field there were a minimum of 33 Yellowhammers, although probably more than that, and there was a scattering of Chaffinches, Reed Buntings, Greenfinches and Linnetsas well.
12th December 2011
– Cool, but sunny, clouding over slowly in the afternoon.
The two Bewick’s Swans from yesterday evening remained all day, feeding happily on Car Park Pool. The Fieldfare flock were also present on the far side of Car Park Pool and in the northern hedge and along the Old Road.
20 Linnets dropped into the crop field where there were a scattering of Yellowhammers and a Grey Wagtail flew over.
The increasingly windy conditions saw to it that there were plenty of gulls on the move and a count of 45 Common Gulls was noteworthy.
The large female Peregrine again put in one of her daily appearances.
11th December 2011
– Dry a.m., persistently wet p.m.
The best birds of the week were a pair of Bewick’s Swans which appeared mid afternoon and were probably the pair seen earlier at Aqualate Mere and Belvide. They looked very settled feeding on the far aside of the islands on Car Park Pool until dusk. This appears to be the fourth record with pairs in 2003, 2005 and a single bird in 2007.
Common Gulls were up to 32, Shoveler to 35 and the Peregrine again showed. There were plenty of Thrushes about with at least 70 Fieldfare feeding on the far side of Car Park Pool, and an estimated 300 mixed Fieldfares, Redwings and Starlings by the phone mast where they were going to roost in the thick Blackthorn scrub.
10th December 2011
– Cold and frosty.
15 to 20 each of Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting and Chaffinches were the slightly disappointing totals in the game crop at first light with no more, initially, than 20 each ofFieldfares and Redwings, and three Song Thrush along the Old Road. Nuthatch, twoTreecreepers, two Siskins and a Redpoll were the rest of a rather thin fare.
The regular counts from mid-morning included three Dabchicks, seven Herons, 17Cormorants, 19 Mute Swans, a Black Swan, 312 Greylags, 12 Farmyard Geese, 220Wigeon (again showing a steady upward rise in numbers), 69 Gadwall, 56 Teal, 25 Mallard, 23 Shoveler, 15 Pochard, 16 Tufted, 10 Moorhen, 28 Coot, 55 Black-headed Gulls, 26Common Gulls, eight Lesser Black-backs and 162 Lapwing.
Snipe showed an impressive increase to 42 with most accidentally flushed along the margins of the Dragonfly Pond. A female Peregrine again put in an appearance and by late morningFieldfare numbers had increased to 70.
9th December 2011
– Fair, westerly wind.
The Peregrine again put the frighteners up most of the birds on the pool but, despite that, good counts of Common Gull (32) and Snipe (14) were of note. At least 100 Fieldfares and 20 Redwings were spread down the Old Road and on the floodplains, a Treecreeper was by the cottages and Finches and Buntings included 15 Yellowhammers, 20 Greenfinches and 15 Linnets. Most of the Fodder Raddish in the Old Road game crop by the aeromodellers has been consumed, explaining why that area has gone quiet.
8th December 2011
– Very windy, with blustery showers.
No records.
7th December 2011
– Cold, north-westerly wind.
A Dunlin was with a 700 strong Lapwing flock in the afternoon, but it was flushed by aPeregrine and did not linger, unfortunately. At least 25 Common Gulls and 22 Cormorantswere present, along with an adult Herring Gull and approximately 300 Starlings roosted in the Reedbed.
6th December 2011
– Frost, cool westerly wind. Sunny morning, cloudy and wet afternoon.
No records.
5th December 2011
– Sunny, cold north-westerly wind.
Not a great deal of change. There were 24 Cormorants roosting on the far bank with theGreylag and Wigeon flocks. At least ten Common Gulls roosted mid-morning but had soon moved on and generally the Lapwings and the Gulls were fidgety, presumably because of the regular presence of Peregrines. The Finch and Bunting flock was rather dispersed but there were ten to fifteen Yellowhammers in the hedges along the Old Road, between the cottages and the car park entrance.
4th December 2011
– Cold, lighter westerly wind, periodic showers increasing in intensity as the day wore on.
Changes from yesterday included a rise in Pochard numbers to 21 and Cormorants to 23. There were five Snipe today and a Water Rail showed from the causeway.
3rd December 2011
– Strong, cold westerly wind, mostly sunny.
The best sighting was in the early morning when firstly a large female Peregrine “buzzed” theLapwing flock before the bird missed out and departed over towards Bradnocks Marsh; shortly after which it was followed back onto site by a male probably of a pair. The pair interacted over the site, talon clutching and generally consorting before one of the pair “de-camped” to the top of the partially dead larch in Siden Hill Wood. No prey was seen to be caught.
Other records of note included a flock of 30 Lesser Redpoll which flew south over Railway Hide and a single Green Sandpiper early on, with two by mid-morning.
A good number of Thrushes were feeding on the floodplain with over 150 Fieldfares and 40Redwings. The mixed Finch and Bunting flock totalled over 100 birds with at least 80Linnets, ten Yellowhammers, 30 Greenfinches and a similar number of Chaffinches. 15Siskins were along the concrete road and a Grey Wagtail went over.
Despite the cooler weather, a Common Darter was seen along the concrete road, a significantly late date.
Other counts today included four Dabchicks, 18 Cormorants, five Herons, six Mute Swans, the Black Swan, 377 Greylags, 18 Farmyard Geese, 185 Wigeon, 52 Gadwall, 90 Teal, 45 Mallard, 38 Shoveler, 13 Pochard, 17 Tufteds, eight Moorhen, 36 Coots, 749Lapwings, two Snipe, 140 Black-headed Gulls, 12 Common Gulls, four Lesser Black-backs.
2nd December 2011
– Cold and sunny.
The sharp overnight frost saw the margins of some of the shallower water thinly iced.
Three Snipe took off from the banks on the approach to Car Park Hide and a Green Sandpiper went over. Finch and bunting counts were similar to yesterday with the exception of both Chaffinches and Yellowhammers, where Chaffinch numbers were well over 30 andYellowhammer numbers were 25 – 30. Bullfinch pairs were seen on both the Old Road and the railway embankment. Fieldfares and Redwings were spread in small numbers across the Reserve as a whole.
A Song Thrush has sang regularly, just north of the cottages, on the Old Road over the last week.
1st December 2011
– Sunny intervals, cold westerly wind.
The cooler weather has seen an increase in some bird counts, noticeably Wigeon andLapwing which were respectively 180 – 200 and 800. Both were the highest counts of this second winter period.
The mixed finch and bunting flock included 80 Linnets, 30 Greenfinches, at least 15Yellowhammers, ten Reed Buntings and 20 Chaffinches. 20 Fieldfares and 30 Redwingswere spread across the Reserve. Other birds of note included Kingfisher, Sparrowhawk, eightSnipe, two Dabchick, 28 Shoveler, 89 Teal and 12 Pochard.
