31st August 2013
– Cool, light north-westerly wind, mostly sunny.
The wind today was not necessarily conducive to migration but after significant arrivals on the east coast it was perhaps not surprising that a Whinchat was found in the crop field this morning and showed well all day. The crop field is looking good and is worth regular observation. A Water Rail showed in the Marsh first thing and the single Greenshank from the 29th was also present.
Hirundines were coming and going all day, in small numbers, with 15 mixed Sand Martins,House Martins and Swallows feeding over the Reedbed in the early morning, and then a steady trickle of Swallows and House Martins all day, although in no great numbers. There were still plenty of Swallows feeding around the farm where they are obviously still feeding young, and there were 20 to 30 House Martins over Hampton in Arden.
Two Green Sandpipers, a Snipe and a female Tufted ! were feeding in the recently dug drainage ditches on the flood plain west of the farm and there were at least 15 Chiffchaffsspread across the Reserve, but these had obviously been on the move. A single Lesser Whitethroat and a Willow Warbler was on the causeway.
The main counts today were as follows: 15 Herons, three Cormorants, two Great Crested Grebes (one adult and one juvenile), five Little Grebes being four adults, one juvenile and two chicks on Car Park Pool and a further one on Railway Pool, five Mutes on the pools (four adults and a cygnet) and a further eight flew over, one Black Swan, 200 Greylags, oneFarmyard Goose, 49 Gadwall, 34 Mallard, 44 Teal, 25 Shoveler, three Wigeon, threePochard, 33 Tufted, 75 Coot, 12 Moorhen, 258 Lapwing, three Snipe, five Lesser Black-backs and 183 Black-headed Gulls. There was also a Nuthatch on the railway embankment.
30th August 2013
– Light north-westerly wind, mostly sunny.
No records.
29th August 2013
– Sunny and still.
There seemed to be relatively little on the move this morning and certainly no hirundines at all up until 8.30. A Yellow Wagtail flew over, low, at 6.50 a.m. and, an hour later, an adult and aCommon Tern also flew over. Three Snipe came in from the east to join a fourth on Railway Pool.
A Green Sandpiper was present on Car Park Pool first thing and there was still at least oneDabchick juvenile being fed by the adult, and the same on Railway Pool.
The Old Road and concrete road areas were lively, with two Bullfinches, two Treecreepers, aNuthatch, at least eight Chiffchaffs, a Willow Warbler, three Whitethroats, a Lesser Whitethroat, a Blackcap and six Long-tailed Tits. Two further Chiffchaffs and a Reed Warbler were around the causeway / central stream area.
Later in the day, two Water Rail showed in the Marsh, a Greenshank appeared, Snipeincreased to six and both Hobby and Peregrine put in appearances, the former perching in the large ash tree near Oak Hide and then hunting over Railway Pool. House Sparrows appear to have had a good breeding season at Patrick Farm with over 40 in the stubble field opposite the farm.
28th August 2013
– Mostly sunny, light westerly wind.
A Hobby again showed on and off throughout the day. The juvenile Water Rail was visible in the Marsh and there were at least 40 Swallows about.
27th August 2013
– Hazy sunshine, light north-westerly wind.
The Garganey was still present, viewable from Railway Hide and the juvenile Water Railshowed again in the Marsh. There were three Snipe on Railway Pool. In the evening, threeGreenshanks was a good count, Snipe had increased to seven and there was a Green Sandpiper about as well.
A Hobby showed from Oak Hide and there were good counts of hirundines with 50 Sand Martins and 40 Swallows, the former being a good total this late in the month.
26th August 2013
– Overcast start, clearing mid-morning. Hot, light north-easterly wind.
A Garganey was today’s new arrival, feeding with the Teal in front of Railway Hide. Yesterday’s Greenshank was also seen.
A clear influx of wildfowl overnight saw Shoveler numbers jump from 12 on the 24th to 33 this morning and a Garganey was also new in. Initially visible from Railway Hide it moved to the channels in front of Oak Hide but became more elusive as the afternoon wore on. AGreenshank also fed in the same channels and then later moved to the Dragonfly Pool.
A Hobby was around for much of the day and spooked an increasingly large flock of hirundines over Patrick Farm which included about 80 Swallows and 20 House Martins. Three Sand Martins went south as well.
After the first two Wigeon of the autumn appeared yesterday there were three today, twoKingfishers showed well and since the breeding Black-headed Gull and Tern numbers have fallen, the Herons have become bolder and one today attempted to eat a large Tuftedduckling.
Second Little Grebe broods are audible with two and a one on Car Park Pool and a single on Railway Pool.
A late (for us) Garden Warbler showed in the hedgerow behind Oak Hide, there wereWhitethroats in the car park and on the Old Road along with a couple of Chiffchaffs.
There are still plenty of butterflies to be seen. Two Holly Blues showed in the ivy along the central stream, three male Common Blues were around the Birds-foot Trefoil in the car park and a female near Oak Hide, a Clouded Yellow flew across the orchid field but kept going and there are still plenty of Large and Small Whites and Small Tortoiseshells. Red Admirals however appear to be scarce this year.
25th August 2013
– Mostly overcast but dry, north-easterly wind.
Waders today included both Green and Common Sandpiper, a Greenshank and a juvenileDunlin. The latter was in front of Oak Hide and the Greenshank fed for part of the day in the channels in front of Oak Hide before relocating to the Dragonfly Pool. There were over 40 mixed Swallows and House Martins on the move and birds along the Old Road includedBlackcap, Whitethroat and Treecreeper.
24th August 2013
– Initially overcast, sunny intervals, humid north-easterly wind.
At first light, there were Green Sandpipers on both pools, one subsequently moving to the Dragonfly Pool. A single juvenile Water Rail was seen in the Marsh, there were three Snipe aKingfisher flew across Car Park Pool and warblers included Whitethroat behind Railway Hide, four in the game crop by Siden Hill Wood and five Chiffchaffs and a Goldcrest adjacent to the Old Road game crop.
Hirundine passage included between 20 and 30 Sand Martins over the main pools and flocks of 30 to 40 House Martins and Swallows around both Patrick Farm and east of Siden Hill Wood. A Yellow Wagtail went over at Siden Hill Wood and there was a flock of 18Goldfinches feeding on the thistles around Patrick Farm. A Hobby was hawking over the Dragonfly Pool and a Peregrine made a pass at the wildfowl over Railway pool.
Today’s counts included: one adult and two juvenile Great Crested Grebes, five adult Little Grebes, a fledged juvenile and three chicks, the latter all on Car Park Pool, six Herons, fourCormorants, four adult Mute Swans and the cygnet, a Black Swan, 360 Greylags, sixFarmyard Geese, 114 Canadas, 61 Gadwall, 30 Teal, 79 Mallard, 17 Shoveler, aPochard, 68 Tufted, eight Moorhens, 100 Coot, 200 Lapwing, 63 Black-headed Gulls and four Lesser Black-backs.
Last but not least, a Curlew flew over calling at about 10 a.m. going south.
23rd August 2013
– Sunny, humid, light south-easterly wind, rain late evening.
Both an adult and a juvenile Water Rail showed in the Marsh this evening and an adult Hobbywas hunting the pools around 6 pm. There was also an adult Common Gull (probably the bird from yesterday) washing and preening with the Black-headed Gulls on Railway Pool.
22nd August 2013
– Overnight rain, morning showers, sunny afternoon, south easterly
More about today and after eight Herring Gulls went north east and an adult Common Gullwent west, there were three Little Egrets for part of the morning and then two Greenshanksappeared but were quite mobile. In the evening they showed particularly well in good light on the small partly flooded scrapes in front of Lower Siden Hide where they were feeding with fourTeal. They subsequently flew off and were on the main pools before a Peregrine put everything up and they appeared to fly off calling.
A Green Sandpiper also flew up stream.
On the pools there were 200 Lapwing, four Snipe, 16 Teal, five Shoveler, seven Pochardand a Clouded Yellow butterfly showed briefly by Oak Hide. Along with plenty of Small andLarge Whites, there were also at least five Silver Y moths there. These are a migrant species.
In the fenced off enclosures by the back gate, Warblers there included a number of Willow Warblers and Chiffchaff together with a Whitethroat and two Lesser Whitethroat.
The pair of Buzzards with the fledged youngster, were also wandering around and frequently disturbing the Lapwing flock.
Thanks to Paul Johnson for updating the blog over the last few days.
21st August 2013
– Sunny, south westerly and occasional showers
No records.
20th August 2013
– Cloudy with some sunshine
212 Lapwing were present, together with 400 Greylags, two Snipe, two Green Sandpiperand three Common Terns. An immature Water Rail was in the Marsh.
Two Clouded Yellows were again seen on the Reserve.
19th August 2013
– Cloudy but dry
Today’s records included a Water Rail in the Marsh, a Sparrowhawk, 30 Sandmartins and two Swallows. A Peregrine flew over.
18th August 2013
– Warm and sunny
170 Canada Geese, a Green Sandpiper and 15 Shoveler were the only noted records today.
Plenty of butterflies were present with the following counts: One Clouded Yellow, onePainted Lady, three Small Copper, three Tortoiseshell, one Brimstone, 10+ Common Blue, 10+ Peacock and 400+ Whites were in the crop field
17th August 2013
– Cloudy with some sunny spells throughout the day
A juvenile Water Rail was in the Marsh together with a Green Sandpiper.
The weekly wildfowl count were as follows: Four Great Crested Grebe, five Little Grebe and two chicks, four Cormorants, six Grey Heron, five Mute Swans, one Black Swan, 351Greylags, six Farmyard Geese, 54 Canada Geese, 93 Mallard, 42 Gadwall, 13 Shoveler, 16 Teal, three Pochard, 56 Tufted, 125 Coot, 11 Moorhen, 200 Lapwings, two Snipe, seven Lesser Black-back Gulls, 11 Black-headed Gulls and three Common Terns.
16th August 2013
– Heavy rain this morning, sunny afternoon
The only records in the log today were of a Green Sandpiper, a Sparrowhawk, a Kestreland two Oystercatcher.
15th August 2013
– Sunny spells with showers, some heavy
Two Wood Sandpipers were recorded in the morning but appeared to have gone by the afternoon.
Two Clouded Yellows have been seen by two separate observers, one from Railway Hide and one from Oak Hide.This is a migrant butterfly and is quite scarce.
14th August 2013
At 8.15pm 14 Common Terns flew in from the south in a tight flock to roost on Car Park Pool. There were nine adults and five young.
14 Gadwall were present and the Kingfisher is still around.
13th August 2013
Two Green Sandpipers were the most noteworthy birds today.
12th August 2013
– Showery
Nine attended the work party – many thanks to those who attended. The evening consisted of pulling ragwort and strimming the islands.
29 Common Terns roosted in the evening.
11th August 2013
A Painted Lady was seen around Railway Hide today.
10th August 2013
– Showers with sunny spells
Bird counts today: Three Mute Swan (two adult and one juvenile) the Black Swan, 110Greylag, 59 Canada, 24 Gadwall, 20 Teal, 58 Mallard plus seven chicks, one Shoveler, three Pochard, 14 Moorhen, 77 Coot, four Oystercatchers, 172 Lapwings, two Green Sandpiper, 46 Black-headed Gulls, two Lesser Black-backs and eight Common Terns.
A Kingfisher was present and two juvenile Great Spotted Woodpeckers were in Siden Hill Wood.
9th August 2013
– Showers with sunny spells
A new butterfly species for the Reserve! A Chalkhill Blue was found around Railway Hide. It is probably a wandering butterfly from elsewhere because it is not the right habitat. A few have also been seen in Worcestershire and Leicestershire.
8th August 2013
– Hazy sunshine, light southerly wind.
A Whimbrel went through at just before 8 a.m., and may have come down on one of the pools. It called twice. There was a Snipe in the scrapes and a Hobby was again hunting the flood plain area. Oystercatchers and Common Terns were particularly vocal this morning and seemed to be perturbed by some unseen predator.
There was a family party of Bullfinches on the railway embankment near Lower Siden Hide.
In the evening a Green Sandpiper flew over, calling, and wildfowl included 17 Teal, threeShoveler and a drake Pochard. A Heron consumed a large chick which was thought to be aGadwall youngster. There were ten juvenile Common Terns including about four unfledged birds and four Swifts and 20 House Martins fed over the pools. 150 Greylags flew in at 9.15 to roost and there was a small Starling roost as well.
7th August 2013
– Mostly sunny, variable winds.
Today’s new additions were a Little Egret, which was roosting on the gravel bar on Railway Pool from mid-day until 2.45 when it flew off north, and five immigrant juvenile Little Grebeswhich clustered together on Railway Pool in the evening. These were in addition to the fledged juveniles and is hopefully the start of the post-breeding build up that used to occur, but which has been less obvious in previous years, probably because of poor breeding success.
Five Sand Martins flew south at about 1 pm and a Hobby appeared briefly over Railway Pool.
There were lots of butterflies on the wing again around Railway Hide with over ten Peacocksand smaller numbers of Small Tortoiseshells, and still at least one Purple Hairstreak which showed well on the third oak north of the car park gate, on the Old Road.
6th August 2013
– Sunny intervals, light northerly wind.
Three Little Ringed Plovers were present from 8 a.m. but after a male Sparrowhawk went over at 1pm only two remained and the Lapwing flock became very skittish. At least sixOystercatchers remained.
At about 12.30 pm a Hobby in fast pursuit mode flew north across the flood plain and soon after was joined by a second and both birds returned to harry the flock of House Martins over the wood. At least 44 House Martins were present and there was a trial as to whether the martins or the Hobbies could get above each other. One of the Hobbies appeared again in the evening when a Kingfisher also showed, flying past River Hide towards the causeway area. There were 12 Common Terns (eight adults, four juveniles and 12 chicks on Railway Pool) and also two newly fledged Black-headed Gull chicks on Car Park Pool.
North of the car park gates at least four Purple Hairstreaks were active around the top of the third oak along, interacting with three or four Speckled Woods.
5th August 2013
– Generally wet.
Nine Oystercatchers today was a good count for this late in the season but other birds of interest were fairly limited to two Little Ringed Plovers on Railway Pool, a ringed Sedge Warbler by the causeway screen (as this was a juvenile it would appear to have been ringed elsewhere as none have been ringed here this year), a Kingfisher on the Railway Pool and aRaven over the car park.
4th August 2013
– Dry morning, wet middle part of the day, dry in the afternoon. South-westerly wind.
A little bit more wader passage today with three Dunlin, a Common Sandpiper and threeLittle Ringed Plovers, all new in, and still four adult Oystercatchers as well.
34 Swifts moved south, west of Siden Hill Wood, and there were at least 20 House Martinsover the north end of Siden Hill Wood ranging between Lapwing Drive and the river and 20 to 30 Sand Martins feeding over the pools. One or two Swallows appeared to be moving south as well.
On the ice-rink field, west of the river, 80 Lapwings fed with a pair of Oystercatchers, threeRooks and 23 Starlings and the pair of Buzzards with the vocal recently fledged youngster were wandering around the west side as well.
In the wood, the usual species included a pair of Treecreepers, a family party of Goldcrestswhilst, on the edge, there were family parties of Whitethroats just at the south end of the Ammunition Dump and along the railway.
A Raven also flew over, calling.
3rd August 2013
– Hot and sunny.
The first Small Red-eyed Damselflies showed on the Dragonfly Pond in the warm weather this morning and there were two Essex Skippers on the concrete road, at the usual location between the style and the bend. A Ruddy Darter, seen at the north causeway screen in the late afternoon, was the first of the year.
Bird counts today were as follows: five Herons, six Cormorants, seven Great Crested Grebes (three adults and four juveniles), nine Little Grebes (three adult and now six juveniles of which the two on Car Park Pool are now fledged), two adult Mute Swans and a cygnet, the Black Swan, 163 Greylags, six Shoveler, 60 Mallard, 20 Gadwall and eight broods of 39 ducklings, six Teal, two Pochard, 38 Tufted and 24 broods with 96 ducklings, 71Coot, 10 Moorhen, six Oystercatchers, a juvenile Little Ringed Plover, 176 Lapwing, fiveLesser Black-backed Gulls, 24 Black-headed Gulls and 24 Common Terns (14 adults, 10 juveniles and one unfledged chick).
2nd August 2013
– Sunshine and showers, light south-westerly wind.
No sign of any Wood Sandpipers today and the only waders on show were an adult Little Ringed Plover and a brief visit from a Green Sandpiper. 12 Common Terns were made up of six adults, four fledged young and two unfledged young, all on Railway Pool. There still appeared to be birds around Car Park Pool but the thickness of the vegetation meant it was difficult to see precisely how many young were there.
A Small Copper butterfly showed particularly well on the track by Railway Pool but was very mobile.
1st August 2013
– Early morning cloud slowly clearing to become hot and humid, with a light southerly wind.
The long-staying Wood Sandpiper was joined by two other spotty juveniles today, which could be elusive but were favouring the channels between Oak Hide and the bigger islands.
Four Snipe were also new in and represented the first records of the autumn, although other birds had been noted previously at places like Brandon and Kingsbury. There were at least three adult Oystercatchers and a juvenile Little Ringed Plover with up to ten Terns on the wing, split half and half between adults and juveniles.
In the warm, sunny weather, plenty of butterflies were showing well on the thistles particularly around Railway Hide.
The three Wood Sandpipers were still present in the early evening along with two Little Ringed Plovers and a male Muntjac which showed well by River Hide. 170 Lapwings were counted on Railway Pool with a further 36 on Railway Pool.
