An adult male Goshawk (photo) spent a few hours this afternoon terrorising the local corvids. It was perched in the north wood for a while then flew west. The 1st winter Caspian Gull was still present. 3 LRP and 2 Great Egret were on the north shore. 101 Shoveler were counted.
3 Little Gulls including 2 adults and a 1st winter were off the dam and part of a small movement of birds across the region today. The 1st winter Caspian Gull was still present.2 LRP and 2 Great Egret were on the north shore. 97 Teal, 36 Wigeon, 136 Gadwall, 91 Shoveler, 4 Shelduck, 11 Pochard and 7 Egyptian Geese were counted. 20 Sand Martin were present this afternoon. An Orange Tip butterfly was on the wing by the Scott hide.
3 Black-tailed Godwit were on the north shore in the morning only, also 1 Common Sandpiper and 2 LRP were present. A Goshawk and Peregrine were soaring this afternoon. A Willow Warbler was singing by the Gazebo hide. 2 Great Egret were noted.
The first Common Sandpiper of the year was at the west end, also 1 Redshank and 3 LRP. A 3rd summer Mediterranean Gull was on the north shore this morning, also the 1st winter Caspian Gull remains. A Willow Warbler and male Brambling were by the Gazebo hide. 41 Fieldfare flew north this morning. 35 Sand Martin and a few Swallow and House Martin were present this morning. 2 Red Kite and a Peregrine were noted. 2 Great Egret and a Little Egret were at the west end.
The first Willow Warbler of the year was singing by the ringing station this morning. The 1st winter Caspian Gull was still present. A minimum of 80 Sand Martin, 2 House Martin and 20 Swallow were present. 55 Goldeneye and 36 Mute Swan were counted. 3 Great Egret and a Little Egret were on the north shore. 8 Common Gull roosted this evening.
An adult summer Mediterranean Gull dropped in off the dam this morning, also the 1st winter Caspian Gull was still present. A single Dunlin flew thru this morning, also 4 LRP were on the north shore. 50 Sand Martin, 4 House Martin and 7 Swallow were present. 3 Great Egret were on the north shore. 6 Blackcap were noted.
A notice to members that there will be a contactor coming to mow and rotivate the north shore tomorrow morning, so there will be some disturbance.
3 LRP and 2 Dunlin were on the north shore. A single Great Egret and Red Kite were noted. A single Sand Martin flew thru this afternoon. There was no sign of the Caspian Gull today.
The 1st winter Caspian Gull was still present. A single Dunlin was on the north shore, also a Curlew flew thru. 2 Red Kite, 1 Goshawk and Peregrine were in the area. 2 Great Egret and a Little Egret were noted.
The 1st winter Caspian Gull remains for it's 10th day. 15 Sand Martin flew thru this afternoon. At least 3 Blackcap were present. 2 LRP and 1 Dunlin were on the north shore. 10 Shelduck were counted. A Red Kite flew over this afternoon. 2 Great Egret and a Little Egret were noted.
An adult winter Little Gull (photo) off the dam this afternoon was new for the year. An adult Kittiwake was seen by others this morning, also the 1st winter Caspian Gull remains. 1 Ringed Plover, 3 LRP and 1 Dunlin was on the north shore. 3 Great Egret were noted. 2 Red Kite flew over this afternoon. A single House Martin flew north this afternoon.
An excellent days birding with the early drizzle and murk with a light north easterly breeze doing the trick. 8 adult Kittiwake dropped in at 6.55am. They were present till 7.57am when they flew off north east. 2 Sandwich Tern were present between 8.19am-8.43am when they flew off west. Another Sandwich Tern flew thru west at 2.25pm. This equals the earliest date set in 2023. A minimum of 80 Sand Martin flew thru, also the first House Martin and 4 Swallow. 1 Ringed Plover, 1 LRP and 2 Dunlin were on the north shore, also 2 Curlew flew thru. 49 Goldeneye, 370 Tufted Duck and 155 Shoveler were counted. The 1st winter Caspian Gull was still present. 3 Great Egret and 1 Little Egret were on the north shore. Some video of the Sandwich Tern can be viewed here.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sr5o-QMRDYg
An Avocet dropped in at the west end at 1pm, also a single LRP and 2 Dunlin. The 1st winter Caspian Gull continues to show throughout the day. 3 Great Egret and 2 Little Egret were on the north shore.
The 1st winter Caspian Gull was still present. A single LRP flew thru this afternoon. 3 Great Egret were on the north shore. 5 Pintail, 116 Gadwall and 5 Shelduck were counted.
20 Black-tailed Godwit dropped in briefly early afternoon before continuing north. The 1st winter Caspian Gull remains. 171 Wigeon, 139 Shoveler and 2 Goosander were counted. A Red Kite was noted. 3 Great Egret were on the north shore.
The 1st winter Caspian Gull was still present throughout the day. 3 Dunlin and 1 LRP were on the north shore. 3 Great Egret and a Peregrine were noted.
The 1st winter Caspian Gull (lower photo) was still present and was joined by a 1st winter Yellow-legged Gull (top photo). The photos below illustrate the differences. The Yellow-legged Gull is much heavier marked on the mantle, with a dark smudge around the eye, thicker, more powerful bill and darker wing coverts with no pale fringes to greater coverts. 4 Great Egret remain. 2 Pintail were off the dam. 11 Chiffchaff were noted.
The main highlight today was a Bearded Tit that flew out of the Scott hide reed bed calling at 9.08am. It flew across the south east bay, before climbing high into the sky and headed off south. I couldn't make out if it was a male or female. A 1st winter Caspian Gull (photo) has spent the whole day around the reserve. 2 Goshawk and a Red Kite were in the area. The Redshank was still on the north shore, also 4 Great Egret and a Little Egret. Today's WeBS count produced 3 Pintail, 65 Teal, 106 Wigeon, 139 Shoveler, 79 Gadwall, 2 Shelduck, 30 Mallard, 261 Tufted Duck, 24 Pochard, 42 Goldeneye, 8 GC Grebe, 2 Little Grebe, 157 Coot, 7 Mute Swan, 9 Egyptian Geese, 18 Cormorant, and 68 Lapwing. 46 Reed Bunting and several Yellowhammer were in the field behind the Hawkshutts hide.
News received today included the first Redshank of the year on the north shore, also an LRP and 14 Snipe were present. 2 Ring-necked Parakeet were perched in the reservoir plantation this morning. 3 Great Egret and 2 Little Egret were present. 3 Shelduck and 42 Goldeneye were counted. A Barn Owl was opposite the car park gate early morning.
News received today included a single Dunlin and LRP were still on the north shore. 3 Great Egret, 2 Pintail, 3 Shelduck and 8 Egyptian Geese were noted.
2 Avocet on the north shore were the first of the year. Also a single LRP on the north shore equals the earliest on record, with those in 2011 and 2017. A Golden Plover was on the shingle island, also 11 Oystercatcher were present. 3 Great Egret and a Little Egret was on the north shore. An adult Goshawk flew over the dam late afternoon. Pintail have dropped to just 5 today. 4 Shelduck were noted.
The first 2 Sand Martin of the year were over the west end briefly this afternoon. 23 Pintail and 119 Shoveler were counted. 2 Great Egret and 1 Little Egret were on the north shore. A Red Kite flew over.
3 Cattle Egret dropped onto the north shore early afternoon, also 2 Great Egret and 4 Little Egret were present. A Curlew flew thru late morning, also 15 Oystercatcher were present. 44 Pintail, 103 Shoveler, 72 Gadwall, 4 Shelduck and 11 Egyptian Geese were counted. 7 Yellowhammer were in the stubble field behind the Hawkshutts hide.
4 Great Egret were on the north shore today. 45 Pintail were present. A Red Kite flew over this afternoon.
This morning, I took a trip up to Cannock Chase to see the Great Grey Shrike that has wintered there. It has been a hard bird to catch up with, but the last week or so, the bird has been fairly settled in the shooting butts area. It performed very well in the early morning sunshine, observed sub singing and catching bees. It's the first one I've seen since the 2020 Seven Springs bird. Some footage can be viewed here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGUI9Ltvx9k
A Barn Owl was hunting opposite the car park gate at 6am, with another sat out at the west end early afternoon. 49 Pintail and 10 Egyptian Geese were present. At least 2 Red Kite were in the area. At least 9 Chiffchaff were noted this morning.
15 Chiffchaff were between the Scott hide and west lane. 48 Pintail and a drake Pintail x Pochard hybrid were counted, also 8 Egyptian Geese and a Great Egret were on the north shore. A photo of a Meadow Pipit at the west end this afternoon.
55 Pintail were present today, also 320 Tufted Duck were counted. A Barn Owl was sat out again from 3.40pm at the west end. 2 Great Egret and a Stonechat were on the north shore. At least 10 Chiffchaff were scattered along the reserve.
2 Barn Owls were huddled together late afternoon. 6 Chiffchaff were scattered across the reserve. 44 Pintail remain. A Great Egret was on the north shore. 11 Oystercatcher were noted. A Red Kite was at the west end this afternoon.
The Barn Owl was again perched up from the west track, also a male Merlin and Peregrine flew over there. 3 Red Kite were in the area. 41 Pintail were counted. A Great Egret was on the north shore. A Chiffchaff was along the south east bay.
A Barn Owl was sunning itself in the afternoon sunshine off the west track. 40 Pintail were still present, also 15 GC Grebe, 101 Shoveler and 41 Goldeneye were counted at dusk. A Great Egret was on the north shore. 2 Redpoll were along the west lane.
