Very windy this morning so not much in the way of small birds about. The Corvid roost were still about when I arrived, making the most of the windy conditions, tumbling about in the sky. They finally all left at around 07:30. On Fingers had 2 Teal, 5 Gadwall, and 4 Shoveler. A Sparrowhawk flew from the Spit towards the Rough. JA arrived and we headed to Kramer hide where a pair of Bullfinch were in the trees outside.
Canada Geese are beginning to take up territories so the noise level around Fingers has gone up a notch or two. A pair of Great Crested Grebes were present on Fingers, checking out possible nest sites and picking up nest material. At one point the female flattened herself out as if wanting to mate but the male wasn't interested.
We headed up to the STW to check out 100 Acre, a Greenfinch was singing by the Kissing Gate. On 100 Acre there were large numbers of Geese including ~150 Greylags, we also spotted a Pink Footed Goose and conveniently close by an Egyptian Goose. I phoned DK who arrived shortly. It was tough going spotting the Pink Foot which had sat down in the long grass but the Egyptian Goose was now wandering about. We finally got DK onto both birds and thanks to DK for the Greylag count.
On the small lake there were 5 Teal, 2 Gadwall, 3 Tufted Ducks and a Little Grebe. On the large lake a small party of Tufted Ducks and 3 Little Grebe were seen.
Back in the park ~50 Goldfinch in the Alders across the Navigation Channel. A couple of Stock Doves were in with a flock of Wood Pigeons on Kingsmead.
On the main lake 80+ Pochard, at least one pair of Wigeon, plenty of Gadwall spread across the lake. A couple of Little Grebe were on the south side near the hide along with a few Tufted Ducks. A couple of adult Herring Gulls noisily declared their presence on the lake and several pairs of Mute Swans were mirroring each others actions, pair bonding. ~30 Cormorants also present.
A couple of Teal were all we could find on Fenlake and little else of note as we headed back to the car park.
Saturday, February 05, 2011
Monday, January 31, 2011
Next Volunteer day Sunday 6th Feb
A typo crept into the Volunteer dates on the right hand side of the page. The date is the 6th of Feb, next Sunday, not the 16th as it did say.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Saturday 29th Jan 2011
A pretty quiet morning around the park, pretty cold as well with a biting wind from the north.
Wildfowl numbers looked to be down on the main lake but still good numbers of Gadwall and Pochard. Tufted Ducks were much less evident with just a handful seen along with 3 Wigeon.
Met up with JA along the Spit where up to 7 Shoveler were seen along with a single Gadwall. Teal were hard to spot but were very vocal. A single Little Grebe was as seen by JA before I arrived. A couple of Siskin flew over the Crescent as we walked around to Kramer hide.
A lengthy stay at Kramer hide failed to produce Bittern but the vocal Teal were spotted through the gap at the back left. Still difficult to determine numbers as they were tucked in tight under a overhanging tree. JA spotted a Little Egret departing. A single female Teal moved along the back.
We left the hide and followed the navigation channel up to the bridge, stopping briefly to chat to DK who'd had Goldcrest somewhere around Fingers. A small group of Cormorants were in the usual trees on Kingsmead with some now showing the grey heads and white thigh patch of breeding birds. 18 Moorhen were also present on Kingsmead.
Up at the STW we had a Water Rail on the back river. A couple of Mute Swans were on the small pond on 100 Acre along with a handful of Canada Geese. More Canada Geese were on the shore close by with a single Greylag. A much larger group of Canada's were much further out to the north side of the larger pit with a handful of Greylags intermingled. A large flock of Lapwing got up briefly, probably 100+ but I had only counte 30 when they dropped back down again so just an approximate number.
We headed back through the wood and around Fingers. DK called to say a Stonechat was on the fence on Fenlake but by the time we got there there was no sign.
Little else of note as we made our way back to the car park although we did get a Little Grebe over by the island on the main lake.
Wildfowl numbers looked to be down on the main lake but still good numbers of Gadwall and Pochard. Tufted Ducks were much less evident with just a handful seen along with 3 Wigeon.
Met up with JA along the Spit where up to 7 Shoveler were seen along with a single Gadwall. Teal were hard to spot but were very vocal. A single Little Grebe was as seen by JA before I arrived. A couple of Siskin flew over the Crescent as we walked around to Kramer hide.
A lengthy stay at Kramer hide failed to produce Bittern but the vocal Teal were spotted through the gap at the back left. Still difficult to determine numbers as they were tucked in tight under a overhanging tree. JA spotted a Little Egret departing. A single female Teal moved along the back.
We left the hide and followed the navigation channel up to the bridge, stopping briefly to chat to DK who'd had Goldcrest somewhere around Fingers. A small group of Cormorants were in the usual trees on Kingsmead with some now showing the grey heads and white thigh patch of breeding birds. 18 Moorhen were also present on Kingsmead.
Up at the STW we had a Water Rail on the back river. A couple of Mute Swans were on the small pond on 100 Acre along with a handful of Canada Geese. More Canada Geese were on the shore close by with a single Greylag. A much larger group of Canada's were much further out to the north side of the larger pit with a handful of Greylags intermingled. A large flock of Lapwing got up briefly, probably 100+ but I had only counte 30 when they dropped back down again so just an approximate number.
We headed back through the wood and around Fingers. DK called to say a Stonechat was on the fence on Fenlake but by the time we got there there was no sign.
Little else of note as we made our way back to the car park although we did get a Little Grebe over by the island on the main lake.
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