A lovely start to the morning, the forecast frost was absent and with virtually no breeze it felt much warmer than the thermometer said. It was still quite dark when I arrived in the park and the gulls and Jackdaws were still at roost. There were ~300 gulls on the main lake, mostly Black-headed but too dark to see for certain. As I headed down the main path on the north side of the main lake some of the Jackdaws lifted from the trees around Finger and moved across to the south side of the main lake. By the time I reached Fingers most of them had come back again but as I turned along the Spit they all lifted off again and departed for their feeding grounds.
Fingers looked quiet initially but most of the ducks were at the north end and I ended up with a tally of 53 Gadwalls, 11 Shovelers, 3 Wigeons and 2 Teals. There were also at least 3 Water Rails around Fingers with one in the Crescent and 2 in West Fingers. A Jay was heard calling over towards Cardington Lock followed by a series of Buzzard calls which may have been Jay mimicry. I walked around to the Navigation Channel and scanned the trees over near the Lock but could find neither a Jay or a Buzzard. As I walked back towards the Beach a Treecreeper called in the plantation nearby.
I joined DK and JA at the Spit and we headed to the Rough where EG was ringing. Highlights were a Goldcrest, 2 female Bullfinches and a female Blackcap, just a small portion of the birds netted while we were there.
There were a few small flocks of Redwings and Fieldfares passing through during the morning and early on a large flock of Starlings passed through west, probably from the Willington GP roost. A single Little Grebe was on the main lake along with 3 more Wigeons and the usual suspects. Another Goldcrest was spotted on the south side of the main lake with a Treecreeper heard nearby.
Those were the highlights of the morning. It's the monthly guided walk next week on Sunday morning. For anyone coming please make sure you wear suitable footwear as we may head over to 100 Acre. Wellingtons might be best but any waterproof walking boots should be adequate. The walk starts at 9am, meet outside the Visitor Centre.
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Monday, November 04, 2013
Weekend (02-03/11/2013)
Saturday morning proved quite productive, helped by the fact that the ringers were in. They caught quite a number of birds while we were there including this handsome Redwing and Treecreeper. A Goldcrest, Blackcap and many Blue Tits also found the nets.
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| Redwing |
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| Treecreeper |
On Sunday it was a bit quieter, the variety of ducks was similar but no Little Grebes were seen.
Sunday was also volunteer day and we had a great turnout to continue the work on the plantations by the overflow car park. Judging by the size of the bonfire the day went extremely well with much of the second plantation cleared. A job well done, thanks to all who helped during the day.
Had Water Rails Sharming on both mornings, with a little provocation.
DK had the following on Monday (04/11) morning:
Two Bewick's Swans south at 0912.
1400 Woodpigeons south.
2 Siskins south
1 Redpoll south.
19 LBB Gulls south.
6000+ Starlings south from local (?Willington) roost.
Speaking of the Willington Starling roost I managed to pop over on both Saturday and Sunday evening. Numbers were down on the previous weekend and both days the murmuration displays weren't the best. Sunday was particularly poor with groups of birds going straight into the reed bed without little or no display. Numbers were good, with several large parties coming in, and probably numbered 6000+.
Saturday provided a better display with similar numbers to Sunday but the bulk of the birds stayed out and joined up before heading into the reed bed. The star of the show was the sunset which was stunning.
Saturday provided a better display with similar numbers to Sunday but the bulk of the birds stayed out and joined up before heading into the reed bed. The star of the show was the sunset which was stunning.
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| Starling murmuration at Willington GP |
More photo's here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/djb1166/
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Guided Walk - 27/10/2013
A good turnout for the guided bird walk again this morning, despite the blustery conditions. The wind steadily increased in strength throughout the morning but at least the rain went through just before dawn and stayed away for the rest of the morning.
After a brief stop on the dipping platform on the main lake we headed down to Fingers to check out the ducks. We had a good variety if not good numbers with Teal, Gadwall, Wigeon, Shoveler and Tufted Duck all present. There were no Little Grebes to be found after the 3 on Saturday morning.
Along the Navigation Channel there were a few cormorants at roost on Kingsmead and we found a nice flock of Long-tailed Tits moving between the Woodland walk and the Willows by the Navigation. As we watched them flying across the meadow I spotted a Treecreeper in with them and just managed to get onto it as it moved up one of the Willows before it disappeared around the back. Despite a prolonged search we failed to spot it again although it did call strongly at one point and another answered nearby.
Next stop was the viewpoint over 100 Acre but there was little of note although distant views of a couple of Little Grebes was nice.
Back in the park we cut through the Woodland walk and then around Fingers where a couple of Bullfinches were heard either side of the path just past the Sedgewick Seat.
Final stop was on the south side of the main lake for a look through the gulls. Black-headed Gulls made up the majority of them with Common Gulls in the low teens and a couple of Herring Gulls.
Another flock of Long-tailed Tits were making their way along the south side of the main lake and a Carrion Crow was eating the apples in the tree in the south west corner.
Not a great list for the morning unsurprisingly given the conditions. Surprised we didn't manage a Kingfisher having had several sightings on Saturday morning and having seen one earlier just after I arrived. Highlight for the morning was the Treecreeper, great little birds.
The next guided walk is Sunday 24th November at 9am, meet outside the visitor centre.
There have been good numbers of Starlings coming from roost over the park early in the morning with a 6000 in the week and 7000 on Saturday morning. Given this news I decided to visit the neighbouring Willington GP on Saturday evening to check out the Starling roost. It was good to see 10,000+ come in at around 17:15 and there was a bit of display before they all disappeared into the reed bed at around 17:30. A few more small flocks came in afterwards but always went straight into the reeds. Well worth a visit if you get the chance, hopefully the displays will improve. Here are a couple of pictures:
After a brief stop on the dipping platform on the main lake we headed down to Fingers to check out the ducks. We had a good variety if not good numbers with Teal, Gadwall, Wigeon, Shoveler and Tufted Duck all present. There were no Little Grebes to be found after the 3 on Saturday morning.
Along the Navigation Channel there were a few cormorants at roost on Kingsmead and we found a nice flock of Long-tailed Tits moving between the Woodland walk and the Willows by the Navigation. As we watched them flying across the meadow I spotted a Treecreeper in with them and just managed to get onto it as it moved up one of the Willows before it disappeared around the back. Despite a prolonged search we failed to spot it again although it did call strongly at one point and another answered nearby.
Next stop was the viewpoint over 100 Acre but there was little of note although distant views of a couple of Little Grebes was nice.
Back in the park we cut through the Woodland walk and then around Fingers where a couple of Bullfinches were heard either side of the path just past the Sedgewick Seat.
Final stop was on the south side of the main lake for a look through the gulls. Black-headed Gulls made up the majority of them with Common Gulls in the low teens and a couple of Herring Gulls.
Another flock of Long-tailed Tits were making their way along the south side of the main lake and a Carrion Crow was eating the apples in the tree in the south west corner.
Not a great list for the morning unsurprisingly given the conditions. Surprised we didn't manage a Kingfisher having had several sightings on Saturday morning and having seen one earlier just after I arrived. Highlight for the morning was the Treecreeper, great little birds.
The next guided walk is Sunday 24th November at 9am, meet outside the visitor centre.
There have been good numbers of Starlings coming from roost over the park early in the morning with a 6000 in the week and 7000 on Saturday morning. Given this news I decided to visit the neighbouring Willington GP on Saturday evening to check out the Starling roost. It was good to see 10,000+ come in at around 17:15 and there was a bit of display before they all disappeared into the reed bed at around 17:30. A few more small flocks came in afterwards but always went straight into the reeds. Well worth a visit if you get the chance, hopefully the displays will improve. Here are a couple of pictures:
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| Starling Murmuration |
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| The bulk of the Starling flock |
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