Sightings

Main sighting: Water Rail

Brief view of a Water Rail foraging along the margins of Machine Pond. Two Red Kites circling high overhead.

Main sighting: Goosanders

4 female goosanders, Kingfisher and numerous Mallards

Main sighting: Brambling

My first garden Brambling of the autumn.

Main sighting: Ring-necked Duck

Female Ring-necked Duck.

Main sighting: Marsh Tit

A Marsh Tit in woodland near Llangybi – companion to Wentwood’s Willow Tit a few days ago.

Main sighting: White Stork

two birds flew over the village this am flying quite low, probably 10ish?

Main sighting: Cuckoo

Cuckoo being pursued by small cuckold, gsw.

Main sighting: woodpigeon

Usual Autumn displacement of woodpigeons flying west over reserve, flocks of 50 – 200 which over a 2 hour period probably in excess of 10,000 birds.

Main sighting: Willow Tit

One heard, then seen, between Five Paths and Nine Wells.

Main sighting: Snipe

Quiet and water levels still very high. En-route to hide: crows, woodpigeons (larger groups now overhead of several hundred at a time), magpies, gt spotted woodpecker, goldfinches, 1 redwing only, 2 chiffchaffs, gt tit, robin, 1 stock dove, cettis and a moorhen. Hide two – 50 teal, 20 gadwall, 5 lapwing, 36 shoveler, 1 wigeon only, 2 cormorants, 3 curlew, starlings, 4 skylarks, 1 black-tailed godwit only, 3 fly-by ringed plovers, 1 greylag and a nice flock of 21 snipe flew past the hide. Snipe platform – almost devoid of birds with only 10 coot seen, 2 lt grebes and 4 more snipe. 6 house martins was nice to see as was a passage of 48 swallows aerial feeding. Seawall – herring gulls, wren, sparrows, Canada geese, shelduck, mallards, oystercatchers, 13 more wigeon, 10 more curlew, black headed gulls and a green woodpecker. Hide three – barnacle goose still present, 6 more shoveler, 9 more teal, 1 more gadwall, 3 lt egrets, 32 more lapwing, jackdaws and a pair of stonechats. Other: 2 red admirals and numerous common darters.

Main sighting: Redshank

Crows, mistle thrush, magpies, herring gulls, woodpigeons, 79 redshanks, mallards, 53 teal, 2 pintail, starlings, 1 heron, 1 cormorant, 48 wigeon, 142 black headed gulls, wren, 182 shelduck, 63 oystercatchers, 15 curlew, linnets, chiffchaff, 1 lt egret, chaffinch, blackbird, redwings and green woodpecker. Other: Numerous common darters.

Main sighting: Kingfisher

The first frost of autumn at the lakes but a fine, sunny morning. Most action around the ‘school’ pond, with Kingfisher, female/immature Goosander and three Tufted Ducks, with Redwings in nearby bushes.