31st December 2008
No records.
30 December 2008
– Overcast and cold morning, sunny afternoon.
Tree Sparrow numbers had risen back to eight, split between the two feeders. 13 Snipe fed together below Oak Hide in the marsh and two Water Rails fed by the Causeway screen. In the crop field there were an estimated 40 Reed Buntings and 20 Yellowhammers and 16Redpolls were spread in two flocks across the Reserve.
29 December 2008
– Mostly overcast, cold but light easterly wind
Exactly 100 Teal frequented Car Park Pool. 17 Meadow Pipits was a noteworthy mid winter count, 12 of which fed in the sheep field and 5 more by Oak Hide. 25 Goldfinches were the only other noteworthy count, being on the Old Road near to the farm.
25-28 December 2008
– Dry, sunny periods, cold but generally light easterly wind.
New birds on Christmas Day were a drake Goldeneye (the first of this species since March 21st) and a female Ruddy Duck. A Little Owl showed well in the horse paddock and was the first record this month. Five Tree Sparrows joined about 100 mixed Finches and Buntings in the crop field and 20 Goldfinches feeding in the Alders along the concrete road was a good count.
On the 27th, a pair of Peregrines hunted in tandem over the Reserve, displacing many of the wildfowl though neither bird was seen to catch anything. They were present again on the 28th when the best bird of the day was a first-winter Yellow-legged Gull. It roosted on the islands on Car Park Pool in the afternoon. This scarce Gull is nevertheless more common than theGreat Black-backed which is a truly and oddly scarce bird for Marsh Lane.
22 -24 December 2008
– Overcast still and mild.
A fairly regular count of 80 – 100 Finches and Buntingsare currently frequenting the crop field, approximately a third each of Reed Buntings, Yellowhammers and Chaffinches. Up to nine Tree Sparrows have been recorded between the two feeding stations and this morning a flock of about 35 Siskins were in the Alders at the east end of the field by Oak hide.
Relatively little of note on the pools with singles of Great Crested Grebe and Little Grebeand a single Shelduck.
18 – 21 December 2008
– Increasingly mild with the wind principally in the south-west.
Regular counts at the weekend yielded: one Great Crested Grebe, 19 Cormorants, six Mute Swans, 328 Greylags, one male Shelduck, 239 Wigeon, 14 Gadwall, 97 Teal, 82 Mallard, 31 Shoveler, 22 Pochard and six Tufted Duck.
A Peregrine was seen on both days over the weekend. The Lapwing flock reached a high of 517 birds, the best count for some weeks.
No more than seven Snipe were recorded. Seven Sky Larks and three Meadow Pipits flew over on the 20th. Eight Tree Sparrows on the 21st, at the Oak Hide feeder was the best count of the month whilst the crop field held 40 Chaffinches, 30 Goldfinches, 30 Reed Buntings and ten Yellowhammers. A male Brambling visited the Oak Hide feeders.
The best Siskin count was 12 on the 18th when there were also two Lesser Redpolls.
17th December 2008
– Frosty, sunny and still.
The female Brambling and at least one Tree Sparrow were feeding at the Car Park feeder this morning, with another Tree Sparrow at the Oak Hide feeder. On the pools, wildfowl numbers seemed relatively low, but 38 Canadas was a noteworthy mid-winter count. 354Lapwing roosted on the Car Park Pool islands, whilst 134 Black-headed Gulls and nineCommon Gulls were roosting on the Railway Pool islands. A minimum of nine
Snipe
were asleep in the marsh, with a further two in front of Car Park Hide.
16th December 2008
– Generally grey, overcast and cold, with a moderate north-westerly wind.
A Redhead Goosander was visible from Oak Hide during the afternoon, as was a Water Railin the marsh. A pair of Tree Sparrows were present again by the Oak Hide feeders, and sixSnipe fed in front of Car Park Hide.
15th December 2008
– Sunny intervals with intermittent periods of misty weather.
Between 200 and 300 Golden Plover had returned to the field east of the Kenilworth Road this morning, whilst on the Car Park Pool the Common Sandpiper was present again together with single Shelduck. Five Common Gulls were counted and at least one Tree Sparrow was present along the Old Road.
14th December 2008
– A promising start gave way to overcast conditions on a light north-westerly wind.
The flood meadows and parts of many of the Reserve islands were under water. The floods held good numbers of Geese, Wigeon and Teal and 250 Lapwings commuted between them and the Reserve. Two female and a male Goosander were present again and 16 Snipe tried to hide in the partly submerged rushes in front of Car Park hide. A Dunlin and the over-winteringCommon Sandpiper were present on Car Park Pool and a Peregrine was also seen in the morning.
The Old Road hedges were again productive, with a female Brambling and a Tree Sparrowjoining the many Reed Buntings, Yellowhammers and Chaffinches. Six Lesser Redpollshowed very well at the concrete road junction, whilst a flock of at least 100 Siskins fed in the Alders by the bend in that road. 20 more flew south earlier.
In the afternoon, the Brambling and three Tree Sparrows fed at the car park feeder. ThreeWater Rails was a good afternoon tally – one in the Marsh, one opposite Oak Hide and one at the far end of the orchid field.
13th December 2008
– An overnight deluge took until 2pm to stop, giving way to a relatively mild but overcast afternoon.
Five hardy souls braved the elements to continue the Willow and Alder removal on the riverside of Railway Pool. The river was flooding the field by Siden Hill Wood and backing up the sluice so that the water level in the pool was rising as we worked. About 60% of the bank between River and Railway Hide was cleared. A Water Rail was flushed from the pool edge, a Green Sandpiper (so far the only record for December) dropped in at dusk and 21 Herring Gullsflew over to the south-west. This is the highest single count at the Reserve and confirms December as the best month for this species at the Reserve.
The crop field was lively again with an estimated 100 birds – 50 Chaffinches, 30 Reed Buntings, 15 Yellowhammers and fiveGreenfinches. Other birds of note included two pairs of Goosanders, 89 Teal, two Water Rails, 24 Snipe, 60 Lesser Black-backed Gulls over and four Nuthatches.
12th December 2008
– Cold and grey, winds veered to the south-west.
A little bit more open water today, in front of Oak Hide. As a consequence there were many more wildfowl than the last few days, with counts of 60 Mallard, 56 Teal, 30 Shoveler, twoGadwall and a female Tufted Duck. Two Mute Swans were present on Car Park Pool. In the crop field, there were only 10 Yellowhammers, two Song Thrushes and a Greylag Goose.
11th December 2008
– Sunny, still cold but slightly more open water.
The main bird of note today was a female Goosander, visible from Oak Hide for part of the day. Two Water Rails were also seen from this hide, together with the regular Tree Sparrows on the adjacent feeder, which was three in number today. Other birds included 20Yellowhammers along the Old Road, 30 Siskins and ten Long-tailed Tits along the concrete road.
10th December 2008
– Sunny, cold and iced over.
The only record was two Tree Sparrows at the Oak Hide feeder.
9th December 2008
– Cold frosty start, followed by showers on a north-westerly wind.
The Old Road was lively again with at least 30 each of Yellowhammer and Chaffinch. There were a few Reed Buntings as well, but the majority appeared to be in the crop along the edge of the Reedbed and no counts were made.
At the junction between the Old and concrete roads, there were at least five each of LesserRedpoll and Siskin, and pairs of Bullfinch and Goldfinch. Ten Fieldfare flew over, as did two Meadow Pipits and a single Redwing.
The pools remain largely frozen over.
8th December 2008
– Grey, cold and overcast.
Most of the pools remain partly frozen over and other than a single Shelduck and the regular pair of Tree Sparrows by the Oak Hide, there was not much of note.
7th December 2008
– Cold, sunny and still.
Most of the pools are iced over again and, as a result, Wildfowl counts were well down on the previous day, 21 Shoveler being the best count, together with a single Shelduck. At least nine Moorhens wandered out from the north end of Car Park Pool onto the flood meadow and seven Common Gulls was, I think, the best count so far of the autumn. A Kingfisher by the Dragonfly Pond was the only record so far this month, but the bird did not linger.
Two Nuthatches visited the Oak Hide feeder where the pair of Tree Sparrows remained and in a late afternoon ringing session, 45 Reed Buntings were ringed, along with two Dunnocks, two Wrens, a Robin and a Blue Tit. A higher proportion of the Reed Buntings were re-traps on this occasion, but I am waiting for final numbers.
There were still at least 30 Yellowhammers present, but these seem to be mostly at the southern end of the field nearest to the cottages, where the crop is closer to the cover.
6th December 2008
– Cold, sunny and still.
By far the best birds so far this month was a female Hawfinch that was seen along the concrete road at about 10 a.m. It was associating loosely with a Chaffinch flock of at least 30 birds. The flock was feeding initially at the junction between the concrete road and the easterly hedge to the horse paddock, before moving further down to the bend in the concrete road, where the Hawfinch was picked up. Most of the Chaffinches and the Hawfinch had moved on by 11 a.m., and have not been seen since.
The Hawfinch was probably feeding on the Ash seeds present on trees in both locations, and it will be worth keeping an eye open to see if it returns. This is the fourth record and tenth bird at the Reserve.
In the same locality, there was a vocal, but invisible Marsh Tit, but that also could not be relocated. The cold weather pulled in good numbers of Buntings again, with at least 30 each of Reed Buntings and Yellowhammers and two Lesser Redpolls, whilst the pair of Tree Sparrows remained by the Oak Hide feeder.
Wildfowl and other birds counted by Graham Rowling were as follows:
24 Cormorants
5 Herons
2 Mute Swans
1 Canada Goose
311 Greylags
235 Wigeon
5 Gadwall
110 Teal
49 Mallard
30 Shoveler
4 Pochard
5 Tufted
34 Coot
3 Water Rail
150 Lapwing
7 Snipe
Other birds of note included a Peregrine which flashed across both main pools early in the morning, but was not seen again. There were ten Pheasants in the crop field, six CommonGulls on the islands, at least two Great-spotted Woodpeckers together on the Old Road. AGrey Wagtail flew over.
5th December 2008
– Sunny, heavy showers in the afternoon and overnight.
24 Cormorants was a significant count and both hybrid Swans were present during the day. There were three Shelduck, eight Snipe, eight Meadow Pipits, a Treecreeper by the south-west pond, four Tree Sparrows (two at each feeder), 32 Siskins and 23 Yellowhammers.
4th December 2008
– Sunny and still.
The best bird today was a Little Egret which lingered briefly on the pools and is now the third or fourth record that we have had in December. There were few other records of note.
3rd December 2008
– Sunny all day, but cold after a heavy overnight frost.
Unfortunately the record book had broken, and the only records of which I am aware, on an increasingly frozen over Reserve, are two Shelduck, a Water Rail to the right of Oak Hide with two Snipe, and a single Tree Sparrow around the car park feeders.
2nd December 2008
– Wintery showers and occasional sunny spells, light but cold north-westerly
There were a wide variety of birds in the log, but no counts, and the cold weather is progressively icing over the pools.
1st December 2008
The highlight today was an adult male Peregrine that hunted over both pools, and a maleBrambling was found on the railway embankment. A mixed flock of Finches around the causeway, estimated at 40 in number, included Goldfinches, Greenfinches, Chaffinchesand a Bullfinch.