31st January 2024
Overnight frost, dry with sunny intervals, light to moderate south westerly
A Water Rail in the North Causeway Bay was the first log entry for this species for a while and there was also a Cetti’s Warbler in the same area. Other records from the pools were a female Pochard, four Goosanders (one male and three female) and 70 Lapwings. Eleven Pied Wagtails at Patrick Bridge was a good count, there were two Collared Doves present around the Farm itself and a mixed flock of 17 Siskins and three Lesser Redpolls along the Concrete Road.
After a report of a dead Greylag Goose on one of the Car Park Pool islands yesterday, there was a further report today of a dead Wigeon on the far bank. It’s to be hoped that this is a coincidence rather than an indicator of a more serious issue, but please note any further instances in the logbook.
30th January 2024
Overcast start, brighter with sunny intervals later. Gusty north westerly at first then lighter north westerly later.
A female Stonechat was active in the Car Park area, being recorded on a couple of occasions and the Linnet flock, up to 60 in total, was present around the Crop Field. Snipe numbers were up to 50, a good count for January, although it’s notoriously difficult to gauge the number of this species unless they’re flushed for some reason. Ravens were also in evidence, up to three being logged, an overwintering Chiffchaff was again present in the Back Gate Copse and a pair of Collared Doves were making use of the Car Park feeders.
29th January 2024
Overcast with some light rain, mild, occasional sunny intervals. Light southerly
A Great Crested Grebe on Car Park Pool was the first record of this species for a while and other log entries from the same location included a single female Pochard, three Little Egrets and up to six Snipe. The Marsh yielded another eight Snipe and a Sparrowhawk was seen hunting both across the far side of Car Park Pool and along the Central Streamline. Finally, both female Stonechat and Cetti’s Warbler were noted from the Dragonfly Pond.
28th January 2024
Sunny, dry, light southerly.
A group of 30+ Siskins and six Lesser Redpolls was feeding along the Central Streamline and an immature Peregrine was seen over Car Park Pool at midday but, those records apart, the only other logbook entries were a single Egyptian Goose, two Pochard and two Little Egrets.
27th January 2024
Sunny, dry, light southerly.
The results of this week’s Saturday count were as follows: three Mute Swans, 30 Canada Geese, a Canada x Greylag Hybrid, seven Greylag Geese, 12 Shoveler, 35 Gadwall, 271 Wigeon, 24 Mallard, 70 Teal, three Pochard (three male and one female), 34 Tufted Duck, five Goosander (two male and three female), 23 Cormorant, three Little Egrets, two Grey Herons, three Little Grebes, five Moorhen, 53 Coot, 52 Lapwing, 30 Snipe, 143 Black–headed Gulls, ten Common Gulls, five Lesser Black–backed Gulls and three Herring Gulls. Elsewhere, there were 26 Linnets in the Crop Field and a Chiffchaff called briefly along the Central Streamline.
26th January 2024
Sunny, dry, light westerly.
Log entries from the pools comprised four Pochard (two male and two female), four Goosander (one male and three female), four Little Egrets, 24 Snipe, 37 Lapwings and the regular adult Great Black–backed Gull. The only record from elsewhere on the Reserve was a flock of 32 Linnets.
25th January 2024
Overcast with drizzle early, occasional brighter spells. Moderate south westerly.
The highlight of the day was the impressive video captured early in the morning by the trail camera along the Central Stream and which showed a family party of four Otters at ‘the rock’. While others have been seen, and photographed, on a number of previous occasions at various locations across the Reserve, ‘the rock’ does seem to be a favoured site and spraint is frequently found there. Spraint is often deposited on prominent features near water, e.g. rocks, fallen trees, bridge supports and storm drains, to act as a scent marker and define territories. The presence of a family group suggests that there’s a healthy population along this section of the Blythe.
Records from Car Park Pool were 138 Black-headed Gulls and four Common Gulls, while Pochard numbers were down to four and, on Railway Pool, a pair of male Goosanders flew south. Redwings were in evidence with thirty-eight, together with 20 Goldfinches, along the Old Road and another thirteen, along with four Fieldfares and eight Meadow Pipits, feeding on the Flood Plain. Finally, there was a pair of Stonechats around the Dragonfly Pond.
Otter family – Video courtesy of John Hunt
24th January 2024
Stormy overnight. Bright with sunny spells and mild. Moderate westerly.
Mid-morning a Red Kite was noted low over the Car Park at around 10.30 and, from there, flew off over the Tip Field. It was spotted again a short time later, around 10.45, going south-west over the Flood Plain.
Elsewhere, Pochard numbers remained at ten, albeit with a slight change in the male/female split (eight male and two female), there was a group of 17 Siskins and two Lesser Redpolls along the Central Stream and also a male Stonechat in the Horse Paddock.
23rd January 2024
Overcast with rain easing mid/late afternoon. Mild with gusty south westerly and Storm Jocelyn strengthening through the evening.
The overwintering Chiffchaff was again in the Back Gate Copse along with a flock of 25 Siskins, while small numbers of both Redwings (22) and Fieldfares (seven) were feeding on the Flood Plain. Yesterday’s Shelduck was still around, Pochard numbers were up to ten (nine male and one female), and other records were two female Goosanders and three Egyptian Geese.
22nd January 2024
Storm Isha overnight. Bright, sunny and mild then clouding over with showers. Moderate/gusty south westerly.
The Blythe was high due to the overnight rain and flooding was noted around Patrick Bridge. Sightings across the pools were: 151 Greylag Geese, a single Shelduck, six Pochard (five male and one female), 14 Herring Gulls and the regular adult Great Black–backed Gull. Elsewhere, there was a male Stonechat around the Horse Paddock, a Kestrel over the Flood Plain and an overwintering Chiffchaff in the Back Gate Copse.
21st January 2024
Continuing mild, sunny intervals a.m. then clouding over and rain late p.m. Strengthening and gusty south westerly with Storm Isha overnight.
Goosander numbers were marginally down on yesterday with a total of 19 (four male and 15 female), along with three Pochard and six each of Common and Herring Gull on the pools. Elsewhere there were again Lesser Redpoll (three) and Siskin (two) in the Back Gate Copse.
20th January 2024
Milder than of late, thick cloud; light to moderate southerly
While conditions had become significantly milder overnight, the pools were still heavily iced, with Car Park Pool at around 90% and Railway Pool around 75%. Nevertheless, the regular Saturday count produced records as follows: three Mute Swans, 378 Canada Geese (a new January record for the site – previous was 262 in 2022), two Canada x Greylag Hybrids, 24 Greylag Geese, 18 Shoveler, 78 Gadwall, 440 Wigeon (including a fourth ringed bird), 26 Mallard, 521 Teal (another new January record for the site – previous was 515 in Jan 2017), three Pochard (male and two female), 34 Tufted Duck, 23 Goosander (five male, 17 female and 1st winter male), 11 Cormorant, five Little Grebe, three Moorhen, 82 Coot, four Snipe, 90 Black–headed Gulls, three Common Gulls, four Lesser Black–backed Gulls and nine Herring Gulls. Away from the pools, there was a flock of 60 Linnets in the Crop Field, the Back Gate Copse held 15 Lesser Redpoll and five Siskin and, finally, there was a Collared Dove at the Car Park feeders.
In addition to the records from the count, logbook entries later in the day included Sparrowhawk, eight Redwing and a Bullfinch along the Old Road, Little Egret on Railway Pool, adult Great Black–backed Gull on Car Park Pool and Buzzard over. The Car Park feeders were also busy with Chaffinch (six), Greenfinch (10), Reed Bunting (four) and multiple Blue and Great Tits noted as well as a Moorhen clearing up underneath.
19th January 2024
Hard frost overnight. Bright, sunny and very cold; very light north westerly. Car Park Pool 95% iced, Railway Pool 90%.
Despite the hard frost overnight and the resultant icing of the pools, they still produced a number of log entries: 420 Wigeon (Jan maximum for the site is 550), 254 Teal, a female Pochard, 38 Tufted Ducks, nine Goosanders (two male and seven female), 73 Coot, eight Little Grebes (equalling the new January record from 13th) and the adult Great Black–backed Gull. Records from other locations included a Raven over, a male Bullfinch along the Old Road and, along the Concrete Road, both Lesser Redpoll (three) and Siskin (four).
18th January 2024
Hard frost overnight. Bright, sunny and very cold; light north westerly
No records.
17th January 2024
Bright, sunny and cold; light north easterly. Car Park Pool 75% iced, Railway Pool 50%.
Canada Geese numbers were at 333 with the Canada x Greylag Hybrid again in evidence. Goosander numbers were also up with three males and six females. Other records from the pools included 131 Teal, 67 Gadwall, a female Pochard and seven Little Grebes. Prior to this year, the maximum January count for this latter species was five, but that has now been beaten on two occasions within a few days. Elsewhere, there were 12 Lesser Redpoll and two Siskin between Oak Hide and the South-West Pond. Finally, a Red Kite went north over the Lorry Park at 11.40.
16th January 2024
Bright, sunny and cold; light south westerly. Car Park Pool approx. 90% iced over
With the pools heavily iced over, the few records from there included six Goosanders (three male and three female), 12 Pochard (eight male and four female) as well as 168 Canada Geese, a Canada x Greylag Hybrid and a Raven over. The other sighting of interest was of two female Sparrowhawks engaged in a territorial dispute above Railway Pool.
15th January 2024
Frosty start, bright sunny and cold; light north/north westerly. Railway Pool approx. 25% iced over.
The Collared Dove seems to have taken a liking to the Car Park feeders, probably due to the continuing cold spell, and was noted there again. Elsewhere, the pools had 150 Canada Geese and Goosander numbers were up to seven, with four males and three females. The Concrete Road proved productive with a flock of ten Lesser Redpolls, as well as five Siskins, while there was a pair of Bullfinches along the Old Road.
14th January 2024
Bright intervals a.m., cloudy with light showers p.m.; light north westerly.
The only log entries from the pools were two female Goosanders, three Little Egrets, two Shelduck, three Little Egrets, seven Common Gulls and 38 Snipe. Also recorded was a Collared Dove, which was at the Car Park feeders.
13th January 2024
Dry, light cloud with sunny intervals; light north westerly
The regular Saturday count by Graham Rowling and Dave Scanlan produced the following:
Four Mute Swans, 12 Canada Geese, five Greylag Geese, 39 Gadwall, 21 Shoveler, 242 Wigeon, 24 Mallard, 130 Teal, 11 Pochard (8 male and 3 female), 24 Tufted Duck, 34 Cormorants, eight Little Grebes (a new January record for the site), two Grey Herons, three Little Egrets, six Moorhen, 66 Coot, 20 Lapwings, 64 Snipe in total (60 in the Marsh and four on Car Park Pool), 72 Black–headed Gulls, 28 Common Gulls, a Herring Gull, four Lesser Black–backed Gulls, a female Goosander, five Bullfinches by the South-West Pond (3 male and 2 female) and, finally, a flock of 20 Linnets in the Crop Field.
12th January 2024
Dry with light cloud; light northerly.
A count of 420 Wigeon was impressive, short of the site record (550 in Jan 2017) but only the third January count of 400 or over for this species. Three colour-ringed individuals were included. Other records included 117 Greylag Geese, a female Goosander, 33 Snipe, the regular adult Great Black–backed Gull, Raven and a Collared Dove, the latter at the Car Park feeders.
11th January 2024
Dry with light cloud; light north easterly.
No records.
10th January 2024
Overcast with some brighter intervals; cold; light north westerly.
Woodcock have been conspicuous by their absence at the Reserve this winter, the last record being back on October 10, so the sighting today was both overdue and noteworthy. The individual was first picked up flying over Railway Pool and then landed in Lower Siden near to the Railway Embankment.
The few other records in the log included adult Great Black-backed Gull, presumably the regular bird, also two Egyptian Geese and five Little Egrets.
9th January 2024
Bright and cold; light north westerly.
While there have been occasional January records previously, Dunlin is a rare visitor this early in the year so an individual on Car Park Pool was somewhat unseasonal. The other notable records involved Jack Snipe, with one found south of the Mobile Mast during the morning and another seen from Oak Hide in the early afternoon with 17 Common Snipe.
Dunlin – Photograph taken from Car Park Hide by Martin Robinson
There were plenty of records in the log from around the site with highlights in addition to the above including both adult and juvenile Great Black-backed Gulls, three Little Grebes, four Common Gulls, two Egyptian Geese and up to five Little Egrets. Raptors were two Buzzards and a female Sparrowhawk which caused havoc at the Car Park feeding station early in the morning. Last, but not least, were two Jays, a species which rarely makes the log.
8th January 2024
Overcast, light northerly, cold.
A notable jump in Wigeon today saw the count increase to 375. There were 37 Lapwings, 42 Cormorants, two female Goosanders and one male, the adult Greater Black-backed Gull, 14 Mute Swans and a Grey Wagtail.
7th January 2024
Sunny, cold northerly.
The wandering Pink-footed Goose put in another appearance today, this time flying from the Railway Pool direction, around Car Park Pool and then back towards Bradnocks Marsh. An initial identification of Cattle Egrets proved to be misplaced in the very bright early morning sun and, in fact, there were 11 Little Egrets, a notable jump in numbers from earlier in the week. Other records included eight Common Gulls, the adult Greater Black-backed Gull, 30 Cormorants, 32 Snipe and the pair of Stonechats around the Dragonfly Pond. Twenty Redwings and eight Fieldfares were on the diminishing floods just by Patrick Bridge.
Last, but not least, the wandering Linnet flock were moving between the Crop Field Oaks and over towards Berkswell and amounted to at least 50.
6th January 2024
Sunny, light north westerly.
A Pink-footed Goose was seen in flight over Railway Pool this morning when it came from the north and flew over the Back Gate Copse, calling at 11.00. There has been one wandering around the locality in the last few days. Other birds on the count by Graham Rowling and Dave Scanlan were as follows: Three Greylags, 19 Canadas, one Mute Swan, 21 Shoveler, 47 Gadwall, 40 Mallard, 295 Wigeon, 119 Teal, 14 Pochard, 28 Tufted, 26 Cormorant, five Little Grebes, two Herons, three Little Egrets, five Moorhen, 51 Coot, 26 Snipe, 76 Black-headed Gulls, five Common Gulls, two Herring Gulls, three Lesser Black-backed Gulls, four adult Greater Black-backed Gulls (the regular bird on Car Park Pool and three flying over to the north-west), just the male Stonechat in the Horse Paddock and 21 Meadow Pipits in the HS2 mitigation area near Patrick Farm.
In the afternoon six attended the work party, and aside from some pothole repairs in the Car Park, the main effort was concentrated on the removal of brambles and scrub from the embankment between Railway Hide and the gate opposite the back gate itself. This is to encourage the maintenance of wildflowers for the benefit of butterflies, rather than yet more scrub and bramble. Work will be ongoing.
Towards the end of the day three female Goosanders had arrived, with others no doubt due to follow.
5th January 2024
Sunny spells, light north-westerly.
The best bird today was an adult Yellow-legged Gull which came in to roost on the Car Park Pool islands and joined the adult Greater Black-backed there. Only the male Stonechat was visible around the Dragonfly Pond, there was a Lesser Redpoll and two Treecreepers, either in or over the Back Gate Copse, and two Egyptian Geese were also seen.
Yellow-legged Gull and Herring Gull on Car Park Pool – Photograph by John Hunt
4th January 2024
Occasional sunny periods with some overcast weather, south westerly.
Eighty-five Linnets in the Crop Field and adjacent trees was a good count today and a Jack Snipe was seen briefly in the wet field south of the mobile phone mast. A pair of Goosanders were feeding on the Blythe, with a female alone later on Car Park Pool. A pair of Stonechats were moving between the Dragonfly Pond and the Horse Paddock.
3rd January 2024
Brighter periods, drier weather.
An adult Peregrine was perched in Siden Hill Wood in the top of the lone Larch, and a second bird came over and then disappeared. There were two Shelducks, 12 Pochard, three Little Egrets, four Common Gulls, a Great Crested Grebe and the adult Greater Black-backed Gull on the islands or the pools, and a Grey Wagtail again on the Flood Plain.
2nd January 2024
Overcast, heavy rain, Blythe pouring over into Railway Pool.
There was no let up from the rain! A drake Shelduck and 10 Pochard were on Car Park Pool with 37 Lapwing roosting on the islands. Three Little Egrets were present on the pool margins and an adult Peregrine was perched in Siden Hill Wood. Seven Little Grebes, a Great Crested Grebe and an adult Greater Black-backed Gull made up the other birds in the log.
Little Grebe on Railway Pool – Photograph by Stef Fraczek
1st January 2024
Sunny spells, light south westerly, extensive flooding of the Blythe.
Birds on New Years Day included the regular adult Greater Black-backed Gull which spends much of the day roosting on the islands on Car Park Pool (it would be interesting to know where it feeds in the meantime), together with a female Goosander there and an adult Great Crested Grebe. There were six Pochard, 15 Snipe, two Ravens and on the Flood Plain, 20 Redwings, 15 Fieldfares and a Grey Wagtail.
A male Bullfinch was present along the Concrete Road, along with a Treecreeper, and four Jay were present by River Hide, with various birds often coming to the car Park feeders. Goldcrests were seen again in the Causeway gorse.