Tuesday 8 September 2009

RINGED PLOVERS and RUFFS











MONDAY 8 SEPTEMBER

A remarkably warm day with temperatures reaching 21 degrees C. A strong SSW wind blowing, bringing cloudy overcast conditions.

Flushed with excitement after seeing my first Cambridgeshire PALLID HARRIER (and what a fabulous bird this near-adult male is), I came back to earth with a visit to Tring Reservoirs.

WILSTONE RESERVOIR, TRING
(1730-1900 hours; with Steve Rodwell)

Great Crested Grebe (just 16 noted)
Little Grebe (all 3 still surviving)
Continental Cormorant (23)
Grey Heron (4)
LITTLE EGRET (5 still present, 1 fishing in the shallows)
Mute Swan (44)
WHOOPER SWANS (both adults still on Startop's End)
Greylag Geese (5)
Atlantic Canada Geese (204)
Mallard (109)
Gadwall (18)
Shoveler (43)
Common Teal (54)
Pochard (further increase - now 111 birds present)
Tufted Duck (73)
Moorhen (83)
Coot (567)
RINGED PLOVER (all 5 birds still present on the mud - an adult and four juveniles - see Dave Bilcock's excellent images above)
Lapwing (massive increase - 758 birds counted, all well scattered)
DUNLIN (1 juvenile feeding to right of hide)
GREEN SANDPIPER (1 in muddy corner by old boathouse site)
COMMON SANDPIPER (juvenile showing well in NW corner)
COMMON GREENSHANK (2 juveniles still present)
*RUFF (4 juveniles including three male Ruffs and perhaps one female Reeve - see DB's excellent images above)
Black-headed Gulls (106)
*BLACK TERN (juvenile - new arrival)

SAND MARTIN (18)
Barn Swallow (7)
House Martin (67+)
Grey Wagtail (1)
LESSER WHITETHROAT (1 in migrant hedgerow by new overflow - SR)

Chinese Water Deer (adult showing well on mud)

No comments: