Wednesday, 7 September 2011
Morning Roundup
This morning the jetty had the juv Little Stint and flock of Ringed Plover. The juv Black Tern and three Common Tern were also present. The Ruff was joined by two Black-tailed Godwits – an adult and a juvenile. Also the juvenile female Peregrine flew around for a while being mobbed by two Hobbys. There was also a Whinchat on the hedge of the field to the south of Rushy Meadow. Obviously this evening’s highlight was a juv Pectoral Sandpiper found by Steve Rodwell – the first since 1989. The 1989 bird lingered for 11 days so you never know this one might be there tomorrow! (Roy Hargreaves)
Tuesday, 6 September 2011
A deluge of HOUSE MARTINS
TUESDAY 6 SEPTEMBER
A wild and windy day. In fact, the SW/West winds gusted up to 66 miles per hour in places and were often accompanied by periods of heavy rain.
Once again, passage in the local area was slow - the highlights being a juvenile BLACK TERN and a deluge of grounded HOUSE MARTINS........
WILSTONE RESERVOIR, TRING (HERTS)
In a relative lull in the weather, I visited Wilstone from 1330-1600 hours. There were a few birders about, including Sue Rowe and Jeff Bailey.
At 1455 hours, a juvenile BLACK TERN arrived from the east and spent the next hour commuting between the jetty spit and the Cemetery Corner.
A total of 15 RINGED PLOVERS was roosting on the spit, amongst which were 5 smaller and darker adult TUNDRA RINGED PLOVERS.
Other than that, waders remained the same or less, with the juvenile male RUFF still, just the 1 COMMON GREENSHANK and the 3 Common Sandpipers.
Up to 5 COMMON SWIFTS were wheeling about, whilst an impressive 370 migrant HOUSE MARTINS were grounded by the weather, many of which were juveniles of the year indicating a superb breeding season for the species.
COMMON TERNS were back to two, after the adult I overlooked yesterday was joined by a juvenile.
All 3 HOBBIES were putting in a good performance too from the hide, both adults trying hard to train the single youngster to hunt and catch its own prey. They have taken to roosting in the tall Black Poplars to the right of the hide in recent days again.
Over 19 Little Egrets were still in the area (with 14 commuting to Tringford) whilst of the wildfowl, the two adult WHOOPER SWANS came over to Wilstone from Startop's to sleep on the central bund, Mute Swans were at 36, Common Teal at 135, Wigeon still at 5, Shoveler at 110 and Pochard at 85.
All 4 CHINESE WATER DEERS were out of the reedbed, the male revealing his sharp 'tusks'
A wild and windy day. In fact, the SW/West winds gusted up to 66 miles per hour in places and were often accompanied by periods of heavy rain.
Once again, passage in the local area was slow - the highlights being a juvenile BLACK TERN and a deluge of grounded HOUSE MARTINS........
WILSTONE RESERVOIR, TRING (HERTS)
In a relative lull in the weather, I visited Wilstone from 1330-1600 hours. There were a few birders about, including Sue Rowe and Jeff Bailey.
At 1455 hours, a juvenile BLACK TERN arrived from the east and spent the next hour commuting between the jetty spit and the Cemetery Corner.
A total of 15 RINGED PLOVERS was roosting on the spit, amongst which were 5 smaller and darker adult TUNDRA RINGED PLOVERS.
Other than that, waders remained the same or less, with the juvenile male RUFF still, just the 1 COMMON GREENSHANK and the 3 Common Sandpipers.
Up to 5 COMMON SWIFTS were wheeling about, whilst an impressive 370 migrant HOUSE MARTINS were grounded by the weather, many of which were juveniles of the year indicating a superb breeding season for the species.
COMMON TERNS were back to two, after the adult I overlooked yesterday was joined by a juvenile.
All 3 HOBBIES were putting in a good performance too from the hide, both adults trying hard to train the single youngster to hunt and catch its own prey. They have taken to roosting in the tall Black Poplars to the right of the hide in recent days again.
Over 19 Little Egrets were still in the area (with 14 commuting to Tringford) whilst of the wildfowl, the two adult WHOOPER SWANS came over to Wilstone from Startop's to sleep on the central bund, Mute Swans were at 36, Common Teal at 135, Wigeon still at 5, Shoveler at 110 and Pochard at 85.
All 4 CHINESE WATER DEERS were out of the reedbed, the male revealing his sharp 'tusks'
Monday, 5 September 2011
38 mile an hour winds batter Wilstone but nothing new arrives.....
MONDAY 5 SEPTEMBER
Southwesterly winds gusting up to 38 mph crossed the Chilterns Region today sending several fully laden trees crashing to the ground. As evening progressed, the wind was accompanied by some heavy showers, with temperatures reaching 17 degrees C.
Once again I was hoping for some action today but it did not happen. There were no new arrivals at Tring Reservoirs........
THE TRING RESERVOIRS (HERTFORDSHIRE)
STARTOP'S END RESERVOIR: excellent mud in the SW corner of the reservoir with 2 Little Egrets feeding there but no waders. The reservoir rollcall consisted of Great Crested Grebe (6 birds), Mute Swan (7), Whooper Swan (pair), Greylag Geese (9), Mallard (a whopping 225), Gadwall (1 adult drake), Shoveler (2), Tufted Duck (29), Northern Pochard (1 female), RED-CRESTED POCHARD (eclipse pair), Coot (208) and Sand Martin (22).
TRINGFORD RESERVOIR: not a single Little Egret was on Wilstone because of the wind but 10 were roosting in trees at the west end on Tringford; also 1 Great Crested Grebe, 7 Grey Heron, 14 Tufted Duck (mostly juvenile) and a further 88 Coot.
WILSTONE RESERVOIR
Nothing new I am afraid with most birds concentrated in the NW corner - Great Crested Grebe (11), Atlantic Canada Geese (102), Mute Swan (34), Mallard (226), Gadwall (10), Wigeon (5), Common Teal (125), Northern Shoveler (major increase to 110) and Coot (516). Many of the duck including both Gadwall and Wigeon are now moulting out of eclipse.
Waders today involved 137 Lapwing on Drayton Lagoon, the juvenile male RUFF, just 1 COMMON GREENSHANK, 3 Common Sandpipers, the long-staying juvenile LITTLE STINT (see Jim Middleton's fabulous image above) and just 7 RINGED PLOVERS, 3 of which were clearly tundrae.
A juvenile HOBBY was scattering birds at frequent intervals, 41 Jackdaws were in trees by the car park and a juvenile Common Whitethroat was feeding in scrub in front of the hide.
There was no sign of the last remaining Common Tern today
Southwesterly winds gusting up to 38 mph crossed the Chilterns Region today sending several fully laden trees crashing to the ground. As evening progressed, the wind was accompanied by some heavy showers, with temperatures reaching 17 degrees C.
Once again I was hoping for some action today but it did not happen. There were no new arrivals at Tring Reservoirs........
THE TRING RESERVOIRS (HERTFORDSHIRE)
STARTOP'S END RESERVOIR: excellent mud in the SW corner of the reservoir with 2 Little Egrets feeding there but no waders. The reservoir rollcall consisted of Great Crested Grebe (6 birds), Mute Swan (7), Whooper Swan (pair), Greylag Geese (9), Mallard (a whopping 225), Gadwall (1 adult drake), Shoveler (2), Tufted Duck (29), Northern Pochard (1 female), RED-CRESTED POCHARD (eclipse pair), Coot (208) and Sand Martin (22).
TRINGFORD RESERVOIR: not a single Little Egret was on Wilstone because of the wind but 10 were roosting in trees at the west end on Tringford; also 1 Great Crested Grebe, 7 Grey Heron, 14 Tufted Duck (mostly juvenile) and a further 88 Coot.
WILSTONE RESERVOIR
Nothing new I am afraid with most birds concentrated in the NW corner - Great Crested Grebe (11), Atlantic Canada Geese (102), Mute Swan (34), Mallard (226), Gadwall (10), Wigeon (5), Common Teal (125), Northern Shoveler (major increase to 110) and Coot (516). Many of the duck including both Gadwall and Wigeon are now moulting out of eclipse.
Waders today involved 137 Lapwing on Drayton Lagoon, the juvenile male RUFF, just 1 COMMON GREENSHANK, 3 Common Sandpipers, the long-staying juvenile LITTLE STINT (see Jim Middleton's fabulous image above) and just 7 RINGED PLOVERS, 3 of which were clearly tundrae.
A juvenile HOBBY was scattering birds at frequent intervals, 41 Jackdaws were in trees by the car park and a juvenile Common Whitethroat was feeding in scrub in front of the hide.
There was no sign of the last remaining Common Tern today
Sunday, 4 September 2011
Large flock of RED KNOT arrive after three hours of heavy rain
SUNDAY 4 SEPTEMBER (LGRE DIARY NOTES)
For the first part of the morning it was dry with leaden skies but just as midday approached, the heavens opened, giving way to just under three hours of torrential rain. As a result, there was localised flooding. Once the front had moved through, it was replaced by much fresher weather from the Northwest and largely clear skies........
SHARDELOES CRICKET GROUND (BUCKS)
The migrant flock of wagtails on the side pitch held 25 Pieds and 2 juvenile YELLOWS - the latter my first in the Recording Area this year (2 had been seen by Ed Griffiths yesterday); also 44 migrant House Martins present in the rain.
CHORLEYWOOD CRICKET GROUND (HERTS)
A total of 12 Pied Wagtails present
LINFORD RESERVE, NEWPORT PAGNELL (NORTH BUCKS)
After the heavy rain had gone through, I decided to revisit Linford to try and get better views of the GREAT WHITE EGRET. Alan had refound it again this afternoon after it had flown off east at 0800 hours this morning. I arrived there at about 1730 hours in bright sunshine and excellent light conditions. The bird was showing very well - just roosting with 2 Grey Herons on the main bund. This time I could see the legs clearly - definitely no signs of any colour rings. In fact, at the upper part of the tibia, the legs were still quite pale. I could also see that the bird possessed long aigrettes, suggesting that it was an adult bird. The bill was bright orange-yellow, with lime green bare skin at the base and around the eye. It was still sat there preening at 1810 hours when I left.
Also present were a pair of Mute Swans with 7 cygnets, 8 Eurasian Wigeon, 7 Gadwall and 133 Lapwing whilst others had seen 2 GARGANEY and a Common Sandpiper.
Just as I was about to leave the perimeter Swans Way, I received a call from Dave Bilcock - there were 20 RED KNOTS at Wilstone Reservoir........
WILSTONE RESERVOIR, TRING (HERTS)
In virtually the time it took me to drive from Linford to Wilstone, the RED KNOT flock were present - feeding voraciously on the mud to the right of the Drayton Bank Hide (see Dave's two images above). However, at 1844 hours, Steve Rodwell, Roy Hargreaves and about 7 other local observers watched all 20 birds (all apparent juveniles) suddenly take flight and fly strongly NW into Buckinghamshire. Mike and Ted Wallen who arrived literally just minutes before me only just narrowly missed out whilst I was 9 minutes out of synch - blow it, yet another batch of good local birds missed. You really need to be there every hour of daylight in such conditions !
The Knot flock had been the highlight of a surprisingly quiet weekend at the reservoirs. The juvenile LITTLE STINT was still present whilst the RINGED PLOVER flock had now increased to 15 birds, including several of which showed characters of tundrae - the northern TUNDRA RINGED PLOVER (smaller and darker and much browner in appearance). A single juvenile RUFF and COMMON GREENSHANK were still present, as well as 3 Common Sandpipers, whilst Little Egret were back up to 22 and Mike W picked up a late COMMON SWIFT with the 40 or so Sand Martins and 120 House Martins over the central bank.
A further 6 COMMON SWIFTS were hawking over the causeway at Tringford Reservoir
The weather this week promises to be unsettled and quite changeable and should produce dividends at the reservoirs........
Saturday, 3 September 2011
LITTLE STINT still present
The juvenile LITTLE STINT was still present on the spit today, along with just a single RUFF and COMMON GREENSHANK (per Roy Hargreaves)
Friday, 2 September 2011
CURLEW SANDPIPERS pass by
David and I watched three CURLEW SANDPIPERS fly round as we were stood by the car park and we lost them at about 6:50 as they descended behind the bushes along Drayton Bank. We went to the hide but couldn’t see them from there. I also couldn’t find them from the jetty and so felt it was fair to assume that they hadn’t landed after all. I decided there was no rush to put out news since they appeared to have departed.
Otherwise this morning a juvenile Peregrine made several passes at birds at just after 6am this morning. It then cruised past again later but made no attempt to hunt. The Little Stint was still with the Ringed Plover on the spit by the jetty. One of the two Ruff present flew off at about 6:05, heading towards the other reservoirs, presumably as a result of the Peregrine’s hunting attempts. Several Yellow Wagtails flew over during my time by the reservoir. The overflow hedge had a Whinchat on it and then in the grass field near it. There was also one yesterday in the hedge to the west by the long dung heap. Also in the overflow hedge a number of Yellowhammers, Willow Warblers and Whitethroats were active. I could only find one Greenshank and a Redshank flew over in an easterly direction (Roy Hargreaves)
Otherwise this morning a juvenile Peregrine made several passes at birds at just after 6am this morning. It then cruised past again later but made no attempt to hunt. The Little Stint was still with the Ringed Plover on the spit by the jetty. One of the two Ruff present flew off at about 6:05, heading towards the other reservoirs, presumably as a result of the Peregrine’s hunting attempts. Several Yellow Wagtails flew over during my time by the reservoir. The overflow hedge had a Whinchat on it and then in the grass field near it. There was also one yesterday in the hedge to the west by the long dung heap. Also in the overflow hedge a number of Yellowhammers, Willow Warblers and Whitethroats were active. I could only find one Greenshank and a Redshank flew over in an easterly direction (Roy Hargreaves)
LITTLE STINT still present
FRIDAY 2 SEPTEMBER
Today was one of those great days to be out and about. The weather was excellent and very good for diurnal migration. The winds were light - ESE early on, then southerly, then switching right round to NW by evening. Glorious sunshine throughout but then clouding over somewhat by dusk with a few spots of rain.
WILSTONE RESERVOIR, TRING (HERTFORDSHIRE)
Joining Steve Rodwell, Mike Hirst, Ian Williams and others at Wilstone, we did the evening shift from 1700-1930 hours. By now, the wind had veered northwesterly and cloud cover had encroached from the east. It was frustratingly quiet.
Both Dave and Roy had seen 3 juvenile CURLEW SANDPIPERS briefly early morning but none had lingered. New in this evening were a single COMMON SNIPE and another new juvenile RUFF. One juvenile RUFF from earlier lingered, along with the juvenile LITTLE STINT on the main spit, whilst 8 RINGED PLOVERS (4 juveniles), 2 Common Sandpipers and a single COMMON GREENSHANK remained.
Otherwise, Great Crested Grebes numbered 17, Coot 386, Little Egret 19, Mute Swan 16, Common Teal 135, Shoveler 67, Northern Pochard 69 and Tufted Duck 26.
The family party of 3 HOBBIES were still in the area, whilst just 3 Common Terns remained. A single YELLOW WAGTAIL flew over, with 143 Barn Swallows in the area and at least 115 House Martins. Mike and Ian saw a single COMMON SWIFT.
WORD OF CAUTION: the main road has been tarmacced today but is very slippery in places; there was one accident this evening just west of the car park
Today was one of those great days to be out and about. The weather was excellent and very good for diurnal migration. The winds were light - ESE early on, then southerly, then switching right round to NW by evening. Glorious sunshine throughout but then clouding over somewhat by dusk with a few spots of rain.
WILSTONE RESERVOIR, TRING (HERTFORDSHIRE)
Joining Steve Rodwell, Mike Hirst, Ian Williams and others at Wilstone, we did the evening shift from 1700-1930 hours. By now, the wind had veered northwesterly and cloud cover had encroached from the east. It was frustratingly quiet.
Both Dave and Roy had seen 3 juvenile CURLEW SANDPIPERS briefly early morning but none had lingered. New in this evening were a single COMMON SNIPE and another new juvenile RUFF. One juvenile RUFF from earlier lingered, along with the juvenile LITTLE STINT on the main spit, whilst 8 RINGED PLOVERS (4 juveniles), 2 Common Sandpipers and a single COMMON GREENSHANK remained.
Otherwise, Great Crested Grebes numbered 17, Coot 386, Little Egret 19, Mute Swan 16, Common Teal 135, Shoveler 67, Northern Pochard 69 and Tufted Duck 26.
The family party of 3 HOBBIES were still in the area, whilst just 3 Common Terns remained. A single YELLOW WAGTAIL flew over, with 143 Barn Swallows in the area and at least 115 House Martins. Mike and Ian saw a single COMMON SWIFT.
WORD OF CAUTION: the main road has been tarmacced today but is very slippery in places; there was one accident this evening just west of the car park
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