BONAPARTE'S GULL spends 40 minutes on Wilstone!

Adult winter Bonaparte's Gull with Black-headed Gulls, Wilstone Reservoir, 4 January 2016

(David Bilcock - 0930-0934 hours)

I've only gone and dipped again - but BONAPARTE'S GULL. Well!!!

MONDAY 4 JANUARY 2016

 

Well it just goes from bad to worse. Not content with gripping me off with a BONXIE that lasted only too briefly at WILSTONE last November, Dave Bilcock managed to successfully well and truly do the double this morning when he photographed an adult BONAPARTE'S GULL from the jetty. Apparently, Roy Hargreaves had stumbled upon the bird at about 0850 hours, pondering upon its identification for a while before it flew and revealed its diagnostic wing pattern. He then telephoned Dave to tell him the bird had flown towards the Dry Canal but as Dave arrived on the scene, the bird must have double-backed and joined the Black-headed Gulls loafing along the Cemetery Corner edge of the reservoir. Dave phoned me immediately and other local observers while Roy hastily contacted Ian Williams and Rare Bird Alert. From onsite at 0934 hours, Dave tweeted two images he had just taken through his 'scope on Twitter, at which time I sped over. Unbeknown to me, Dave then had to leave to take one of his teenage daughters to Brighton, leaving the bird still on the reservoir edge.......

 

Francis Buckle and Mike Campbell arrived on site within 5 minutes and hotfooted it round to the jetty. According to Dave, who saw both observers arrive, the Bonaparte's was still present in the roosting gulls. Stuart Wilson joined them very quickly afterwards and within 20 minutes, I was on site. At one point, the Black-headed Gulls had all flown up but quickly resettled, but search as hard as we could, the bird had somehow managed to get out and had disappeared. Disaster! Over the next hour, I grilled every last 173 Black-headed Gull on the reservoir, before relocating to Startop's End to check the flock loafing over there. I also went through every Black-headed Gull in the fields south of the Dry Canal, as well as birds in Pitstone Quarry and at College Lake BBOWT. It had vanished. The Wilstone pre-roost gathering of Black-headed Gulls gathered pace from about 1430 hours but instead of the usual 1,500 or so birds, less than 250 turned up and despite the best efforts of DB, IW, WC and I, it was not to be. I rushed over to College Lake before dark, but could not find it among the 850 or so Black-headed Gulls roosting there. What a fiasco and yet another dip on a County First - ditto the Hilfield Park/Amwell Laughing Gull!

 

Anyway, this is what I did see!

 

On WILSTONE, highlights included the continuing COMMON SHELDUCK, 63 Greylag Geese, 115 Mallard, 10 Gadwall, 78 Wigeon, 370 Teal, 155 Pochard, 142 Tufted Duck, a pair of COMMON GOLDENEYE, 348 Lapwing, 153 European Golden Plover, 6 Little Grebe, a 2nd-winter Herring Gull and Grey Wagtail.

 

On STARTOP'S END, the adult drake GOOSANDER of the last few days was joined by a female, both flying off late morning, with the first-winter drake GREATER SCAUP showing well in the SE corner, 4 Little Grebe, 231 Coot, 14 Pochard and another Grey Wagtail.

 

TRINGFORD produced Red Kite and Common Kestrel, along with a single Little Egret, 9 Grey Heron, 22 Teal, Green Woodpecker and Kingfisher, while 38 SISKIN and 6 Goldfinches were feeding on Alders in the 'Rookery'.

 

Both CETTI'S WARBLER and COMMON CHIFFCHAFF were on MARSWORTH, while at the evening roost, all 3 EURASIAN BITTERNS were on view (one performing admirably), with 6+ Water Rails squealing and 16 CORN BUNTINGS in at the reedbed.

 

COLLEGE LAKE BBOWT held the 2 EGYPTIAN GEESE that I had found at Startop's yesterday morning, along with the pair of RED-CRESTED POCHARD, 125 Coot, 65 Gadwall, 20 Wigeon, 25 Pochard, 97 Tufted Duck, 72 Lapwing, the Coal Tit and 7+ Reed Buntings.

 

I could only find 1 of the 3 wintering COMMON STONECHATS on PITSTONE HILL, where 33 Fieldfare and 2 Redwing flew west

 

Let's hope the Bonaparte's Gull gets relocated - hats off to Roy and Dave for yet another star-spangled find!!

And we start another New Year......

Well here we are - another New Year....

 

2015 was a very poor year overall at the Reservoirs, with myself only recording a total of 135 species - one of my worst ever annual totals at Tring. Ian Williams was the clear winner, with 145 out of a possible 151, with Roy Hargreaves runner-up at 140. David Bilcock and I had similar results.

 

Anyway, in today's pouring rain, and following Ian's records of GOOSANDER and NUTHATCH yesterday, I conducted my first visit today........

 

Firstly though, I did the counts at COLLEGE LAKE BBOWT - frustratingly just before Graeme Kennedy's drake Goosander flew into the main marsh!!

 

Little Grebe (4), Sinensis Cormorant (8), Mute Swan (10), Atlantic Canada Goose (4), Mallard (22), Gadwall (62), Wigeon (48), Common Teal (8), Red-crested Pochard (pair in far NW corner), Tufted Duck (53), Northern Pochard (25), Coot (66), Lapwing (79), Common Snipe (2) and Lesser Black-backed Gull (42)

 

The bird feeders were particularly busy in the rain with 11 Blue Tits visiting, 3 Great Tit, the Coal Tit (remember the only one in our area), 7 Reed Bunting, 8 Greenfinch and 2 LESSER REDPOLLS - the latter my first at the reserve in several years. 11 Stock Dove flew west over the reserve.

 

TRING RESERVOIRS

 

Marsworth held all 19 Great Crested Grebes, 2 Mute Swans and 2 Water Rails, with 5 Stock Doves over, while Ian's drake GOOSANDER paid a very brief visit prior to its departure to College..

 

The first-winter drake GREATER SCAUP continues on Startop's End, just inside the so-called Bucks section close to the main car park, along with just 4 Great Crested Grebe, 2 Dabchick, 6 Mute Swans, 43 Mallard, 4 Wigeon, 63 Tufted Duck, 23 Pochard, 2 Gadwall, 8 Shoveler and 228 Coot.

 

Tringford was pretty dire in the conditions, with 2 Little Egret and 9 Grey Heron roosting, 1 Mute Swan, 22 Teal, 15 Tufted Duck, 12 Pochard, 22 Coot and a loudly singing male Song Thrush.

 

Despite Wilstone still being pretty low in terms of water level, not much to add really: the continuing COMMON SHELDUCK, 16 Mute Swan, 10 Great Crested Grebe, 83 Shoveler, 72 Pochard, a pair of Common Goldeneye, 427 Coot, a Collared Dove, Grey Wagtail, 8 Pied Wagtails and 5 Meadow Pipits.

 

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All 3 BITTERNS still, and SCAUP

All 3 EURASIAN BITTERNS roosted in Marsworth Reedbed again this evening but worryingly NOT a single Corn Bunting came in and less than 20 Common Starlings. A single Common Snipe was present.

On Startop's End, the first-winter drake GREATER SCAUP is still present, showing well in the Buckinghamshire section this afternoon....

Three EURASIAN BITTERNS wintering in Marsworth Reedbed

I first found all 3 EURASIAN BITTERNS on 7th December, all roosting in the reedbed at the west end of Marsworth Reservoir - the Hertfordshire end! Two are to be found on the southern edge, opposite the hide, and the other on the western fringe, all building platforms on calm evenings between 1600 and 1630 hours.....

Local Mega: GREY KNOT for 80 minutes!!

Sunday 13 December

Wilstone Reservoir

Roy Hargreaves was counting Golden Plover for his local WeBS count when he came across a 'grey' KNOT in amongst the flock at around 1000 hours. He quickly notified Dave Bilcock and within the hour, both Ian Williams and I had joined the two observers in the Drayton Bank Hide, Stuart Wilson popping by too. Fortunately the bird stayed around for a while, presumably due to the dank conditions, but like the majority of local Knots, it flew off strongly west into Buckinghamshire, disappearing high over Drayton Beauchamp at 1120 hours. An excellent record......

Otherwise, not too much of note -:

The long-staying COMMON SHELDUCK was still present, up to 10 Little Grebe, a single female Common Goldeneye, 2 Little Egret, just 107 Wigeon, 140 Golden Plover, 11 Mute Swan, 37 Pochard, 15 Great Crested Grebe, 71 Lapwing and 548 Coot

Over on Startop's End Reservoir, the first-winter drake GREATER SCAUP first seen by Dave Bilcock in late November remains present, looking ever more dapper.....

The young drake SCAUP as it is now (below) and how it was on 28th November when first turned up!

BONXIE on Wilstone - bird of the year and of course, I missed it!

GREAT SKUA at Wilstone Reservoir Sunday 15 November 2015

Cracking find by Dave. When I arrived at 8.30 it was about 80m off the jetty but as Dave, Mike and I got to the jetty it took off and stayed just a few metres over our heads for at least 10 minutes battling against the wind before landing on the water about 20m away. It then took off again over the jetty before eventually drifting to the field behind where it attacked the Canada Geese. It flew back towards the water before dropping on the grass bank just 10m from us where it stayed for a few minutes before finally flying back towards the field  before drifting towards Tringford. Last seen distant heading northwards past Ivinghoe Beacon.....

 

A selection of the some of my better photos attached (Photo 1 uncropped!).

 

Ian Williams