THURSDAY 14TH AUGUST
(Another very unsettled day, with blustery SW winds and some very heavy rain showers, interspersed with lightning and thunder; relatively warm though)
Once again, it was day-flying migrating waders that topped the bill, with today's haul including WHIMBREL, DUNLIN and my largest flock of RED KNOT in Hertfordshire/Buckinghamshire (in fact the 2nd highest-flock ever)
WILSTONE RESERVOIR
(1504-1600 hours - with Francis Buckle, Mig & Jan Wells, Geoff & Fred Young & Kevin Holt)
The WHIMBREL, which initially flew on to the bund at 1115 hours, roosted in superb view of the Drayton Bank Hide until 1527 hours, when I watched it fly west into Buckinghamshire and over Drayton Beauchamp village. It showed excellently throughout the four hours and was photographed by both Francis Buckle and Geoff Young during its stay - see image at top of page. It was very vocal during its stay, particularly when it departed to the west (Richard Birch, LGRE, DB, et al). Francis's image above shows that the bird was a JUVENILE (neatly spotted on wing-coverts, tertials and upperparts).
Great Crested Grebe - 16
Mute Swans - 71 present
EURASIAN WIGEON - single eclipse drake still
GADWALL - sizeable increase to 29 birds
Common Teal - 7
*GARGANEY - juvenile still present to the right of the hide, feeding just off the reed-edge about 130 yards away.
Northern Pochard - 8
RED-CRESTED POCHARD - all 3 birds still present and all together
RUDDY DUCKS - 2 adult drakes
Moorhen - 2 injured birds just left of hide - one with a broken wing (briefly bothered by a HOBBY) and another with a broken leg.
Lapwings - 317 roosting on bund but worryingly just 9 are juveniles.
COMMON KINGFISHER - 1 by hide
GREEN SANDPIPER - 2 adults present still
Common Tern - 6 still present including the two juveniles
HOBBY - 2 adults
Great Spotted Woodpecker
COMMON SWIFTS - 11
SAND MARTINS - high count of 62 birds
House Martin - 47+
PITSTONE QUARRY
(1615-1720 hours)
An electrical storm passed overhead inducing torrential rain - as well as a large fall-out of large, white-headed gulls. Some 334 'resting' gulls were click-counted, including 251 Black-headed, 3 BRITISH HERRING GULLS (2 adults and a 3rd-summer - my first in the area this autumn), a staggering 77 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (including 12 juveniles) and 3 juvenile YELLOW-LEGGED GULLS.
During the rain, a 'new' juvenile COMMON GREENSHANK arrived, as well as 2 DUNLIN (both in the Buckinghamshire section of the Quarry, like the gulls). The latter stayed just four minutes (1705-1709) before heading west into Herts and over the bordering tree belt.
Both Great Crested Grebes remained, the juvenile still 'begging' the parent.
Incidentally, I phoned Dave Bilcock to inform him of the two Dunlin and he relocated them 15 minutes later on Wilstone, indicating that birds clearly move between the two sites.
WILSTONE RESERVOIR
(1725-1830 hours; with Dave Bilcock, Steve Rodwell & Ian Williams)
I returned to Wilstone Reservoir at 1725 to obtain better views of the 2 DUNLIN and to confirm their ageing - both juveniles incidentally. Although they had initially landed on the far southern edge of the SE quarter, they quickly relocated to the bund, where they fed voraciously along the edge until 1830 at least. DB photographed them both (see below).
Whilst chatting to SR close to the new overflow, a large flock of waders suddenly came into view just east of the tall Poplars by Cemetery Corner at 1758. I quickly got the 'scope on to them and was astonished to find that they were a fast-flying flock of summer-plumaged RED KNOT. As they winged their way along the line of Poplars and westward, I counted them, with the flock totalling an unbelievable 29 birds - the largest flock I have ever seen in Hertfordshire. I continued to follow them in the 'scope and confirmed that all 29 were adults - in near or full summer finery. Steve and I kept on the short and straight-billed, long-winged, short-bodied, pale wing-barred rufous-orange birds as they entered the airspace above the extensive mud but they kept going west as they flew high over the hide. Steve then exclaimed that the flock was doubling back and for a brief period, they wheeled high over the hide bay. They then reverted to their original course of migration and flew strongly into Buckinghamshire airspace, being lost to view over Aston Clinton. Unfortunately, Dave Bilcock narrowly missed them - he had just walked back to the car park when I screamed at him.
The RED KNOT is a rare passage migrant and winter visitor to both Tring Reservoirs and Hertfordshire, with just 43 recorded in the county since 1990. At Tring Reservoirs, the 12 occurrences prior to 1980 involved eight in autumn (between August and November), and two records in both winter and spring, with a record flock of 45 birds west over Wilstone Reservoir on 7th September 1978. Since 1980, there have been just 25 birds recorded, with an adult on Wilstone on 19 August 1988 (and another or perhaps the same on 6 September 1988), a flock of 6 there on 11th September 1990, an impressive flock of 14 over on 10th April 1996, a first-winter on 23rd-24th December 1997 and a juvenile on Wilstone on 29 September 1998 (relocated on Startopsend Reservoir next day). More recently, LGRE and DB identified a first-winter at Wilstone on 21st-24th January 2006 (data retrieved from LGRE Tring Reservoirs database).
Since 1990, 43 have occurred in Hertfordshire, with 6 in 1990, 5 in 1993, 1 in 1995, 17 in 1996, singles in 1997 and 1998, 6 in 2002, singles in 2004 and 2005, 3 in 2006 (all winter occurrences) and 1 in 2007.
Our flock of 29 this evening represent the 2nd highest flock ever recorded in Hertfordshire.
In addition to the Knots, 60+ Barn Swallows were counted over Wilstone village this evening, and a juvenile RED KITE drifted over.
At Ivinghoe Beacon, a NORTHERN WHEATEAR remained for a second day.
(Another very unsettled day, with blustery SW winds and some very heavy rain showers, interspersed with lightning and thunder; relatively warm though)
Once again, it was day-flying migrating waders that topped the bill, with today's haul including WHIMBREL, DUNLIN and my largest flock of RED KNOT in Hertfordshire/Buckinghamshire (in fact the 2nd highest-flock ever)
WILSTONE RESERVOIR
(1504-1600 hours - with Francis Buckle, Mig & Jan Wells, Geoff & Fred Young & Kevin Holt)
The WHIMBREL, which initially flew on to the bund at 1115 hours, roosted in superb view of the Drayton Bank Hide until 1527 hours, when I watched it fly west into Buckinghamshire and over Drayton Beauchamp village. It showed excellently throughout the four hours and was photographed by both Francis Buckle and Geoff Young during its stay - see image at top of page. It was very vocal during its stay, particularly when it departed to the west (Richard Birch, LGRE, DB, et al). Francis's image above shows that the bird was a JUVENILE (neatly spotted on wing-coverts, tertials and upperparts).
Great Crested Grebe - 16
Mute Swans - 71 present
EURASIAN WIGEON - single eclipse drake still
GADWALL - sizeable increase to 29 birds
Common Teal - 7
*GARGANEY - juvenile still present to the right of the hide, feeding just off the reed-edge about 130 yards away.
Northern Pochard - 8
RED-CRESTED POCHARD - all 3 birds still present and all together
RUDDY DUCKS - 2 adult drakes
Moorhen - 2 injured birds just left of hide - one with a broken wing (briefly bothered by a HOBBY) and another with a broken leg.
Lapwings - 317 roosting on bund but worryingly just 9 are juveniles.
COMMON KINGFISHER - 1 by hide
GREEN SANDPIPER - 2 adults present still
Common Tern - 6 still present including the two juveniles
HOBBY - 2 adults
Great Spotted Woodpecker
COMMON SWIFTS - 11
SAND MARTINS - high count of 62 birds
House Martin - 47+
PITSTONE QUARRY
(1615-1720 hours)
An electrical storm passed overhead inducing torrential rain - as well as a large fall-out of large, white-headed gulls. Some 334 'resting' gulls were click-counted, including 251 Black-headed, 3 BRITISH HERRING GULLS (2 adults and a 3rd-summer - my first in the area this autumn), a staggering 77 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (including 12 juveniles) and 3 juvenile YELLOW-LEGGED GULLS.
During the rain, a 'new' juvenile COMMON GREENSHANK arrived, as well as 2 DUNLIN (both in the Buckinghamshire section of the Quarry, like the gulls). The latter stayed just four minutes (1705-1709) before heading west into Herts and over the bordering tree belt.
Both Great Crested Grebes remained, the juvenile still 'begging' the parent.
Incidentally, I phoned Dave Bilcock to inform him of the two Dunlin and he relocated them 15 minutes later on Wilstone, indicating that birds clearly move between the two sites.
WILSTONE RESERVOIR
(1725-1830 hours; with Dave Bilcock, Steve Rodwell & Ian Williams)
I returned to Wilstone Reservoir at 1725 to obtain better views of the 2 DUNLIN and to confirm their ageing - both juveniles incidentally. Although they had initially landed on the far southern edge of the SE quarter, they quickly relocated to the bund, where they fed voraciously along the edge until 1830 at least. DB photographed them both (see below).
Whilst chatting to SR close to the new overflow, a large flock of waders suddenly came into view just east of the tall Poplars by Cemetery Corner at 1758. I quickly got the 'scope on to them and was astonished to find that they were a fast-flying flock of summer-plumaged RED KNOT. As they winged their way along the line of Poplars and westward, I counted them, with the flock totalling an unbelievable 29 birds - the largest flock I have ever seen in Hertfordshire. I continued to follow them in the 'scope and confirmed that all 29 were adults - in near or full summer finery. Steve and I kept on the short and straight-billed, long-winged, short-bodied, pale wing-barred rufous-orange birds as they entered the airspace above the extensive mud but they kept going west as they flew high over the hide. Steve then exclaimed that the flock was doubling back and for a brief period, they wheeled high over the hide bay. They then reverted to their original course of migration and flew strongly into Buckinghamshire airspace, being lost to view over Aston Clinton. Unfortunately, Dave Bilcock narrowly missed them - he had just walked back to the car park when I screamed at him.
The RED KNOT is a rare passage migrant and winter visitor to both Tring Reservoirs and Hertfordshire, with just 43 recorded in the county since 1990. At Tring Reservoirs, the 12 occurrences prior to 1980 involved eight in autumn (between August and November), and two records in both winter and spring, with a record flock of 45 birds west over Wilstone Reservoir on 7th September 1978. Since 1980, there have been just 25 birds recorded, with an adult on Wilstone on 19 August 1988 (and another or perhaps the same on 6 September 1988), a flock of 6 there on 11th September 1990, an impressive flock of 14 over on 10th April 1996, a first-winter on 23rd-24th December 1997 and a juvenile on Wilstone on 29 September 1998 (relocated on Startopsend Reservoir next day). More recently, LGRE and DB identified a first-winter at Wilstone on 21st-24th January 2006 (data retrieved from LGRE Tring Reservoirs database).
Since 1990, 43 have occurred in Hertfordshire, with 6 in 1990, 5 in 1993, 1 in 1995, 17 in 1996, singles in 1997 and 1998, 6 in 2002, singles in 2004 and 2005, 3 in 2006 (all winter occurrences) and 1 in 2007.
Our flock of 29 this evening represent the 2nd highest flock ever recorded in Hertfordshire.
In addition to the Knots, 60+ Barn Swallows were counted over Wilstone village this evening, and a juvenile RED KITE drifted over.
At Ivinghoe Beacon, a NORTHERN WHEATEAR remained for a second day.
LATE NEWS: Ian Williams saw 2 CHINESE WATER DEER come out to feed on the mud at Wilstone at dusk; an adult WATER RAIL was seen (IW/SR).
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