More Summer Surveying Work

TUESDAY 23 JUNE

Another very warm day with temperatures reaching 25 degrees C. Predominantly clear blue skies with light winds. Undoubted highlights were an unseasonal AVOCET occurrence and successful breeding of SPOTTED FLYCATCHER.

SUMMERLEAZE GP, MAIDENHEAD (BERKSHIRE)

Just over the border in Berkshire and thanks to a timely call from the finder CDRH, excellent views were obtained of an unseasonal adult PIED AVOCET at 1240 hours feeding in shallow water just left of the tern raft. Although asleep on one leg initially, it awoke and began drinking and then preening.

COLLEGE LAKE BBOWT RESERVE (BUCKS)

Great Crested Grebe (single adult still present on main lake)
Canada Geese (122 on marsh)
Tufted Duck (6)
Coot (just 2 adults on main marsh)
Lapwing (24 post-breeding birds roosting on bund; 6 adults on marsh with 4 young birds recorded, including one very small)
OYSTERCATCHERS (pair on main marsh but no sign of any juveniles)
Common Terns (32 on islands)

HOBBY (adult hawking for dragonflies over main marsh)
WESTERN REED WARBLER (3 singing males)
Linnet (pair)
Goldfinch
Reed Bunting (singing male)

An excellent selection of insects was also noted including Large Red Damselfly, Common Blue Damselfly, Blue-tailed Damselfly, Four-spotted Chaser, Broad-bodied Chaser, Azure Blue Damselfly, Emperor Dragonfly, Brown Hawker and Hairy Hawker.

PITSTONE QUARRY (heavily disturbed by six persons swimming in the pit and sunbathing on the island)

Little Grebe (4 adults)
Mute Swan (first-summer still present)
Tufted Duck (9)
Pochard (5 present - 2 drakes, 3 females)
Coot (6 adults; 4 juveniles)
Black-headed Gull (first-summer)
Common Terns (2 adults)

TRING RESERVOIRS AND ENVIRONS (HERTS) (43 species recorded)

Great Crested Grebe (first sign of breeding with pair and two stripy young on Wilstone; 8 further adults on Wilstone with another pair on Startop's End, another pair on Tringford and just 3 adults on Marsworth)
Little Grebe (1 adult on Tringford)
Sinensis Cormorant (adult on Tringford, with 14 birds on Wilstone)
Grey Heron (5 juveniles on Wilstone, with 3 adults on Tringford; 33 nests were located on Wilstone this summer)
Mute Swan (marked increase in numbers, particularly of first-summer birds, with 16 on Wilstone, 12 on Tringford and 38 on Startop's End - 66 in total; sadly, one first-summer had been attacked by a dog on Startop's and had a wound by its bill which was still bleeding)
Atlantic Canada Goose (17 on Wilstone)
Greylag Goose (46 on Wilstone, with 2 on Startop's End)
MANDARIN DUCK (3 well-grown juveniles on the sewage farm)
Mallard (reasonable breeding success with single females being accompanied by 9, 5 and 3 ducklings respectively on Tringford, 2 and 4 ducklings on Startop's End and 56 adults on Marsworth).
GADWALL (18 adults on Wilstone but no evidence of breeding as yet)
EURASIAN WIGEON (2 summering eclipse drakes on Wilstone)
POCHARD (18 on Wilstone; no sign of the recent female with 2 young)
RED-CRESTED POCHARD (drake on Wilstone and female accompanied by single perhaps hybrid young on Marsworth)
Tufted Duck (Successful breeding: single large unattended young bird on Tringford, with a female with 5 small young on Tringford and a female with 5 small young on the Sewage Farm; 43 adults on Wilstone, 16 on Tringford, 14 on Startop's End, a pair on Marsworth ande 2 additional pairs on the Sewage Farm)

Common Kestrel (male hunting over Marsworth Reedbed)
Moorhen (4 adults on mud in SW corner of Startop's End)
Coot (Full census - on Wilstone, 557 adults with 18 young being attended; 4 active nests on Tringford with 4 juveniles being fed; 16 on Startop's End with 2 young being fed and just 2 pairs nesting on Marsworth)
Lapwing (25 post-breeding birds roosting on the central rocks on Wilstone)
Black-headed Gull (4 roosting on rocks at Wilstone involving 2 adults and 2 first-summer birds)
Common Tern (53 adults with at least 15 chicks on rafts)

Woodpigeon (present)
Stock Dove (pair near Wilstone)
Eurasian Collared Dove (pair by Wilstone Great Farm)
COMMON CUCKOO (male calling behind Sewage Farm)
Common Swift (8 birds near Sewage Farm)
House Martin (pair on Wilstone)
Pied Wagtail (pair on Wilstone)
Wren (4 singing males in Marsworth Wood)
Dunnock (present)
Robin (4 on Marsworth)
Common Blackbird (several males in song again; 5 fledged juveniles in Tringford Wood)

Blackcap (2 family parties in Marsworth Wood)
CETTI'S WARBLER (singing bird on Marsworth with family group of perhaps 4 birds near sewage farm)
WESTERN REED WARBLER (successful breeding in Marsworth Reedbed where at least 8 birds noted; 3 further singing males behind sewage farm)
Common Chiffchaff (2 singing males in Marsworth Wood)
Great Tit and Blue Tit (several noisy family groups)
Magpie (present)
Jackdaw (successful breeding, with 20+ juveniles on Tringford)
Carrion Crow (present)
House Sparrow (3 just into Tring by canal bridge and 22 including fresh juveniles by the Angler's Retreat)
Chaffinch (2 fledged young in Marsworth Wood)
Goldfinch (pair feeding 3 young on Startop's End)