Ditchford WeBS Count

Hi

Eleanor had a number of commitments today, so it was down to me to complete the WeBS count at Ditchford GP.  It took nearly nine hours, and although the thick mud and high water levels was rather troublesome the beautiful sunshine and quite warm conditions more than made up for it.  I half expected to see an early butterfly, but a nice buzzy Bumble-bee was just as good!

The birds were mostly uneventful for the majority of the day as I counted the pits from east to west, arriving at the Ditchford Lane area mid-afternoon.  Just before 5pm, a juvenile Glaucous Gull appeared among other gulls on the viaduct pit, as was a near-adult Caspian Gull.  Five minutes later the Glauc flew west over the railway line and out of view - it seems many of the gulls are loafing on floodwater to the west of the railway line currently.  Other birds included two drake Scaup on the Watersport Pit to the west of Ditchford Lane, 2 Shelduck, 6 Goosanders, 33 Goldeneye, 3 Oystercatchers, 5 Water Rails, 6 Kingfishers and only 5 Cetti's Warblers.

Regards

Neil M

Canada Goose

Kestrel

Goldcrest

Goldcrest

Glaucous Gull