Muddy places of Northamptonshire!

Hello

Muddy in the Kelmarsh Woods again this morning but all feeders successfully filled with tit-bits for the local Nuthatches, tits, woodpeckers and others.

A late morning circuit of the Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows reserve (part of the Ditchford GP complex) provided views of about 500 Lapwings on the new scrape, a Little Egret and a flying Water Rail.

In the afternoon a wander of the pits west of Ditchford Lane yielded a Great White Egret, three Little Egrets and five Egyptian Geese.

The gull roost at Pitsford Res again failed to produce a gull of any note...

Regards

Neil M

A jog around Pitsford Res!

This morning I decided to run around the big side of Pitsford Reservoir, the first time this year !  

At 09.45hrs there were 3 Great White Egrets standing together near the gorse bushes. As I neared the Pintail Bay a large flock of geese came from the fields and landed on the water in front of me. I thought that three of them looked suspicious but couldn't be certain of the species.  I continued and made a slight detour from the track to check for Jack Snipe and found two birds.

The flock of geese decided to follow me and when I arrived back to the causeway they flew over and landed on the small side. My suspicious geese turned out to be the three White-fronted Geese and were viewed from the feeding station before the flock disappeared back to the big side.

A visit to Harrington Airfield late this afternoon only produced 7 Grey Partridge.

Regards Eleanor

County Ringing

Hello

Northants Ringing Group ringers have been active in the county during the last two days. Yesterday John Woollett and team set up nets in an orchard at Nether Heyford in the foggy, cold conditions and enjoyed an excellent session by catching and ringing 58 Fieldfares. Other birds included just a single Redwing and four Blackbirds plus standard fare. This number of Fieldfares ensures that 90 birds have been caught and ringed on this site so far this winter.

Today and a team effort at Brixworth Water Treatment Works provided 51 captures. The highlights were 2 Chiffchaffs (with a third being seen on-site), a Goldcrest, a Song Thrush, a Bullfinch, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, 6 Meadow Pipits, 14 Pied Wagtails and 4 Grey Wagtails.

Regards

Neil M

More images from yesterday's
visit to Badby Wood courtesy
of Helen Franklin

Chiffchaff

Bullfinch

Song Thrush

Grey Wagtail

Images courtesy of
Neil Hasdell

Northants Bird Club Indoor Meeting

Hello

This is a reminder to members and an invite to non-members to attend the next Northants Bird Club Indoor Meeting this coming Wednesday 7th January at the Fishing Lodge, Pitsford Water, Brixworth Road, Holcot, NN6 9SJ. 

Please be seated by 7.30pm and prepare to be presented to by Dr Mark Avery on his talk entitled 'Fighting for Birds: from Passenger Pigeons to Hen Harriers'.

Mark is a particularly articulate and knowledgeable presenter, someone who seems to be able to grasp the politics as well as the passion associated with our disappearing natural world. He is prepared to fight the cause for nature conservation and provide the platform for others to be so inspired. Mark is an author of several books on this and allied subjects and will be bringing a small selection for purchase on the night.

As always, hot drinks and biscuits will be available on the night and parking is available around the Lodge with an overflow facility being by the fishing boats by the shoreline or on the parking areas of the causeway. This is likely to be a popular meeting and I would advise an early arrival for the best seats!

Regards

Neil M

SP55 Short Day Count

Hello

Today it was the turn of SP55 for a Banbury Ornithological Society Short Day Count, and I was hoping for a considerably better day's weather than yesterday! At 8am Helen Franklin and I were in the starting blocks at Fawsley Park, the overnight frost and fog but very still conditions providing a classic sparkling seasonal backdrop. Here we bumped in to Ian Dobson and Martin Elliott also committing to the same task, and comparing notes later they seemed to do much better than us!

Prior to the survey roadside birds included a Barn Owl perched in a tree between Long Buckby and Buckby Wharf and a Woodcock near Hellidon.

The lakes at Fawsley ensure that this key site is a magnet to birders in this area of the county and good birds quickly notched up included Siskin, Kingfisher, Grey Wagtail, Raven and Water Rail. The cold morning air carried the sounds of calling Nuthatch, Green Woodpecker and Common Buzzard from afar but sadly not the calls of Little Owl or Lesser Spotted Woodpecker as you would have expected some years ago.

After scrutinising the lakes we elected for an uphill walk along the Jurassic Way to Badby Woods. Common Gulls fed on frozen invertebrates on the sheep-strewn slopes and a few other bird species fell in to place for the count. On reaching the wood, winter sunshine had penetrated the morning fog and the ice petals on the tree branches looked simply stunning. As is usual for this time of the year. the paths in Badby Wood were very muddy as we completed a clockwise circuit close to the perimeter adding Jay, Marsh Tit and Sparrowhawk to our tally.

Downhill then to our car and some coffee but unfortunately the fog came down again and remained thick for the remainder of the day...

We persevered in the difficult conditions and managed to find a few extra species in the Catesby and Cannons Ashby areas and finished at Byfield Pool where the best birds were repeats in the shape of Kingfisher and Marsh Tit. A couple of Ravens fed in a field near Hellidon.

Regards

Neil M

Sparkling ice petals
courtesy of Helen Franklin.

Common Gull

Grey Squirrel

Hellidon Tower in the
morning mist

SP54 Short Day Count

Hello

Rather wet out there today and not the best day for me to commit to a Banbury Ornithological Society Short Day Count in the south of the county! At 8am I commenced my day at Thenford, moving on to Middleton Cheney and then Farthinghoe Local Nature Reserve. And it didn't stop raining! At least three Little Grebes and a Kingfisher were useful early finds at Thenford as the small birds began to wake up and call. The mature trees at this site including large numbers of yews attract Nuthatch and Treecreeper, and these birds were up and about despite the constant rain and low temperatures.

Travelling the short distance towards Middleton Cheney added a couple of sodden Common Buzzards and the first Meadow Pipits of the day. A visit to the village sewage treatment works was interesting as it was the first time I had ever seen a flock of Long-tailed Tits feeding on the filter beds in a similar manner to that adopted by wagtails and pipits! A Grey Wagtail was the first of five birds seen during the day and some Bullfinches were the first of small numbers logged at most sites.

Bird feeders next to the Farthinghoe reserve were busy with small birds including Marsh Tits and Tree Sparrows. A Jay on the reserve was the only one noted all day and the adjacent farm attracted a healthy flock of Chaffinches and Yellowhammers. Another large flock of Yellowhammers were feeding on stubble between Thenford and Thorpe Mandeville and included a few each of Reed Bunting and Chaffinch. Nearby a small flock of Golden Plovers fed in their traditional field.

The wet weather began to abate in the afternoon and I went for a hike around Edgcote and Trafford Bridge where the final new species for the day included a Sparrowhawk, some Linnets, five Snipe and a Water Rail.

Regards

Neil M

Images from Pitsford

Hello

Robin Gossage has kindly forwarded some images of birds taken at Pitsford Reservoir recently, with some of the pictures taken only yesterday...

In addition, Robin has forwarded images of an unidentified fly and these are placed on his Tab - Robin's Wildlife Images. Come on you entomologists, take a look and make Robin's day!

Regards

Neil M

Smew

Slavonian Grebe

Bullfinch

Goldeneye

White-fronted Geese

Kestrel

Portugal at Christmas

Hello

I was fortunate that over the Christmas period there was an opportunity for some birding in the Algarve region of Portugal, co-leading a tour on behalf of Naturetrek. This was the first time I had been away at Christmas and our base was the south-west coastal 'town' of Sagres, a few miles east of Cape St Vincent. The week-long trip included trips to coastal lagoons and marshes, beaches, scrubby plains, woodland, the highest peak in the Algarve and the rolling fields and plateau of the Castro Verde district. Some 134 species of birds were observed and we even managed to find 8 species of butterfly on the wing! We were very fortunate with the weather as it was sunny every day and we experienced no meaningful rain, despite December supposedly being about the wettest month in this part of Portugal. 

Wintering warblers in good numbers included Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Fan-tailed Warbler, Cetti's and Sardinian and we saw Dartford Warbler too. Raptors were relatively few but we saw Hen Harrier, Marsh Harrier, Red Kite, Peregrine and Black-winged Kite among the more common Kestrels and Common Buzzards. Stonechats were particularly common and Black Redstarts numerous, and it is likely that many of the finches, common warblers and waders had at some stage moved down from the UK and other countries north of Portugal.

Regional specialities are few but we saw Audouin's Gull, Little Bustard, Great Bustard, Azure-winged Magpie, Richard's Pipit, Spotless Starling, Crag Martin and Purple Swamp-hen.

With the pleasant temperatures, stunning coasts, dramatic sunrises and sunsets, good transport infrastructure and quiet, laid-back culture admixed with a pride for producing excellent food from home produce and the sea, it's no wonder that many people from Europe head for the south of Portugal in the winter.

Adeus and Obrigado!

Neil M

Purple Swamp-hen

Approaching sunset, Cape St
Vincent, Portugal.
Courtesy of Barbara Lovell

Ring-necked Duck

Hello

Out and about in the county today in sunny but cool conditions. My apologies but I forgot to document the fact that yesterday Eleanor saw a Short-eared Owl at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell in the evening, flying around the southern border of the complex.

I went to have a look at the female Ring-necked Duck at Billing Gravel Pits this morning, as viewed from the Billing Garden Centre site. I asked permission to view the bird from the caravan sales premises and obtained reasonable views in harsh light and through the waterside willows. Other birds included a Grey Wagtail and a Kingfisher.

A Great White Egret was visible from the causeway at Pitsford Res, perched in waterside bushes in the sunshine alongside Grey Herons and Cormorants on the west side of the Holcot Bay. Two Redshanks were also present but a check of the gull roost failed to identify a gull of note.

Other birds noted today included two Ravens again near Hanging Houghton plus a single at Kelmarsh Hall, a Grey Wagtail at Brixworth, just eleven Golden Plovers at Harrington Airfield and a hunting Barn Owl at Blueberry Farm this afternoon.

Regards

Neil M

Ring-necked Duck

New Years Day

Hello

Neil H spent some time at Pitsford Res today and located a Slavonian Grebe off The Narrows near to the The Holly Tree. Also present were two Goosanders, seven Smew (three drakes), a Little Owl and a female Stonechat. The Smew were all north of the causeway.

Eleanor noted two Ravens near Hanging Houghton and a circuit at Harrington Airfield this afternoon in grey, breezy conditions produced about a hundred Golden Plovers but little else.

Regards

Neil M

Happy New Year!

Hello

A single Barn Owl was hunting on the outskirts of Scaldwell village first thing this morning and a restricted ringing session at Kelmarsh Hall this morning with just a single net resulted in 50 captures, the highlights being a Great Spotted Woodpecker, a Nuthatch, 2 Marsh Tits, 3 Goldfinches and a Goldcrest.

Birds noted at Harrington Airfield this morning amounted to a male Peregrine and a pair of Raven.

Birds north of the causeway at Pitsford Res this afternoon included a Raven and six Goosanders and a check of the gull roost off the yacht club in the afternoon yielded a fine adult Mediterranean Gull, a Redshank and a Grey Wagtail.

Happy New Year!

Eleanor and Neil

Frosty birds!

Hello

Cracking winter's day weather today with a crispy, frosty start and plenty of sunshine. The pair of Ruddy Shelduck were seen off the yacht club at Pitsford Res this morning and 39 Golden Plovers were on the fields at Harrington Airfield.

Blueberry Farm provided views of 2 Ravens, a Barn Owl and a pair of Stonechat this morning but the best birds were at Sywell Country Park this afternoon with a gorgeous Bittern on some bent-over reeds in the icy margins (1pm), a pair of Smew, a pair of Stonechat, 2 Water Rails, 20+ Siskins and 6+ redpoll sp. The suspended feeders were full and attracted plenty of birds including Nuthatch and Marsh Tits.

Regards

Neil M

Ruddy Shelduck

Robin

Bits and Bobs

Another one of those days where I had to fit my birding around running numerous errands...

At day break I was at Blueberry Farm where the air was crisp and clear and the ground white from the hard frost. As I watched the beautiful sunrise I regretted not taking my camera as a Barn Owl hunted low over the fields creating a magical scene. Other birds seen included a pair of Stonechat and a Woodcock.

Mid-morning found me in Northampton so I made a detour to Billing Garden Centre area for the Ring-necked Duck which has been viewed from the car sales office. A visiting birder arrived at the same time and we quickly located a small group of Tufted Duck and Gadwall but they were just in silhouette as they loitered in the direct sunlight. We walked from the garden centre and followed the main road towards the narrow bridge and we were able to 'scope the birds through the trees. The Ring-necked Duck was easy to pick out with it's distinctive head shape.

En-route back home a Great White Egret, 2 drake Smew and a Shelduck at Pitsford Reservoir were all visible from the causeway.

A visit to Harrington Airfield produced a male Peregrine, again in hunting mode after the numerous winter thrushes, 7 Grey Partridge and approx 50 Golden Plover.

I ended as I started by walking around Blueberry, this time enjoying the glorious red sky and sunset leaving behind a clear frosty sky dotted with bright stars.  Again I was fortunate to watch a Barn Owl hunting [Large Redgrass field] and also a Short-eared Owl which may be the bird from Harrington. 

Regards  Eleanor

Short-eared Owl

Hello

This afternoon at about 2pm, Ian Jones saw a Short-eared Owl by the third bunker at Harrington Airfield...

Regards

Neil M

Festive Birding !

I hope that everyone had an enjoyable Christmas and that many folk will have some time off before returning to normal in the New Year, so plenty of time to get out and about !!!

Due to family commitments my birding activity has been severely curtailed. In the Blueberry Farm area I have seen one or two Barn Owls on a regular basis at different times of the day. Also at least 2 pairs of Stonechat remain in the area.  Both yesterday and today I have seen numerous Woodcock underneath the hedgerows.

I've visited Harrington Airfield every day to feed the birds at the main entrance and whilst I haven't seen any birds of interest I'm sure this will soon change. The seed is proving attractive to a wide number of species - Reed Bunting, Yellowhammer, Chaffinch, Blackbird, Robin and Blue Tit, as well as a valuable food source as the temperatures fall.

I visited late this afternoon and although chilly the sunset was remarkable. There were 11 Golden Plover feeding on the wet fields and small groups of calling Goldies were constantly in the air. Their calls joining those of a couple of Red Kite who were very vocal. A superb male blue Peregrine was definitely in hunting mode as he powered across the airfield and a Barn Owl and Grey Heron took me my surprise when I got back to the feeding station just as darkness fell.

Sending best wishes to everyone for this Festive period and a happy and healthy bird-filled 2015 

Love Eleanor

Abington Park over Christmas

Hello

Doug Goddard has been in Abington Park, Northampton over the festive period and seen plenty of good birds including 13 Goosanders today on the lakes and a Ring-necked Parakeet (the latter attracted to captive birds in enclosures) .

Regards

Neil M

Ring-necked Parakeets

Common Buzzard

Goosander with Perch

Boxing day birds

A walk at Pitsford this morning was just what was needed after the Christmas day feasting.
A scan of the Scaldwell and Walgrave bays, after topping up the feeders at the Saldwell road feed station, revealed a Great White Egret in each of the bays. From the causeway a possible third bird was noted near to the Lagoon hide. Also from the causeway a redhead Smew was in the mouth of the Holcot bay. My first drake of the year was just south of the causeway.
A walk south of the causeway down to the Pintail bay was rewarded with a calling Little Owl near to the three storey farm house by the narrows.
The goose flock was commuting between the fields and the reservoir in the vicinity of the Holly tree. The three White-fronted Geese were still included amongst them, but I failed to spot the Ruddy Shelduck or the Great Northern Diver.
     Regards,
             Neil H.

Merry Christmas!

A very Merry Christmas to all our followers and visitors to this blog-site. Thank-you for your support, your interest and contributions over the last year. We will seek to ensure the blog remains as relevant as possible for people with an interest in wild birds and other wildlife in Northamptonshire and further afield.

Enjoy the Festive Period...

Neil M

Barn Owls

Hello

Yesterday I neglected to document sightings of single Barn Owls which were noted in Maidwell village and also alongside the road between Hanging Houghton and Scaldwell. This afternoon a Barn Owl was again noted hunting at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell. With such an exceptional year for breeding Barn Owls, it is perhaps surprising that they are not being seen more regularly.

Regards

Neil M

Ringing Sunderland Wood

Hello

A ringing session took place at Sunderland Wood on the Kelmarsh Estate today which led to 75 captures, the majority being Great and Blue Tits with a high percentage of adults.

A Redwing, two Blackbirds, two Wrens, four Goldcrests, a Robin and a Chaffinch were additional species as were two Great Spotted Woodpeckers, a Marsh Tit and seven Coal Tits.

Other birds noted in this mid-Northants Ash woodland included a couple of Woodcock and at nearby Scotland Wood a Willow Tit was moving around with a mobile tit flock.

Regards

Neil M

Peregrines on the horizon

Hello

A visit to Harrington Airfield this morning was necessary to feed the hordes of birds at the old airfield entrance! Birds of note included an adult male Peregrine, a covey of seven Grey Partridge and about two hundred Golden Plovers together with good numbers of Skylarks and winter thrushes. Nearby a Woodcock was flushed at Sunderland Wood.

This afternoon and birds noted at Pitsford Res included at least one Great White Egret, three Little Egrets and a hunting first year male Peregrine north of the causeway and three Shelduck near to the dam. Blueberry Farm hosted a hunting Barn Owl and a pair of Stonechat.

Regards

Neil M

They may be common
resident birds in this fair
county of ours but I think
the tits suitably brighten
 up a winter's day.
Top Coal Tit, middle
Long-tailed Tit and
bottom Blue Tit.

All courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Pitsford WeBS count

Hello

Three of us completed a rather late WeBS count at Pitsford Reservoir today in super winter sunshine. Numbers of wildfowl are much less than previous months but there is still a good variety present. Highlights included three Great White Egrets (all north of the causeway), three Little Egrets, 2 Ruddy Shelducks, 96 Snipe, 2 Jack Snipe, 2 Redshank, 2 Green Sandpipers, the pair of wintering Stonechat still and a Chiffchaff. A flock of 120 Golden Plovers flew over.

Regards

Neil M

Redwing

Robin in afternoon
winter sunshine

Mild, wet and windy!

Hello

The current bout of mild, windy and occasionally wet weather is not particularly conducive for good winter birding locally, but it does provide an opportunity to see other wildlife.

John Porter saw a flying Brimstone butterfly at Summer Leys yesterday and reported that the Golden Plovers gathered there looked superb in the winter sunshine. 

Young Hedgehogs are still wandering around at a time when they should be hibernating. It seems that the offspring from the late breeding efforts often don't have time to bulk up for hibernation and as a result rarely survive the winter; the lack of adequate sustenance and fat reserves makes them liable to pneumonia and similar conditions. However in a mild winter these youngsters will continue to feed and with supplementary food and/or captive conditions can make it through the winter months. It may not be just the birds that are eating foodstuffs put out in the garden!

Eleanor has been visiting Harrington Airfield regularly and feeding the birds on the concrete track where it junctions the minor road to Draughton. Nothing of specific interest as yet but today there were good numbers of Chaffinches, Yellowhammers and Reed Buntings and even Blackbirds and Blue Tits taking advantage of the food.

Today we received  news of ringing effort returns, the more interesting as follows...

i. Pete Gilbert was working at Pitsford Reservoir today and on the reserve found a decomposed body of a Tawny Owl. It transpires that this bird was ringed as a nestling in one of the reserve owl boxes in April 2012. Clearly it didn't live very long and it seems didn't travel far;
ii. A young male Blackcap ringed at Pitsford on 13th Sept 2014 was caught again by ringers at Icklesham, Sussex on 25th Sept 2014;
iii. A Lesser Redpoll ringed at Stortons Gravel Pits on 7th Oct 2012 was caught again by ringers operating in South Lanarkshire, Scotland on 19th April 2014;
iv. A young female Cetti's Warbler ringed at Stortons GP on 31st Aug 2013 and was then caught by ringers working at Rutland Water on 16th May 2014;
v. A female Goldfinch ringed at Astcote (South Northants) on 4th Feb 2014 was found freshly dead at Crossrigg, Cumbria on 22nd Oct 2014;
vi. A juvenile Blue Tit ringed at Greens Norton on 7th Sept this year then took a 32km journey north to Stanford Reservoir where it was caught by ringers on 23rd October. I wonder what stimulated it to travel north to another area of the county (the British breeding stock of this species is normally pretty sedentary)?

Regards

Neil M

Glyn Davies Wood

Hello

Despite a strong south-westerly breeze this morning, a ringing session took place at Glyn Davies Wood right over in the west of the county. This ancient fragment of woodland is managed and owned by the Banbury Ornithological Society and the warden Mike Lewis maintains an excellent feed station within the wood. 

Some 72 birds were processed which included 2 Goldcrests, 19 Great Tits, 35 Blue Tits, 5 Marsh Tits, a Willow Tit, 3 Coal Tits, a Robin, 2 Wrens, a Blackbird and a Nuthatch.

Other birds on-site included typical woodland birds and a couple of Ravens.

One or two Raven(s) were present at Hanging Houghton this afternoon.

Regards

Neil M

Pitsford Ringing

Hello

A ringing session took place around the main feed station at Pitsford Reservoir this morning providing 70 captures as managed by Dave Francis. Re-trap birds included 8 Moorhens and a 6 year-old Blue Tit. New birds included a Fieldfare, a Song Thrush, 5 Blackbirds, a Starling, a Robin, 2 Dunnocks, 7 Tree Sparrows, 5 Chaffinches, 5 Greenfinches and 6 Yellowhammers.

Eleanor saw c100 Golden Plovers at Harrington Airfield at lunch-time but couldn't find anything else of note and visiting birder Garry Smith notched up a Barn Owl at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell this afternoon.

Regards

Neil M

Meagre Pickings

Hello

Birds at Pitsford Reservoir today courtesy of Eleanor and Neil H included a Great Northern Diver south of the causeway, two Great White Egrets north of the causeway and three 'redhead' Smew in the Holcot Bay. 

The only birds of note at Blueberry Farm were the three pairs of Stonechat.

Regards

Neil M

The day of the Coal Tit!

Hello

A ringing session took place at Scotland Wood as part of the on-going project to monitor woodland bird populations on the Kelmarsh Estate. Eighty small birds were captured and assessed, species totals being 5 Goldcrests, a Robin, a Blackbird, 21 Blue Tits, 10 Great Tits, 18 Coal Tits, 4 Marsh Tits, 11 Long-tailed Tits, 2 Nuthatch, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers and 5 Chaffinches.

Birds noted at Harrington Airfield today again included the adult male Merlin, a Brambling on the seed, a couple each of flying Siskin and redpoll sp and about 150 Golden Plovers.

Late afternoon on the Blueberry Farm complex confirmed that all three pairs of wintering Stonechat remain and again two Barn Owls were seen out hunting.

Activation of the duck trap at Pitsford Res just before dusk succeeded in capturing and processing seven Moorhens, a Coot and a Starling in our continued efforts to better understand the status and dynamics of birds visiting this site.

Regards

Neil M

Birds of the frosty apple

Hello

An excellent ringing session at an orchard on the outskirts of Nether Heyford today provided over a hundred birds caught and ringed with thrushes taking centre stage. Some thirty-two Fieldfares caught and ringed were the star birds but well supported with over twenty Redwings, at least five Blackbirds and good numbers of Chaffinch, Robin and Blue Tit.

This afternoon a visit to Harrington Airfield provided views of an adult male Merlin and hundreds of winter thrushes gleaning the hawthorns.

Birds visible north of the causeway at Pitsford Res this afternoon included two Great White Egrets, two Little Egrets, a Redshank and a roost of over a hundred Cormorants.

Late afternoon at Blueberry Farm and the Pytchley Hunt were in full flow over the complex with hounds and horses everywhere in pursuit of their fox quarry. Nevertheless a few birds were available which included a close Barn Owl, a male Peregrine and a pair of Stonechat.

Regards

Neil M

White-fronted Geese

Hello

Neil Hasdell was out and about at Pitsford Reservoir this morning and located three White-fronted Geese south of the causeway near to the Airstrip/Holly Tree. For a time they were associating with the transient flocks of Canada and Greylag Geese which are currently congregating on the reservoir and adjacent fields at that point.

Regards

Neil M

Ditchford Gravel Pits

Hello

The first task today was visiting some of the local wild bird feed stations, and whilst doing so I noticed a flock of ca 440 Golden Plovers on the top fields at Harrington Airfield and two Ravens flew over Maidwell village.

We seemed to spend most of our time concentrating at staying upright in the mud at Ditchford Gravel Pits today whilst completing the monthly WeBS count!

A Great White Egret was west of Ditchford Lane, at one stage flying around carrying a small Pike in its bill. Other birds included three Little Egrets, a flock of fourteen Egyptian Geese, a first year Caspian Gull, an adult Yellow-legged Gull, approximately a thousand Herring Gulls, a Goosander, three Water Rails, ten Kingfishers, four Cetti's Warblers, eight Chiffchaffs, a pair of Stonechat and a couple of Grey Wagtails. 

An Otter showed briefly on one of the old pits.

Regards

Neil M