BEDFORDSHIRE BIRDING is a new site created by Lee G R Evans to cater for birders both within and outside this inland county. Should you have items of interest, do not hesitate to contact Lee on 07881 906629 or via email at LGREUK400@aol.com
Monday, 30 January 2012
COMMON SHELDUCK still at Sandy
The Common Shelduck was still present on the large fishing lake south of New Road, Sandy (TL181476) this morning at 8.45 (Tim Robson)
Friday, 27 January 2012
A barren land..........
FRIDAY 28 JANUARY
A glorious day weatherwise. Following an overnight frost, the day was dominated by clear blue skies and sunshine, with an increasingly biting NW wind and cold temperatures
I spent today locally with a few target birds but managed to miss most things.......
SCHOOL LANE, OLD AMERSHAM (BUCKS)
I returned to the stubble field first thing, mainly in the hope of connecting with a pair of Common Ravens that had been displaying in the vicinity. Despite prime conditions, they failed to turn up.
The YELLOWHAMMER flock was still going strong, with 124 still present and showing well on the 'deck'. Also mixed in with them were 8 Goldfinches and a few Chaffinches, whilst the flock of 60 Eurasian Skylark were still in the stubble. Two MEADOW PIPITS were new, whilst 8 Common Starlings, 3 Song Thrushes and 5 Stock Doves were also encountered.
Red Kites were very numerous, with at least 8 hunting the stubble, including an individual with wing-tags - a number 7 on both tags with the left one bright yellow with a bright red border and the right one pink. Several Common Buzzards were also in the vicinity.
SHARDELOES LAKE AND MARRODS BOTTOM (BUCKS)
My first visit in a while and not much change - 5 Little Grebes, just 1 adult and 1 of last year's young Mute Swans on view, 75 Atlantic Canada Geese, 11 Gadwall, 4 Tufted Duck (2 drakes), 61 Coot and an adult Grey Heron. The gull flock yielded 8 Argenteus Herring Gulls (an adult and 7 first-years) and 44 Rooks were back at the rookery.
A further 36 Rooks were back at the rookery at Winchmore Hill, whilst the Beech trees at Marrod's Bottom produced 60 Chaffinches, 5 BRAMBLINGS and a Nuthatch. Kevin Holt and I had pondered for years about where the Penn Wood Bramblings go by day and Dave Cleal came up with the answer. It seems that these Beeches west of Great Beard's Wood are attracting some of them.
TRING (HERTFORDSHIRE)
Red Kites were everywhere today, including 3 circling low over Station Road in Tring.
THE TRING RESERVOIRS (HERTS)
My main aim for visiting the reservoirs was to see the drake Goosander that Roy, Mike C, Steve, Dave B and others had seen during the last week but despite searching hard, I could find no sign of it. With good weather, I fully censused the water birds present............
WILSTONE RESERVOIR held just 6 Great Crested Grebes, no Mute Swans, 70 Greylag Geese, 83 Atlantic Canada Geese, the first-winter DARK-BELLIED BRENT GOOSE (very mobile today, flying about a fair bit), 22 Mallard, 12 Gadwall, 257 Eurasian Wigeon, 320 Common Teal, no Shoveler, 66 Tufted Duck, 68 Northern Pochard and 728 Coot. I could only find 1 drake Common Goldeneye.
Otherwise, 4 Sinensis Cormorants were attending nests in the remaining bund tree, 38 Lapwings were at the edges, a Green Woodpecker was in the north hedgerow, the North Fields harboured 38 Fieldfare, 5 Redwing, 96 Common Starlings and a male Chaffinch and the hide area 2 Wrens and 2 Great Tits.
A male Muntjac and 2 Chinese Water Deer were also at the reed edge.
STARTOP'S END RESERVOIR was where all of the Mute Swans were lurking with 31 counted (including 9 first-years), along with 1 Little Grebe, 5 Great Crested Grebes, 313 Coot, 92 Mallard, 15 Wigeon, 9 Gadwall, 41 Tufted Duck and an impressive 98 Northern Pochards.
The first-year male SNOW BUNTING was putting on a particularly good show in the sunshine, showing down to just 10 feet on the stony beach - always in the vicinity of the steps at the NW end.
TRINGFORD harboured a further pair of Mute Swans with MARSWORTH yielding the only Shovelers - 35 of them - a further 3 Great Crested Grebes, 5 Pochard and my first Red Fox of the year; 3 Goldfinches too.
COLLEGE LAKE BBOWT (BUCKS)
After the excitement of last Sunday, proceedings were back to normal today with little to see - and no sign of Wednesday's Egyptian Goose.
The rollcall included 10 Mute Swans (1 first-year), 18 Wigeon, 1 drake Gadwall, 1 drake Pochard, 24 Tufted Duck, the usual pair of RED-CRESTED POCHARDS on the west bank of the deep lake, 44 Coot, 20 Lapwing and 2 COMMON SNIPE.
I then decided to move on to BEDFORDSHIRE where I had planned to add several species to that counties' year list of mine. That proved disastrous though and in the end, I managed to locate just 1 target bird.
SOUTHCOTT VILLAGE, LINSLADE (BEDS)
the ageing RING-NECKED PARAKEET of unknown origin was sleeping in its usual tree hole at the westernmost of the 6 trackside trees 75 yards beyond the gate following the dogleg in the footpath. This area also held 6 Yellowhammers, Goldcrest, 30 Rooks and 4 Rabbits.
At STEWARTBY LAKE, it was as barren as I have seen it in July, with no sign of the wintering Common Sandpiper and just 12 Pied Wagtails on the Sailing Club green.
The BROOM GP/DEREK WHITE'S COMPLEX was little better, with no sign of the Common Shelduck at any of 5 locations and just drake Shoveler, 4 Pochard, 1 Little Grebe and 50 Lapwings of note at the latter. Likewise, not a sniff of a Golden Plover flock and no Barn Owls at several sites too. Most notable was a Common Starling roost of some 400 birds in tall Leylandii at TOP HOUSE FARM, BEADLOW (at TL 104 385).
A glorious day weatherwise. Following an overnight frost, the day was dominated by clear blue skies and sunshine, with an increasingly biting NW wind and cold temperatures
I spent today locally with a few target birds but managed to miss most things.......
SCHOOL LANE, OLD AMERSHAM (BUCKS)
I returned to the stubble field first thing, mainly in the hope of connecting with a pair of Common Ravens that had been displaying in the vicinity. Despite prime conditions, they failed to turn up.
The YELLOWHAMMER flock was still going strong, with 124 still present and showing well on the 'deck'. Also mixed in with them were 8 Goldfinches and a few Chaffinches, whilst the flock of 60 Eurasian Skylark were still in the stubble. Two MEADOW PIPITS were new, whilst 8 Common Starlings, 3 Song Thrushes and 5 Stock Doves were also encountered.
Red Kites were very numerous, with at least 8 hunting the stubble, including an individual with wing-tags - a number 7 on both tags with the left one bright yellow with a bright red border and the right one pink. Several Common Buzzards were also in the vicinity.
SHARDELOES LAKE AND MARRODS BOTTOM (BUCKS)
My first visit in a while and not much change - 5 Little Grebes, just 1 adult and 1 of last year's young Mute Swans on view, 75 Atlantic Canada Geese, 11 Gadwall, 4 Tufted Duck (2 drakes), 61 Coot and an adult Grey Heron. The gull flock yielded 8 Argenteus Herring Gulls (an adult and 7 first-years) and 44 Rooks were back at the rookery.
A further 36 Rooks were back at the rookery at Winchmore Hill, whilst the Beech trees at Marrod's Bottom produced 60 Chaffinches, 5 BRAMBLINGS and a Nuthatch. Kevin Holt and I had pondered for years about where the Penn Wood Bramblings go by day and Dave Cleal came up with the answer. It seems that these Beeches west of Great Beard's Wood are attracting some of them.
TRING (HERTFORDSHIRE)
Red Kites were everywhere today, including 3 circling low over Station Road in Tring.
THE TRING RESERVOIRS (HERTS)
My main aim for visiting the reservoirs was to see the drake Goosander that Roy, Mike C, Steve, Dave B and others had seen during the last week but despite searching hard, I could find no sign of it. With good weather, I fully censused the water birds present............
WILSTONE RESERVOIR held just 6 Great Crested Grebes, no Mute Swans, 70 Greylag Geese, 83 Atlantic Canada Geese, the first-winter DARK-BELLIED BRENT GOOSE (very mobile today, flying about a fair bit), 22 Mallard, 12 Gadwall, 257 Eurasian Wigeon, 320 Common Teal, no Shoveler, 66 Tufted Duck, 68 Northern Pochard and 728 Coot. I could only find 1 drake Common Goldeneye.
Otherwise, 4 Sinensis Cormorants were attending nests in the remaining bund tree, 38 Lapwings were at the edges, a Green Woodpecker was in the north hedgerow, the North Fields harboured 38 Fieldfare, 5 Redwing, 96 Common Starlings and a male Chaffinch and the hide area 2 Wrens and 2 Great Tits.
A male Muntjac and 2 Chinese Water Deer were also at the reed edge.
STARTOP'S END RESERVOIR was where all of the Mute Swans were lurking with 31 counted (including 9 first-years), along with 1 Little Grebe, 5 Great Crested Grebes, 313 Coot, 92 Mallard, 15 Wigeon, 9 Gadwall, 41 Tufted Duck and an impressive 98 Northern Pochards.
The first-year male SNOW BUNTING was putting on a particularly good show in the sunshine, showing down to just 10 feet on the stony beach - always in the vicinity of the steps at the NW end.
TRINGFORD harboured a further pair of Mute Swans with MARSWORTH yielding the only Shovelers - 35 of them - a further 3 Great Crested Grebes, 5 Pochard and my first Red Fox of the year; 3 Goldfinches too.
COLLEGE LAKE BBOWT (BUCKS)
After the excitement of last Sunday, proceedings were back to normal today with little to see - and no sign of Wednesday's Egyptian Goose.
The rollcall included 10 Mute Swans (1 first-year), 18 Wigeon, 1 drake Gadwall, 1 drake Pochard, 24 Tufted Duck, the usual pair of RED-CRESTED POCHARDS on the west bank of the deep lake, 44 Coot, 20 Lapwing and 2 COMMON SNIPE.
I then decided to move on to BEDFORDSHIRE where I had planned to add several species to that counties' year list of mine. That proved disastrous though and in the end, I managed to locate just 1 target bird.
SOUTHCOTT VILLAGE, LINSLADE (BEDS)
the ageing RING-NECKED PARAKEET of unknown origin was sleeping in its usual tree hole at the westernmost of the 6 trackside trees 75 yards beyond the gate following the dogleg in the footpath. This area also held 6 Yellowhammers, Goldcrest, 30 Rooks and 4 Rabbits.
At STEWARTBY LAKE, it was as barren as I have seen it in July, with no sign of the wintering Common Sandpiper and just 12 Pied Wagtails on the Sailing Club green.
The BROOM GP/DEREK WHITE'S COMPLEX was little better, with no sign of the Common Shelduck at any of 5 locations and just drake Shoveler, 4 Pochard, 1 Little Grebe and 50 Lapwings of note at the latter. Likewise, not a sniff of a Golden Plover flock and no Barn Owls at several sites too. Most notable was a Common Starling roost of some 400 birds in tall Leylandii at TOP HOUSE FARM, BEADLOW (at TL 104 385).
Wednesday, 25 January 2012
Grovebury Sand Pit gull roost quite impressive
WEDNESDAY 26 JANUARY
The mild theme with the weather continued with temperatures reaching 9 degrees C this afternoon. It was primarily dry but overcast with some light drizzle in the wind.
Managed to get some birding in today, mainly in Bedfordshire this afternoon.......
LITTLE HUNDRIDGE LANE, HYDE END (BUCKS)
The large plover flock was still present this morning, again favouring the large ploughed field immediately east of Little Hundridge Lane - all 112 LAPWINGS and at least 500 EUROPEAN GOLDEN PLOVERS; 4 Stock Doves were also seen
HOUGHTON REGIS CHALK QUARRY (BEDFORDSHIRE)
Some major changes afoot at this location, with over 100 new houses being built at its southern end. Very difficult to access now and terribly overgrown.
The Quarry is a traditional place to see wintering Jack Snipe but despite an hour or more trudging around the site this afternoon, I failed to find one. Two COMMON SNIPES were seen - and a nice WOODCOCK but no Jacks.
I also recorded my first Beds MEADOW PIPIT of the year, as well as 8 Greenfinches, several Fieldfares and a singing male Song Thrush. The Common Magpie roost held 158 birds by 1600 hours
Nearby, the neighbouring fishing lake held an impressive roost of no less than 800 Black-headed Gulls
With a stream of large white-headed gulls heading west, I quickly relocated to Grovebury......
GROVEBURY SAND PIT (BEDFORDSHIRE)
A most impressive gull roost awaited my arrival at 1620 hours and between then and 1700 hours, I click-counted the proceeds....
Stand-out birds were 3 adult YELLOW-LEGGED GULLS, with 2 adult Great Black-backed Gulls also of note. Herring Gulls (both Argentatus and Argenteus) were very numerous, with 472 roosting, whilst Lesser Black-backed numbered just 59 (Calvert Lake really is the capital for this species in winter). A total of 52 Common Gulls was amongst the approximate 1,900 Black-headed Gulls roosting.
Very little of note otherwise on the lake - 29 Eurasian Wigeon, 17 Tufted Ducks and just 1 Great Crested Grebe.
The mild theme with the weather continued with temperatures reaching 9 degrees C this afternoon. It was primarily dry but overcast with some light drizzle in the wind.
Managed to get some birding in today, mainly in Bedfordshire this afternoon.......
LITTLE HUNDRIDGE LANE, HYDE END (BUCKS)
The large plover flock was still present this morning, again favouring the large ploughed field immediately east of Little Hundridge Lane - all 112 LAPWINGS and at least 500 EUROPEAN GOLDEN PLOVERS; 4 Stock Doves were also seen
HOUGHTON REGIS CHALK QUARRY (BEDFORDSHIRE)
Some major changes afoot at this location, with over 100 new houses being built at its southern end. Very difficult to access now and terribly overgrown.
The Quarry is a traditional place to see wintering Jack Snipe but despite an hour or more trudging around the site this afternoon, I failed to find one. Two COMMON SNIPES were seen - and a nice WOODCOCK but no Jacks.
I also recorded my first Beds MEADOW PIPIT of the year, as well as 8 Greenfinches, several Fieldfares and a singing male Song Thrush. The Common Magpie roost held 158 birds by 1600 hours
Nearby, the neighbouring fishing lake held an impressive roost of no less than 800 Black-headed Gulls
With a stream of large white-headed gulls heading west, I quickly relocated to Grovebury......
GROVEBURY SAND PIT (BEDFORDSHIRE)
A most impressive gull roost awaited my arrival at 1620 hours and between then and 1700 hours, I click-counted the proceeds....
Stand-out birds were 3 adult YELLOW-LEGGED GULLS, with 2 adult Great Black-backed Gulls also of note. Herring Gulls (both Argentatus and Argenteus) were very numerous, with 472 roosting, whilst Lesser Black-backed numbered just 59 (Calvert Lake really is the capital for this species in winter). A total of 52 Common Gulls was amongst the approximate 1,900 Black-headed Gulls roosting.
Very little of note otherwise on the lake - 29 Eurasian Wigeon, 17 Tufted Ducks and just 1 Great Crested Grebe.
Tuesday, 24 January 2012
A tour of North Bucks and North Beds
TUESDAY 24 JANUARY
What a day. Rain, rain and even more rain. It started shortly after first light and then became very heavy for two hours or more before turning into drizzle - and then continuing on and off for the rest of the day. Visibility was often awful - down to 75 yards on occasions - and keeping optics clear was a major obstacle to overcome.
Anyway, I risked the conditions and spent the day trying to find some target birds, namely the long-staying Great White Egret, Pintail, Willow Tit, Red-crested Pochard and a few other species. I was half successful.....
CHESHAM ROAD, HYDE LANE (BUCKS)
Following up on some sightings by Don Stone and Dave Cleal of last week whilst I was away, I was particularly pleased, despite the attrocious weather conditions, to find the wintering flock of plovers east of Little Hundridge Lane (in SP 92 01). The birds are commuting between the large ploughed field immediately east of the lane and the grass fields west of Hundridge Manor and are in numbers not recorded in my area since at least 1987. The LAPWING flock numbers 112 birds whilst the EUROPEAN GOLDEN PLOVERS (in two distinct groups) total an astonishing 658 birds. This is an exceptional record, with both species being particularly scarce in my Recording Area. Full marks to Don for locating them.
Two Common Buzzards and 2 Red Kites were also present in the area.
WADDESDON (BUCKS)
Checked out a report of a pair of Ruddy Ducks and found that they were captive birds, the same lake also housing a drake Common Eider and a Coscoroba Swan. Great Spotted Woodpecker and Goldcrest were of interest.
Nearby, just east of Haybinders House, a dead Badger was besides the A41 at SP 730 175
FOXCOTE RESERVOIR (NORTH BUCKS)
My first visit to this site this year and in heavy rain and viewing from the hide, highlight was a dapper adult drake PINTAIL to the left of the hide - my first in the county this year
Other wildfowl included an exceptional 185 Common Teal, with just 28 Eurasian Wigeon, 28 Tufted Duck, 8 Northern Pochard and 8 Common Goldeneye (2 adult drakes), whilst other species present included just 1 Great Crested Grebe, 2 Mute Swans, 6 Atlantic Canada Geese, 108 Coot, 34 Lapwing and a female Reed Bunting.
Just east of the reservoir, 20 noisy House Sparrows were in the garden of Cobblestone, Leckhampstead (SP 728 373
MANOR FARM WORKINGS (NORTH BUCKS) (SP 805 420)
Pride of place went to the 6 GOOSANDERS (3 adult drakes, 3 adult females), with 41 Lapwings and 8 Common Gulls roosting on the islands.
LINFORD NATURE RESERVE (NORTH BUCKS)
No sign, in an exhaustive search (and in improving weather conditions) of the wintering adult Great White Egret but 5 Grey Herons prospecting and repairing nests on the island, 44 Mute Swans, 65 Common Teal, 85 Eurasian Wigeon, 12 Gadwall, 8 Shoveler, 28 Tufted Duck and 11 Northern Pochard.
Bumped into Rose & Mike Collard and Dave Parmenter and shortly later enjoyed excellent views of the apparent WILLOW TIT and 2 MARSH TITS at the Woodland Hide, very frequently visiting the freshly restocked feeders and birdtable. A Jay was also noted.
Visited both WILLEN LAKES and GAYHURST QUARRY (NORTH BUCKS LOCATIONS) but very little of note - 12 Common Goldeneye at the former and Stock Dove, 1 Little Egret, c300 Greylag Geese, 106 Mute Swans, 136 Mallard, 35 Wigeon, 20 Tufted Duck, 1 Great Crested Grebe, Green Woodpecker and a single Rob Norris at the latter. Again, no sign of the Great White Egret.
At STOKE GOLDINGTON nearby, still no Tree Sparrows - a species still to be recorded in Bucks in 2012. The feeders were fully topped up but just Chaffinch, Greenfinch (8) and Great and Blue Tits were visiting them. A Mistle Thrush was also in the village.
EMBERTON LAKES (NORTH BUCKS)
I checked the two lakes visible from the A 509, with 6 GOOSANDERS (2 adult drakes), 4 Mute Swans, 15 Tufted Duck, 24 Coot and 2 COMMON KINGFISHERS being noted.
Nearby, at Olney Water Meadows, there was no sign of the 22 Barnacle Geese seen recently - just 80 Atlantic Canada Geese.
HARROLD-ODELL COUNTRY PARK (NORTH BEDFORDSHIRE) (SP 960 573)
Being in North Bucks, I decided to spend the remaining hours of daylight in North Bedfordshire, with the sole aim of finding Red-crested Pochard and Pintail......
Harrold-Odell lake was full of wildfowl including no less than 126 Mute Swans (including orange-ringed adults numbers '387' and '392'), 91 Atlantic Canada Geese, 89 Wigeon, 48 Mallard, 38 Gadwall, 44 Tufted Duck and 7 Great Crested Grebes. Highlight was another pair of GOOSANDERS. No Red-crested Pochards though.
RADWELL GRAVEL PITS (NORTH BEDFORDSHIRE)
On the Viaduct Pit at the west end (TL 004 587), I did not find the two drake Pintails of last Sunday but did find 2 adult drake RED-CRESTED POCHARDS. Feasting on the beet thrown out for them at the SW end were 3 EGYPTIAN GEESE, 2 Bar-headed Geese and a large number of Wigeon and Teal, whilst Mute Swan numbers here peaked at 36, with 73 on neighbouring Pit 5 and 15 more on additional pits. A few Shoveler were also seen.
KEMPSTON (BEDS)
The rain returned in the late afternoon so I decided to give up but was pleased to see a LITTLE EGRET on the roadside pits as I drove along the Kempston Bypass.
What a day. Rain, rain and even more rain. It started shortly after first light and then became very heavy for two hours or more before turning into drizzle - and then continuing on and off for the rest of the day. Visibility was often awful - down to 75 yards on occasions - and keeping optics clear was a major obstacle to overcome.
Anyway, I risked the conditions and spent the day trying to find some target birds, namely the long-staying Great White Egret, Pintail, Willow Tit, Red-crested Pochard and a few other species. I was half successful.....
CHESHAM ROAD, HYDE LANE (BUCKS)
Following up on some sightings by Don Stone and Dave Cleal of last week whilst I was away, I was particularly pleased, despite the attrocious weather conditions, to find the wintering flock of plovers east of Little Hundridge Lane (in SP 92 01). The birds are commuting between the large ploughed field immediately east of the lane and the grass fields west of Hundridge Manor and are in numbers not recorded in my area since at least 1987. The LAPWING flock numbers 112 birds whilst the EUROPEAN GOLDEN PLOVERS (in two distinct groups) total an astonishing 658 birds. This is an exceptional record, with both species being particularly scarce in my Recording Area. Full marks to Don for locating them.
Two Common Buzzards and 2 Red Kites were also present in the area.
WADDESDON (BUCKS)
Checked out a report of a pair of Ruddy Ducks and found that they were captive birds, the same lake also housing a drake Common Eider and a Coscoroba Swan. Great Spotted Woodpecker and Goldcrest were of interest.
Nearby, just east of Haybinders House, a dead Badger was besides the A41 at SP 730 175
FOXCOTE RESERVOIR (NORTH BUCKS)
My first visit to this site this year and in heavy rain and viewing from the hide, highlight was a dapper adult drake PINTAIL to the left of the hide - my first in the county this year
Other wildfowl included an exceptional 185 Common Teal, with just 28 Eurasian Wigeon, 28 Tufted Duck, 8 Northern Pochard and 8 Common Goldeneye (2 adult drakes), whilst other species present included just 1 Great Crested Grebe, 2 Mute Swans, 6 Atlantic Canada Geese, 108 Coot, 34 Lapwing and a female Reed Bunting.
Just east of the reservoir, 20 noisy House Sparrows were in the garden of Cobblestone, Leckhampstead (SP 728 373
MANOR FARM WORKINGS (NORTH BUCKS) (SP 805 420)
Pride of place went to the 6 GOOSANDERS (3 adult drakes, 3 adult females), with 41 Lapwings and 8 Common Gulls roosting on the islands.
LINFORD NATURE RESERVE (NORTH BUCKS)
No sign, in an exhaustive search (and in improving weather conditions) of the wintering adult Great White Egret but 5 Grey Herons prospecting and repairing nests on the island, 44 Mute Swans, 65 Common Teal, 85 Eurasian Wigeon, 12 Gadwall, 8 Shoveler, 28 Tufted Duck and 11 Northern Pochard.
Bumped into Rose & Mike Collard and Dave Parmenter and shortly later enjoyed excellent views of the apparent WILLOW TIT and 2 MARSH TITS at the Woodland Hide, very frequently visiting the freshly restocked feeders and birdtable. A Jay was also noted.
Visited both WILLEN LAKES and GAYHURST QUARRY (NORTH BUCKS LOCATIONS) but very little of note - 12 Common Goldeneye at the former and Stock Dove, 1 Little Egret, c300 Greylag Geese, 106 Mute Swans, 136 Mallard, 35 Wigeon, 20 Tufted Duck, 1 Great Crested Grebe, Green Woodpecker and a single Rob Norris at the latter. Again, no sign of the Great White Egret.
At STOKE GOLDINGTON nearby, still no Tree Sparrows - a species still to be recorded in Bucks in 2012. The feeders were fully topped up but just Chaffinch, Greenfinch (8) and Great and Blue Tits were visiting them. A Mistle Thrush was also in the village.
EMBERTON LAKES (NORTH BUCKS)
I checked the two lakes visible from the A 509, with 6 GOOSANDERS (2 adult drakes), 4 Mute Swans, 15 Tufted Duck, 24 Coot and 2 COMMON KINGFISHERS being noted.
Nearby, at Olney Water Meadows, there was no sign of the 22 Barnacle Geese seen recently - just 80 Atlantic Canada Geese.
HARROLD-ODELL COUNTRY PARK (NORTH BEDFORDSHIRE) (SP 960 573)
Being in North Bucks, I decided to spend the remaining hours of daylight in North Bedfordshire, with the sole aim of finding Red-crested Pochard and Pintail......
Harrold-Odell lake was full of wildfowl including no less than 126 Mute Swans (including orange-ringed adults numbers '387' and '392'), 91 Atlantic Canada Geese, 89 Wigeon, 48 Mallard, 38 Gadwall, 44 Tufted Duck and 7 Great Crested Grebes. Highlight was another pair of GOOSANDERS. No Red-crested Pochards though.
RADWELL GRAVEL PITS (NORTH BEDFORDSHIRE)
On the Viaduct Pit at the west end (TL 004 587), I did not find the two drake Pintails of last Sunday but did find 2 adult drake RED-CRESTED POCHARDS. Feasting on the beet thrown out for them at the SW end were 3 EGYPTIAN GEESE, 2 Bar-headed Geese and a large number of Wigeon and Teal, whilst Mute Swan numbers here peaked at 36, with 73 on neighbouring Pit 5 and 15 more on additional pits. A few Shoveler were also seen.
KEMPSTON (BEDS)
The rain returned in the late afternoon so I decided to give up but was pleased to see a LITTLE EGRET on the roadside pits as I drove along the Kempston Bypass.
Monday, 23 January 2012
Another BITTERN
On 17 January, Neil Wright discovered a BITTERN in the NW corner of Brogborough Lake
15 January - PINK-FOOT still at 100 Acre
15 January: The A421 Bypass pits produced a few duck mainly Wigeon 101 and a surprise Peregrine . Chimney corner held good numbers of Tufted 181.100 Acre and Meadow Lane
The adult PINK-FOOTED GOOSE is still present among 168 Greylags,124 Canada's and 3 Snipe. 2 Common Buzzards over the S.T.W (Nick Cook)
The adult PINK-FOOTED GOOSE is still present among 168 Greylags,124 Canada's and 3 Snipe. 2 Common Buzzards over the S.T.W (Nick Cook)
Willington BITTERN - 15-16 January
Mark Thomas discovered a BITTERN on Willington Settling Beds on 15 January and MJP and others saw 2 different birds the following evening coming in to roost
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