BEDFORDSHIRE BIRDING

Late morning Di and I walked all round the Lodge - old and new heaths - nothing exciting but a cronking Raven SE of the car park, 4 mewing Common Buzzards from the hill fort, a few Siskins here and there - no Common Crossbills or Woodlarks today.

Mid-afternoon at Kings Wood, Ampthill with JG and PH, - I eventually located a small tit flock within the top end of the wood - Nuthatch and Treecreeper and, for me but alas not for Jim or Pip, the persistant shrill calls of a Firecrest high up in ivy clad trunks; another Buzzard and a distant Sparrowhawk

Quest Pit brought a departing Steve Blain but I made counts of 112 Great Black-backs, only 18 Herring Gulls, just 12 Common Gulls but a fine adult Yellow-legged Gull. 227 Lapwings were counted, 20 Linnets, 18 Skylarks flew over, 20 Wigeon, 14 Teal, 2 Gadwall

Stewartby Tip: Keith Owen and I enjoyed brief but good views of the first-winter Caspian Gull found by Steve Blain just minutes after he'd 'phoned me with the news.Stewartby Lake: the Common Scoter looks to have departed. A poor roost ~ an adult Yellow-legged Gull, but only 92 Herring Gulls and lowish numbers of the other common species. 3 Gadwall and 7 Dabchicks, a Goldcrest heard

Rookery North: a quick dusk visit with KRO and SCB produced a roost at least as big as that on Stewartby Lake tonight - perhaps because of the westerly wind direction. I located another single adult Yellow-legged Gull (MJP)