Lesser Scaup, Draycote Water
Draycote Water in the late evening sun
Pectoral Sandpiper, Upton Warren
Tree Sparrow at the feeding station
Mute Swans at Moat Lane pool, Rixton. Blue JP4 is the left hand birdxxxxx
2nd – 4th October
xxxx
Saturday morning (2nd October) was bright and breezy with plenty of sun – a welcome change to the mucky grey skies and copious rain of the last week or so. Early on I nipped out to have a quick butchers at my feeding station. Three Yellowhammers and a couple of Tree Sparrows were already in residence – they were soon joined by 8 Greenfinches. Rather worryingly one of the Tree Sparrows was all fluffed up and lethargic with tiny sunken eyes – much like the Greenfinches with trichomonosis. Four Skylarks flew over – otherwise it was quiet.
Xxxxx
Mid morning I took Karen to the hairdressers and then spent 40 minutes or so wandering around Newton Lake. The Teal numbers have increased to 74 with the usual pairs of Mute Swans, Little Grebes and Canada Geese present. 11 Tufted Ducks were also dozing on the water. Two Grey Wagtails flew over and then disappeared on the muddy spit. I walked up towards the church and was immediately struck by the number of Robins – at least 20 were flitting around. A Nuthatch was flitting around in the usual place by the church, a Jay perched in the top of a nearby tree and pairs of Coal Tit and Goldcrest were also seen.
Xxxx
Late morning I took Bill over to Rixton for a walk. Driving down Holly Bush Lane I could see a Kestrel and 2 Sparrowhawks in the air to the west – a flock of around 80 Goldfinches were also there. A second Kestrel was present on Woodend Lane and Skylarks seemed to be buzzing around everywhere. The first thing I saw on Moat Lane pool 1 was the now usual Green Sandpiper – typically it flew to the back of the pool and then headed off towards the tip pool. Three Mute Swans were present together on the pool – it took me a while to confirm one of them was Blue JP4. I haven’t seen him since the 17th Sept – no idea where he has been for the last fortnight but good to see him back.
Xxxxx
A pair of Wigeon, a Teal, a Little Grebe and a few Tufties and Coots were also on the pool. A small flock of wagtails at the back included two Greys. Four Buzzards suddenly appeared and flew low over the pool in turn giving stonking views and leaving me cursing that I had left my camera in the car. The birds on the pool seemed a little nervous but quietened down after the Buzzards left. Someone then started shooting in the wood to the west and flock after flock of ducks flew over the pool – at least 220 Mallards and around 35 Teal with some of the latter briefly descending onto the pool. Eventually the shooting spooked everything and emptied the pool bar the swans. Pool 2 was dead – nearby were a Nuthatch and a Great Spotted Woodpecker.
Xxxxx
Mid afternoon I headed off to HGF via Waterworks Lane. There was nothing present at the feeding station, however as with everywhere I went today birds were constantly on the move and flying all over the place. I love these autumn days when the bird life seems so busy. A flock of Woodpigeons and various brown jobs had settled in the field by the treatment works. He spooked when a Buzzard flew over but quickly settled again, however almost immediately a Merlin appeared from somewhere and flew right into the middle of the flock. Birds scattered everywhere, however the Merlin was unsuccessful and flew up to perch on a pylon before heading off towards Burtonwood.
Xxxxx
HGF was probably the quietest place I visited today. On the water were 77 Coot, 40 Mallard, 14 Tufted Duck, 2 Wigeon, 3 Little Grebe and 10 Great Crested Grebes. 60 or so Black-headed Gulls were bathing in the pool and 24 Pied Wagtails were feeding in the field opposite the kennels – more than a few of them looking good candidates for White Wagtail. Again today at HGF I heard the unusual Robin call – I can’t even begin to describe it but it almost seems to be a croak! 7 Skylarks were present in the south field.
Xxxxxx
Sunday morning was very wet with heavy rain for hours. Partly for the sake of something to do I took Bill out to Pennington Flash. It was quiet at PF with a dearth of both birds and birders. A female Sparrowhawk cruised down the spit and flushed nothing! At the feeding station the usual Willow Tits and Bullfinches were joined by a Nuthatch – a bit of a rarity here and only the second one I have seen here.
Xxxx
A mooch around HGF in the rain produced little other than two coveys of Grey Partridges (7 and 5) and a couple of fly over Skylarks. In the afternoon I had the please of driving down the M6 in this muck (work in Droitwich the next day) and spent nearly four hours on the motorway. I had called in briefly at the feeding station on my way past – 3 Tree Sparrows and a flock of around 70 Linnets in the field opposite were all I found.
XXXXX
On arrival at my accommodation for the night I took advantage of the fact that it is literally next door to Upton Warren nature reserve and duly headed off to the flashes for the last hour of daylight. A few Chiffchaffs were calling in the hedge (a sort of suueee call) but not much else on the way to the hides. When I settled in to the main hide the juvenile Pectoral Sandpiper could be seen on the far side of the pool feeding at the edge of the reed bed. Also here were 18 Snipe (checked for Jacks and found none) plus a Dunlin, a Green Sandpiper and a juvenile Water Rail. I also trawled through the large flock of Black-headed Gulls hoping for a Med but came up with nothing. Pleasant hour or so though, especially after the motorway madness.
Xxxxx
Monday after work I diverted over to Draycote Water on the way home. The attraction was a drake Lesser Scaup which is thought to be a returning bird first seen as a juvenile in 2007. I saw this bird as a juvenile that winter and again in adult plumage the following year. It was a pleasantly sunny and calm evening and I wandered slowly along Hensborough Bank scanning through the Tufties for the Lesser Scaup. The only other birder there was a guy who had only just started birding and had not much idea what he was looking for, he plonked himself down on the shoreline to watch for it. I eventually found the bird a few hundred yards further along – the bird was active briefly and then went to sleep. I told the guy where to find it on my way back.
Xxxx
Draycote Water is a big reservoir – 650 acres holding 23,000,000m3 of water. It is over four times the size of Pennington Flash. There is a large gull flock here and this evening thousands of gulls were scattered all over the surface of the water including a few hundred Great Black-backs. I did a brief scan through, however I was running out of daylight to see anything (it went dark at 6-20 – when did that creep up?). At one point every gull on the water spooked and the birds all went up – what a magnificent sight!
xxxx
Saturday morning (2nd October) was bright and breezy with plenty of sun – a welcome change to the mucky grey skies and copious rain of the last week or so. Early on I nipped out to have a quick butchers at my feeding station. Three Yellowhammers and a couple of Tree Sparrows were already in residence – they were soon joined by 8 Greenfinches. Rather worryingly one of the Tree Sparrows was all fluffed up and lethargic with tiny sunken eyes – much like the Greenfinches with trichomonosis. Four Skylarks flew over – otherwise it was quiet.
Xxxxx
Mid morning I took Karen to the hairdressers and then spent 40 minutes or so wandering around Newton Lake. The Teal numbers have increased to 74 with the usual pairs of Mute Swans, Little Grebes and Canada Geese present. 11 Tufted Ducks were also dozing on the water. Two Grey Wagtails flew over and then disappeared on the muddy spit. I walked up towards the church and was immediately struck by the number of Robins – at least 20 were flitting around. A Nuthatch was flitting around in the usual place by the church, a Jay perched in the top of a nearby tree and pairs of Coal Tit and Goldcrest were also seen.
Xxxx
Late morning I took Bill over to Rixton for a walk. Driving down Holly Bush Lane I could see a Kestrel and 2 Sparrowhawks in the air to the west – a flock of around 80 Goldfinches were also there. A second Kestrel was present on Woodend Lane and Skylarks seemed to be buzzing around everywhere. The first thing I saw on Moat Lane pool 1 was the now usual Green Sandpiper – typically it flew to the back of the pool and then headed off towards the tip pool. Three Mute Swans were present together on the pool – it took me a while to confirm one of them was Blue JP4. I haven’t seen him since the 17th Sept – no idea where he has been for the last fortnight but good to see him back.
Xxxxx
A pair of Wigeon, a Teal, a Little Grebe and a few Tufties and Coots were also on the pool. A small flock of wagtails at the back included two Greys. Four Buzzards suddenly appeared and flew low over the pool in turn giving stonking views and leaving me cursing that I had left my camera in the car. The birds on the pool seemed a little nervous but quietened down after the Buzzards left. Someone then started shooting in the wood to the west and flock after flock of ducks flew over the pool – at least 220 Mallards and around 35 Teal with some of the latter briefly descending onto the pool. Eventually the shooting spooked everything and emptied the pool bar the swans. Pool 2 was dead – nearby were a Nuthatch and a Great Spotted Woodpecker.
Xxxxx
Mid afternoon I headed off to HGF via Waterworks Lane. There was nothing present at the feeding station, however as with everywhere I went today birds were constantly on the move and flying all over the place. I love these autumn days when the bird life seems so busy. A flock of Woodpigeons and various brown jobs had settled in the field by the treatment works. He spooked when a Buzzard flew over but quickly settled again, however almost immediately a Merlin appeared from somewhere and flew right into the middle of the flock. Birds scattered everywhere, however the Merlin was unsuccessful and flew up to perch on a pylon before heading off towards Burtonwood.
Xxxxx
HGF was probably the quietest place I visited today. On the water were 77 Coot, 40 Mallard, 14 Tufted Duck, 2 Wigeon, 3 Little Grebe and 10 Great Crested Grebes. 60 or so Black-headed Gulls were bathing in the pool and 24 Pied Wagtails were feeding in the field opposite the kennels – more than a few of them looking good candidates for White Wagtail. Again today at HGF I heard the unusual Robin call – I can’t even begin to describe it but it almost seems to be a croak! 7 Skylarks were present in the south field.
Xxxxxx
Sunday morning was very wet with heavy rain for hours. Partly for the sake of something to do I took Bill out to Pennington Flash. It was quiet at PF with a dearth of both birds and birders. A female Sparrowhawk cruised down the spit and flushed nothing! At the feeding station the usual Willow Tits and Bullfinches were joined by a Nuthatch – a bit of a rarity here and only the second one I have seen here.
Xxxx
A mooch around HGF in the rain produced little other than two coveys of Grey Partridges (7 and 5) and a couple of fly over Skylarks. In the afternoon I had the please of driving down the M6 in this muck (work in Droitwich the next day) and spent nearly four hours on the motorway. I had called in briefly at the feeding station on my way past – 3 Tree Sparrows and a flock of around 70 Linnets in the field opposite were all I found.
XXXXX
On arrival at my accommodation for the night I took advantage of the fact that it is literally next door to Upton Warren nature reserve and duly headed off to the flashes for the last hour of daylight. A few Chiffchaffs were calling in the hedge (a sort of suueee call) but not much else on the way to the hides. When I settled in to the main hide the juvenile Pectoral Sandpiper could be seen on the far side of the pool feeding at the edge of the reed bed. Also here were 18 Snipe (checked for Jacks and found none) plus a Dunlin, a Green Sandpiper and a juvenile Water Rail. I also trawled through the large flock of Black-headed Gulls hoping for a Med but came up with nothing. Pleasant hour or so though, especially after the motorway madness.
Xxxxx
Monday after work I diverted over to Draycote Water on the way home. The attraction was a drake Lesser Scaup which is thought to be a returning bird first seen as a juvenile in 2007. I saw this bird as a juvenile that winter and again in adult plumage the following year. It was a pleasantly sunny and calm evening and I wandered slowly along Hensborough Bank scanning through the Tufties for the Lesser Scaup. The only other birder there was a guy who had only just started birding and had not much idea what he was looking for, he plonked himself down on the shoreline to watch for it. I eventually found the bird a few hundred yards further along – the bird was active briefly and then went to sleep. I told the guy where to find it on my way back.
Xxxx
Draycote Water is a big reservoir – 650 acres holding 23,000,000m3 of water. It is over four times the size of Pennington Flash. There is a large gull flock here and this evening thousands of gulls were scattered all over the surface of the water including a few hundred Great Black-backs. I did a brief scan through, however I was running out of daylight to see anything (it went dark at 6-20 – when did that creep up?). At one point every gull on the water spooked and the birds all went up – what a magnificent sight!
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