December 12th to 26th.

There are regular reports of great white egret from the quarry.

Great tit. Always reliable at the bird tables. 

15th: Chiffchaff x 2 (Hayling), water-rail (Cloudy), siskins x 2 (VC) (Neal)

18th: Grey squirrels, robin (HH) Goosander, goldeneye x 5, (Washout) (PC)
         Black squirrel, redwing and fieldfares on the river trail. ( Mags B)

20th: Wood pigeon, robin, goldfinch, blue tit, long-tailed tit,
          pied wagtail. (Chloe and Sharon)

21st: Squirrel x 5, blue tit and robin. (Lucy Thomson)

Third Thursday Walk: Blackbird, BH gull, blue tit, carrion crow, collared dove,
chaffinch, common gull, coot, cormorant, gs woodpecker, great tit, green sandpiper,
grey heron, greylag, jackdaw, kingfisher, lt tit, magpie, mallard, moorhen,
mute swan,redwing, robin, rook, shoveller, starling, stock dove, teal, tufted duck, widgeon, wood pigeon, goldeneye, goosander. (35 spp)

24th: G.s Woodpecker, mute swan, grey heron, moorhen, tufted duck. (Eileen)

Christmas 2017

Top Christmas Birding to you all. 

No starlings?

Grey, mild weather has been good for birds like kingfishers that stayed here but we need some harsh conditions to make the birds (and birders) gather together in havens like Paxton Pits.

We are on the look out for that classic winter duck the smew, but they are simply not here. A few goosanders pop in and out and there is a good range of dabblers to see; all in fine colour now as they enter their courtship phase.

Speaking of courtship, the cormorants are in their breeding dress (look for the white patch near the tail) and nest building is under way.

Collared dove. Always at the bird-table. 

It's always worth a look at the bird tables. Recent sightings have included redpolls and I expect to see a marsh tit every time I go to the Hayden Hide, but no luck yet. The bird tables attract a host of common birds.

Grey squirrel, always at the bird-table too. 

At dusk I like to take a turn round the Meadow Trail, hoping to hear a Cetti's warbler and see an evening gathering of starlings. There is a small murmuration that gathers over the meadow, but numbers are in the low hundreds. Still enough to attract a sparrow hawk every evening.

Merry Christmas!
Jim

December 1st to 11th 2017

Wintering chiff chaff

1st:  Red crested pochard fm, grey wagtail (2), kestrel, goldeneyes, kingfisher (2+)
        Fox sunning: All at Heronry North. (LES) (A+AB)
        GS Woodpecker at Hayden Hide.

3rd:  Gadwall, goldeneye, bullfinch, greenfinch, chaffinch, goldfinch, 2 Firecrests?, 
        goldcrest, redwing,  Gt crested grebe, little grebe, shoveller,
        Egyptian geese. (J+B W)
       
4th:  Long-tailed tits, snipe. Goldeneye (5)(Kingfisher Hide)
        Ringed (red) Mute swan. c100 stock-doves in roost at 3pm (TG)

6th: Buzzard, kingfisher, kestrel, teal at Bill's Bench.
       Chiff-chaff, bullfinch, goldcrest (2), sparrow hawk on Meadow Trail. (JAS)

7th: 10 Egyptian geese on Heronry South (ES)
        Bluetits, redwings, chaffinches (MES Lenwood)

8th: Goldeneyes (5) Red-crested pochard (fm), jay (3)

9th: Green sandpiper on Heronry North shore,  2 foxes sunbathing. (JAS)

11th Male redpoll on feeder at the Visitor Centre.
       Small starling roost in the meadow/Cloudy Pit attracting a sparrowhawk at dusk.

November 26th to December 1st 2017

The view from Bill's Bench.
Look out for kingfishers, grey wagtails, wildfowl and the fox.

26th: 10 Shoveller, 140 tufted duck, 140 gadwall, 95 wigeon, 4 teal, green sandpiper,
         10 goldeneye, water rail, kestrel, 4 pochard, 2 skylark, goldcrest, grey wagtail. 
         (Terry Brown)

          Green sandpiper, (SW corner of Island Pit) 2 kingfisher (Heronry lakes)
          4 drake goldeneyes (Heronry N.) 8 Egyptian geese (Heronry South)
          (A&G Williams)

Male bullfinch

27th:  Peregrine falcon, low over Heronry North (TG)

28th:  3 gadwall, 5 mallard at Bill's Bench. (L. Neverad)

1st:    Grey wagtail, bullfinch, fox, fieldfares, 4 goldeneye, green sandpiper on
          Heronry Lakes. (JS)