31 August 2010

Another bright sunny day with very little wind, a heavy mist over the lake made it difficult to see across and with the forecast due to continue for the week it's hopefully going to make for a interesting week on the migrant front, temp was 12c and felt very cool until the sun got on your back, visit 06.20 - 07.55.

After all the excitement of yesterday with the Sandwich Tern, things seemed a bit quiet this morning, it felt very autumnal and some of the birds seen pointed in that direction, as I entered the park 8 Starlings flew over and a Jay flew across the playing field, on the model boating lake 2 adult and 2 juvenile Great Crested Grebes with at least another 5 on the main lake, 13 Mute Swans on the boating lake and another 7 on the main lake, also on the main lake a Grey Heron, 63 Tufted Ducks, 1 Shoveler, 2 Pochard and a nice surprise was 3 Goosanders, flying over the main lake a few House Martins, Swallows and just 1 Sand Martin, also a Cormorant flew over heading north and a real sign of autumn a Meadow Pipit flew over.

Quite quiet on the Warbler and Tit front with about 10 Chiffchaffs, 2 Willow Warblers, 1 Willow Tit and 3 Blackcaps, a couple of Grey Wagtails were at Ted Heath Rock.

Later in the morning Dave Kelsell had, 2 Cormorants and 18 Lapwings over the main lake and 2 Spotted Flycatchers by the overflow on the canal at the side of the sewage works, the Lapwings puts us on 72 species for the month, the second best month of the year after April, which will take a bit of beating on 78 species.

30 August 2010

Called back down Westport tonight in the hope of seeing or hearing a Owl or two after hearing 2 Tawny Owls nearby in the early hours of this morning, I got down for the last few hours of light and stayed until it was completely dark, but sadly no joy, covered the main lake, nature reserve, gas works, sewage works and finished along the 'Avenue' and on Price's field.

As Nick had said yesterday, sadly the Great Crested Grebes on the model boating lake have lost there latest juvenile, the 2 older ones continued to pester them for food, on the main lake at least 200+ Black-headed Gulls with a few Lesser Black-backed Gulls and a single Herring Gull, 2 Pochards were among the Tufted Duck flock, as it got close to dusk I headed for the gas works and sewage works hoping for a Barn Owl but saw nothing, I then went down to the 'Avenue' by which time it was completely dark but again no sign or sound in the way of an Owl.

Oh well there's always tomorrow, hey Nick!

Sandwich Tern Photo's by Steve Seal

30 August 2010

As I said yesterday, didn't get down to Westport this morning as Nick and myself went to Leics to see the Kentish Plover at Eyebrook Res, well that was the idea and as usual things didn't go to plan, firstly as I took the dog for a quick walk before we left 2 Tawny Owls (probably young) were calling from the trees in front of my house, they flew off south towards Westport, so a possible Westport tick in future, we got down the Eyebrook Res, no Kentish Plover but we did see a nice Pectoral Sandpiper, Med Gull and Red Kite, as we both needed to be home early we were away for 9am to be back at 11am, as promised, then as we were on the way home Nick received a phone call from Dave Kelsell, my heart sank because I knew it would mean we had probably just missed something at Westport, eventually Nick decided to tell me it was a Sandwich Tern (Westport tick for us both), his foot went a bit further down the pedal and by the wonders of modern science we arrived at Westport at about 10.45am to see a nice moulting and rather tired Sandwich Tern, YES there is a god!!!

This is my 99th bird for the year at Westport and if I can get the Tawny Owls down there tonight I will make the magic 100! The photo's aren't brilliant I know but they were taken holding my camera against my bins, not easy when your shaking with excitement!

29 August 2010

I wasn't able to get down to Westport this morning due to work commitments and I will not be down on Bank Holiday Monday as Nick and myself will fingers crossed be looking at the Kentish Plover at Eyebrook Res in Leicestershire!

Nick managed a visit this morning although the weather conditions wasn't very good with rain and a strong wind, the youngest Great Crested Grebe from the ongoing model boating lake saga was missing which is no surprise as the older youngsters continued to chase the parents for all the food, 2 Swifts are still present but the numbers continue to drop slowly as the week has progressed, 160+ House Martins, 60+ Swallows and 4 Sand Martins were on and around the top end of the main lake, on the main lake 5 Teal and 3 Shoveler with the Tufted Ducks and 3 Cormorants flew over heading south, it was a poor day for Warblers with the weather but 14 Chiffchaffs and a single Willow Warbler were noted.

28 August 2010

A cloudy morning with sunny intervals, wind was a strong north/northwesterly, temp was a bit warmer than yesterday at 13c, visit from 06.10 - 08.55.

A busy day, with visits to Blithfield, Branston GP and Belvide straight after Westport, hence doing the blog so late tonight, Grey Heron was on the boating lake along with 5 Great Crested Grebes (3 juveniles), 5 Teal, 1 Mute Swan and a single Shoveler, probably 'Sammy', the Mute Swans have dropped in numbers with only 19 on the main lake, also present another 8 Great Crested Grebes of which 2 were juveniles, 4 Teal sent over from the boating lake, Tufted Ducks have dropped to 65 nearly 40 down from earlier in the week, good numbers of House Martins were again over the top of the main lake although not the numbers of the previous days, probably around 100+ among them Swallows and couple of Sand Martins and 3-4 Swifts, after yesterdays big Willow Warbler count just a couple were heard today with 1 on the nature reserve side of the main lake and another on the sewage works area, Chiffchaffs were everywhere with over 30+ present just about everywhere you turned.

The Green Woodpecker was again heard at the top of the nature reserve along with a Coal Tit and Great Spotted Woodpecker, the later was seen again later on the sewage works, 2 Willow Tits were by the top pool and a Treecreeper, on the gas works at the top by the railway line a juvenile Bullfinch with 2 Whitethroats, a Jay and 2 Linnets, at least 3 Blackcaps were on the sewage works with a good number of Chiffchaffs, finally back at the top of the main lake a Pochard was seen with the Tufted Ducks.

27 August 2010

Bright sunny morning with very little cloud, very slight northwesterly breeze, rather cool with a temp of 11c, visit from 06.00 - 07.45.

Quite a quick visit this morning due to going to work for British Waterways at Etruria today, at least 4 Swifts were seen with 3 together at the top of the main lake and later I had a single along the canal, on the model boating lake the usual 4 Great Crested Grebes (2 adults & 2 juveniles) and another 6 on the main lake with 2 being juveniles, also on the boating lake a single Grey Heron and 3 Mute Swans with another 20 on the main lake, at least 200 House Martins were over the top of the main lake and on the wires on the old sewage works, among them were 40+ Swallows and a couple of Sand Martins, a couple of adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls were on the main lake with 94 Tufted Duck, 5 Teal and a couple of Pochard.

Along the nature reserve side of the main lake, the Tit flock was going through, which included at least 3+ Willow Warblers, 7+ Chiffchaffs, 3 Blackcaps and a Great Spotted Woodpecker, on the top pool 1-2 Reed Warblers were in the reed bed, on the old sewage works another 3+ Willow Warblers, 7+ Chiffchaffs, 2 Bullfinches, 6 Blackcaps, a single Garden Warbler and a single Willow Tit, as I made my way down the canal side of the main lake there were singles of Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler and Blackcap.

Later in the morning Jeff Jones had the Green Woodpecker showing well on the path on the north west corner of the sewage works it then flew over to the old gas works from were it could be heard calling, like Nick and myself this morning he didn't see any sign of yesterday's Lesser Whitethroat or Spotted Flycatcher, but managed to see a couple of Garden Warblers and several Swifts.

25 August 2010

It was a bright and sunny morning after a bit of a light early mist, a slight westerly breeze seemed to ease a bit later on, temp was a cool 13c but felt warmer in the sun, visit from 06.20 - 09.00.

The usual Great Crested Grebe family was on the model boating lake which also had the usual Grey Heron and Shoveler, on the main lake although I didn't do a count this morning were the Great Crested Grebes and Mute Swans, Tufted Ducks have dropped back down slightly to 85, but the single Pochard remains, along the nature reserve side of the main lake at least 3 Chiffchaffs a singing Willow Warbler and a Coal Tit calling.

As you can see from the above photo's by Steve Seal, it was a nice morning down Westport with a new tick for me in the shape of this lovely Lesser Whitethroat, it had been picked up the other day by Dave Kelsell and Jeff Jones but Nick Smith and myself managed to relocate it this morning on the old sewage works by the brook and the telegraph pole, it really is the place to go at the moment for migrants, also present here was a Spotted Flycatcher, Garden Warbler, Whitethroat, 3+ Blackcaps, 2 Willow Warblers at least 10 Chiffchaffs and plenty of Tits and a few Bullfinches.

At least 4 Swifts were over the top of the main lake but House Martin and Swallow numbers have really dropped off, on the top pool in the nature reserve just 1 Reed Warbler was heard calling, the Green Woodpecker was again heard from the nature reserve and later on I briefly saw it along the tree line between the old gas works and sewage works, whilst watching for the Lesser Whitethroat 3 Cormorant flew over heading south, 2 Willow Tits were also seen at the bottom of the sewage works and twice a Sparrowhawk flew along the tree line, later at the top of the main lake 2 Common Sandpipers were seen flying around the main lake calling.

In total 46 species were seen this morning.

24 August 2010

Didn't manage to get down to Westport this morning, hopefully I will get down later in the afternoon, meanwhile Nick Smith made his usual visit this morning with the highlights being the Spotted Flycatcher still present on the old sewage works by the brook and telegraph pole, 7 Swifts over the top end of the main lake with 100 House Martins and a Little Grebe back on the main lake.

Later in the morning Pete Lunt had 3 Swifts about 100 each of House Martin and Swallows, Blackcap, Willow Warbler, 2 Chiffchaffs and 3 Bullfinches plus a couple of Foxes on the old gas works.

23 August 2010

A lot of overnight rain made it rather damp under foot, steady north/northwesterly breeze, quite heavy cloud with the odd sunny spell, temp was a pleasant 17c, visit from 06.10 - 08.30.

At least 50+ Swallows were seen over the top of the main lake and at one point I managed a photo of them gathered on the telegraph wires on the sewage works, among them were 4 House Martins and 3 Sand Martins, on the boating lake the usual 4 Great Crested Grebes with another 7 on the main lake which included the 2 juveniles, also on the boating lake a single Shoveler which is probably 'Sammy' a single Grey Heron and a single Mute Swan with the other 25 being on the main lake, they continue to drop off slowly over the last few weeks, also on the main lake 99 Tufted Ducks, everyday we seem to get the largest count of the month, lets see if we can break the 100 tomorrow, a single Pochard was also with them and 5+ Swifts were flying over the top end of main lake, a single Starling flew over the main lake and 3 Blackcaps were by the sidings with another 2 on the sewage works.

Along the nature reserve side of the main lake a Great Spotted Woodpecker was calling from the tree tops and another was at the top of the main lake and later on the sewage works, about 8 Chiffchaffs were all along the edge of the main lake with another 5 on the sewage works, a single Willow Tit was also heard calling, also along the sewage works by the brook area a single Garden Warbler, juvenile Bullfinch and a Spotted Flycatcher which the circled high a few times before heading south! A Willow Warbler was singing on the gas works and Nick also had one singing along the canal side of the main lake, 3 Jay's were flying around the sewage works area making a racket and finally 4 Mistle Thrushes were seen by the visitor centre as I left.

The above photo's include a few by Nick Smith showing the a unusual type of mushroom we had near the lake, anyone got any ideas? And the Spotted Flycatcher.

Later this morning Jeff Jones and Dave Kelsell had a Lesser Whitethroat on the old sewage works near were the Spotted Flycatcher had been, this is a first for the year at Westport and puts us on 118 for the year.

Managed to get back down Westport late afternoon to see if I could see the Lesser Whitethroat, unfortunately the weather had other ideas with a torrential downpour meaning no Lesser Whitethoat, did manage to see over 150 Swallows over the main lake with a few House Martins before we got totally soaked.

22 August 2010

A very bright sunny day with very little cloud cover, breeze was non existent, temp was 16c but felt much warmer in the sun, nice long visit from 06.15 - 09.10.

At least 30+ Swallows were over the top of the main lake with 50+ House Martins and 10+ Swifts, on the playing field most of the 150 Canada Geese were feeding with the hybrid CanadaxGreylag, 26 Mute Swans were on the main lake and just 2 on the boating lake, numbers have dropped off slowly this week, a Grey Heron was on the model boating lake along with 1 Shoveler plus another 3 Shovelers on the main lake, also on the main lake 92 Tufted Ducks which is another monthly high after yesterdays, no sign of the male Pochard or Little Grebe, a few Chiffchaffs were along the nature reserve side of the main lake with the majority of the 20 we saw on the gas works and the sewage works.

A single Coal Tit was again heard by the top pool, 6 Willow Warblers were heard singing again most were on the gas works and sewage works, the Nuthatch was heard calling for the first time since last week this time it was in the trees between the gas works and sewage works, a Grey Wagtail flew over the gas works and the Green Woodpecker was heard near the top end of the gas works, on the sewage works 2 Jays were being rather loud and 2 Spotted Flycatchers were seen together by the telegraph pole at the brook end of the sewage works to go with the one we had at the top of the gas works earlier, also 4 Blackcaps were on here, 3 Garden Warblers a single Whitethroat and a single Willow Tit.

The above photo is of a blurred Spotted Flycatcher.

21 August 2010

Although quite dull it was rather warm, the cloud cover was heavy but high, wind was moderate from the south west, temp 17c, visit from 06.00 - 08.45.

A couple of Grey Herons were present with 1 on the model boating lake and 1 on the small pool on the old gas works, at least 7+ Swifts were over the top of the main lake but nowhere near as many Swallows and House Martins of the last few days, the usual 4 Great Crested Grebes were on the boating lake and another 7 on the main lake in total 4 were juveniles off both lakes, 30 Mute Swans were present, also on the main lake 5 Shoveler, 90 Tufted Ducks is the highest count of the month so far, 1 Teal and 1 Pochard were also on the main lake, both Great Spotted Woodpecker and Green Woodpecker were heard calling from the sidings area.

Along the nature reserve side of the main lake and in the sewage works/gas works a good count of 6 Willow Warblers and over 20 Chiffchaffs were present, many of the Willow Warblers were singing, 4 Bullfinches flew across the gas works and 2 Reed Warblers were on the top pool, were a Willow Tit was also heard, a Kestrel flew across the gas works and not long after a Sparrowhawk, at least 6 Blackcaps were on the old sewage works and bird of the day was a Spotted Flycatcher on the telegraph wires on the sewage works, it was actually found by John Sutton the previous day, but we managed to relocate it this morning and is a Westport year tick for me, 3 Whitethroats were also on the sewage works and finally as we came back out onto the top of the main lake 5 Cormorants flew over heading south.

A interesting record from last weeks Kittiwake, it was the 5th record of Kittiwake at Westport with the others being 1 on the 12th and 2 on the 26th 1980 and the 10th and 19th in 1999, thanks to Nick for putting the work in to finding the dates.

19 August 2010

A dry morning with light cloud and good sunny intervals, temp 15c, again very little wind of note, visit from 06.00 - 07.55.

A adult and 1st year Lesser Black-backed Gull were on the main lake, and a flock of 91 Black-headed Gulls remained from the overnight roost, 31 Mute Swans were on the main lake apart from 2 which were on the boating lake, 4 Great Crested Grebes on the boating lake the 2 adults and 1 of each brood juveniles, 9 were on the main lake which included 3 juveniles 1 of which was from the older brood on the boating lake (very confusing I know), the Green Woodpecker was heard calling again firstly from the sidings then the back of the boating lake and later we both thought we heard it by the gas/sewage works, back to the main lake and 86 Tufted Ducks, it won't be long before we reach the 100's, again 4 Shovelers were present with 1 on the boating lake and 3 on the main lake, 1 Pochard again on the main lake, a Grey Heron was on the boating lake and another on the small pool by the old gas works.

The Little Grebe remains on the main lake for it's third day, House Martin numbers have dropped off to around 50+ with 8 Swifts present today, a couple of Blackcaps were near the nature reserve and a Great Spotted Woodpecker was calling from here, 5 Willow Warblers and 13 Chiffchafffs were heard/seen mostly along the nature reserve side of the main lake and on the gas works, a couple of Sand Martins went across the main lake, a Grey Wagtail flew across the gas works, the first one since the young departed earlier in the summer, a couple of Coal Tits were heard, 1 by the top pool and 1 on the sewage works.

After a afternoon visit to Gailey with Nick's dad George to see the Black-necked Grebe, I'd just got in the house when I received a call from Nick telling me Phil Jones had just had 3 Little Egrets flying south over Westport, now as I live due south of Westport and a stones throw away I ran out the house just in time to see 3 Little Egrets flying over the top of my road following the canal south, I passed this to Nick, who also lives by the canal but down in Etruria, sure enough 5 minutes later and 3 Little Egrets flew over his along the canal heading south, who says technology doesn't work!!

18 August 2010

not a bad morning for both the weather and the birds, dry with heavy but high cloud cover, temp slightly cooler than yesterday at 14c, wind was again very light, poss north westerly, visit from 06.10 - 08.30.

As I walked into the park 2 Grey Herons were flying around the playing fields and then the main lake before one settled on the posts by the boating ramp on the main lake, Great Crested Grebes seemed a bit low, only 4 were seen on the boating lake, 2 adults and a juvenile from each brood and on the main lake 2 juveniles and 5 adults, 3 Shovelers were on the main lake and a single on the boating lake, a Gadwall was also seen on the main lake and flying around with the Shovelers, around 10+ Swifts were over the main lake after having none at all yesterday, House Martins remained strong with around 120+ and good numbers of Swallows around 50+, back on the main lake 30 Mute Swans with a couple on the boating lake and 1 on the middle pool in the nature reserve, Tufted Ducks remain steady with 75 all on the main lake with a single Pochard.

A single Teal remains on the main lake but again no sign of the Chestnut Teal which was seen later in the day yesterday, a couple of Blackcaps were in the scrub at the top of the main lake, and the Little Grebe was again in the top right corner of the main lake for its second day, a Jay or two were heard calling from the nature reserve, bird of the day was a Hobby picked up by Nick flying through the Swallows and Martins, it came across low and slowly gained height before heading off south, its the third record of the year and my second and the first one we've seen in the morning with all others being afternoon birds, around 6 Chiffchaffs were in the park with most being along the edge of the main lake and on the sewage works and gas works, a single Coal Tit was calling from the canal side of the main lake and again the 1st year Green Woodpecker was seen and heard on the sewage works, a single Treecreeper was with the Tit flock by the boardwalk bridge in the nature reserve with a single Willow Tit and a Willow Warbler was calling from near the top pool.

As you can see above we have yet another exotic visitor to Westport Lake, were all these are coming from I have no idea, I've contacted the RSPCA and Staffs Wildlife Trust, but neither know anything about any ducks being put on Westport Lake, this year alone we've had, Marbled Duck, Ruddy Shelduck, Cape Shelduck, Chestnut Teal and now the above Muscovy Duck as well as the Khaki Ducks and several other wierd and wonderful things, if anyone knows were they are coming from could you please let us know.

17 August 2010

Having to go down a bit later each morning now as the early mornings close in, although the sun rose at 05.50, it was still almost dark as I left the house at 06.00, it was raining lightly which turned to a heavy drizzle for most of the morning, wind was very light from the north/northwest, heavy cloud, temp was a quite warm 17c, quite a short visit til 07.45.



Most of the Canada Geese were on the playing field which included the hybrid CanadaxGreylag, a total of 161 were present, there were 2 Shoveler but possibly 4, 2 were on the boating lake and later 2 on the main lake but they were flighty so possibly the same birds, still at least 5 Great Crested Grebes on the boating lake of which 3 are juveniles and another 9 on the main lake of which 2 are juveniles, 3 Teal were also on the main lake but no sign of the Chestnut Teal from the last few days, at least 100+ House Martins were over the canal side of the main lake with about 20+ Swallows but no sign of any Swifts today, a Green Woodpecker was again heard calling from the nature reserve and then the sewage works, at least 3 Willow Warblers were calling, 2 from the reserve side of the main lake and one from the canal side, just a single Pochard was on the main lake, Treecreeper was heard from the nature reserve, a Jay flew from the old gas works and over the railway line, as did a single Bullfinch and further along a family party of 6 Bullfinches were along the railway line and then flew over to the old sewage works, also on the old sewage works a single Willow Tit and the same with Whitethroat, as we came back out to the top of the main lake a Little Grebe was seen along the top edge the first since spring, also a Coal Tit was calling along the canal side of the main lake.

Total species seen 41.

Later in the morning Dave Kelsell had the Chestnut Teal on the model boating lake, and early afternoon Pete Lunt had a couple of Swifts, a Sparrowhawk, Blackcap, Grey Heron, 4 Jays, 2 Teal and 2 Shoveler.

Chestnut Teal

A couple of pictures of the Chestnut Teal via Nick Smith, I managed to see the Teal this morning, it flew from the model boating lake across to the main lake, I did notice it had a stonking white wing bar in flight, which is how I managed to find the bird, when on the water as you can see it's a bit on the dull side.

15 August 2010

Went straight out for a day's birding around south Staffs so sadly didn't get time to do the blog yesterday and today I've been rushed up to my parents for a family party so didn't get around Westport today, but Nick has had a good day, as we did yesterday, in fact the week as a whole has been rather good, probably due to the weather as again yesterday we got soaked early on before it picked up a bit later although it wasn't a massive improvement, wind was strong and from the north west with a temp of 13c, prolonged showers very heavy at times esp early on, today they managed a much drier day in fact no rain for the first time in about two week.

14 August 2010
On the main lake 67 Tufted Duck which is about the norm at the moment, a single male Pochard and a single (I'll whisper this) Ruddy Duck, after the heavy rain had stopped a Dunlin flew around the main lake, trying to land in the middle of the lake, it was occasionally chased by a Swallow after about 5 minutes it flew off high north, the family of Great Crested Grebes remain on the boating lake, we managed to see at least one of the very young but again the older juveniles were taking the food before the adult could get to them, the main lake contained at least 6 adults and 2 juvenile Great Crested Grebes, a excellent count of 10 Shoveler, most on the main lake and a single on the boating lake, the Green Woodpecker was back on the park mainly calling from the top end and we managed to catch up with it later on the old sewage works were it then flew across to the old gas works, at least 4 Willow Warblers were part singing, 2 on the nature reserve side of the main lake, 1 on the gas works and 1 on the canal side of the main lake, Chiffchaffs were 5+ around mainly the reserve side of the main lake with a female Blackcap, a Jay flew onto the sewage works and then across to the top of the main lake, just before we left a adult Kittiwake appeared on the main lake with a party of Black-headed Gulls it then departed south with the other Gulls after about 10 minutes.

Today 15 August 2010
As I've already said sadly I wasn't able to get down today, but Nick and Phil had a good visit, the Nuthatch is back, this time behind the visitor centre, a excellent count of 13 Teal, at least 8 Shoveler possibly 11 as 3 were seen flying off and 2 female Ruddy Duck (sorry), also a Kingfisher.

Later in the day Dave Kelsell noticed an unusual Teal not sure what it was he asked Phil Jones to have a look, it was identified as a Chestnut Teal, all the way from Australia, quite were this one came from is any one's guess but with Cape Shelduck earlier in the week and Marbled Duck and Ruddy Shelduck recently were on quite a roll with the exotic Ducks!

13 August 2010

A damp but dry start, however it didn't last long and heavy rain lasted until I left, the wind was quite light from the north west, temp 14c, visit from 05.55 - 07.55.

Due to the bad weather we didn't see many species but it was high on quality, 34 Mute Swans were present with 4 on the model boating lake and the rest on the main lake, the strange goings on continue with the Great Crested Grebe family on the boating lake, at this rate I can't see the young chicks lasting long, a single Shoveler was on the boating lake with another 7 on the main lake, also on the main lake a single Pochard, 70 Tufted Duck a Cape Shelduck from who knows where, a Teal and a Ruddy Duck, but don't tell anyone, there were 2 yesterday but may be DEFRA found out and managed to bag one, NOT.

One of the highlights of the day came with the 2nd Green Sandpiper of the week, it was flushed from the bank of the main lake and then flew around the main lake, it seemed to be taking insects of the top of the water before flying off high, along the nature reserve side of the main lake, 5 Chiffchaffs, 2 Willow Warblers and a Willow Tit were in the Tit flock and while at the top of the main lake a Cormorant flew over heading south, as I was leaving Westport along the canal I could hear a Wader calling, I thought the Green Sandpiper had come back and ran back down to the main lake to find a Greenshank flying around calling non stop, it continued to do so for about 10 minutes sometimes being chased by a Black-headed Gull, it eventually flew high still calling and headed off south, a new Westport tick for me and I think one of only a handful of records for Westport Lake.

12 August 2010

I bottled out of a long walk around Westport this morning due to the heavy rain, the dog and myself were soaked by the time we reached the main lake and not having waterproofs on I decided enough was enough, I did a quick scan of the main lake and other than a couple of Shoveler didn't notice anything else.

Nick Smith is made of stronger stuff than me (ie he had a raincoat) so he had a bit more to record, 2 female 'type' Ruddy Ducks is the 1st record since May, now I know people say you shouldn't report these because DEFRA will come along and shot them and if they were either breeding here or a resident then I would agree and say nothing but I really don't think DEFRA are interested in 2 records for the entire year, anyway rant over Nick also recorded, 3 Teal, 5 Shoveler and a single Common Sandpiper.

11 August 2010

Felt cool out at first but when the sun broke through the clouds it warmed up nicely, after that very little cloud cover and no wind again, must be calm now for about 5 days, temp 15c going up to 18c as I got home, visit from 05.55 - 08.15.

Nearly all the Canada Geese were on the playing field and included the hybrid CanadaxGreylag again, on the model boating lake 7 Mute Swans and another 29 on the main lake, the Great Crested Grebe family on the boating lake continues to intrigue me, they still have 2 new chicks but the older young are still pinching the fish off the adult every time he tries to feed the new ones, it's very strange and I can't see the new chicks surviving at this rate, on the main lake there are 8 adult and 2 juvenile Great Crested Grebes, Shovelers remain steady with the same 4 as yesterday although they seem to be moving about quite a bit between the two lakes, 67 Tufted Ducks remain on the main lake with 2 Pochard and 1 Gadwall, over 60+ House Martins were over the tree line of the main lake along the canal side and although I only saw a few Swifts Nick had 30+ (I think), a Grey Heron was as usual on the boating lake and later while still there another flew over going south, 3 Willow Warblers were heard mainly from the sidings and along the nature reserve side of the main lake plus Nick had one on the canal side.

Chiffchaffs were everywhere, it was impossible to keep up with numbers, I know Nick had over 20+ with what was down the canal side of the main lake, but along the nature reserve side there was 15+ and I think there was probably many more than that, both Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs were singing again, with the Chiffchaffs and the Tit flock there was also 3+ Willow Tits, Coal Tit, Great Spotted Woodpecker and 2 Trecreeper, Richard Sutton also had 2 Garden Warblers in the flock, by the top pool just 1 Reed Warbler was heard calling and on the old sewage works 2 Blackcaps and 2 Jays.

Total species seen 40.

09 August 2010

Started with a couple of heavy showers early on but then cleared up and the sun came out, lake totally flat with no wind at all, temp 15c, visit from 05.55 - 08.00, having to start going down a bit later now as the morning light closes in.

A couple of Lesser Black-backed Gulls flew over as I entered the park and 30+ Swifts were over the playing field with another 30+ over the top of the main lake, 5 Mute Swans were on the boating lake and 30 on the main lake, 2 Grey Herons were seen together on the old gas works one could possibly be the bird I had seen earlier on the boating lake, the usual family of 4 Great Crested Grebes were on the boating lake and 8 were on the main lake which includes 2 juveniles, also 65 Tufted Ducks which have dropped slightly from last week, a single Great Spotted Woodpecker was again seen around the park, there were 2 Shovelers on the boating lake and at least another 2 on the main lake.

A single Willow Tit was calling from the sidings, 2 Pochards were still together on the main lake along with a Gadwall, a couple of Coal Tits were heard, one in the nature reserve and the other from the canal side of the main lake, 4 Sand Martins flew through the main lake heading south, just 5 Chiffchaffs were heard today but I'm sure there were many more than this, a Bullfinch was by the top pool and a couple were on the old sewage works, 2 Jays were calling from the railway near the top pool, a single Stock Dove was on the old gas works and a single Mistle Thrush flew over, a couple of Blackcaps were on the sewage works and lastly a Willow Warbler was again calling from the trees on the canal side of the main lake.

08 August 2010

Nick Smith had a good morning at Westport, the Green Woodpecker was quite vocal and was seen again on the old sewage works, but it was the main lake that was busy with a single Teal and Gadwall and a nice count of at least 7 Shoveler!

07 August 2010

Damp start with light drizzle, wind was very light not sure from which direction, heavy cloud, temp 16c.

First proper visit for a few day's after calling in the other day during heavy rain I decided to walk back and didn't have time to call yesterday, but today seemed to make up for things with some movement and a new Westport tick for me, Canada Geese numbers have taken a huge drop now they have finished there moult, only last month we had nearly 300 birds, today it was down to just 121 with no sign of the hybrid CanadaxGreylag, Swift number were up to 70+ with good numbers of Swallows and House Martins going through, also 10+ Sand Martins all over the main lake, at the top of the main lake a new brood of 5 Coots have hatched, possibly a 2nd brood or the 1st maybe failed, Mute Swans totalled 38 with most on the main lake, the yellow ringed Swan is still present and we now think the ring number is B7Sor5V, it's hard to read to to damage to ring, 2 Shoveler are present with the usual male on the model boating lake and a female on the main lake, the family of 4 Great Crested Grebes remain on the boating lake, but with the female due to hatch her 3rd brood soon it won't be long before the other juveniles are kicked off, 7 Great Crested Grebes were on the main lake 2 of which are juveniles, 81 Tufted Ducks on the main lake shows a slow increase over the week but Pochard remain at 2, 6 Gadwall flew in from the south, they landed in the middle of the main lake and spent about 30+ minutes feeding, when we got back to the main lake from the gas and sewage works they had departed, a single Great Spotted Woodpecker was seen and heard several times around the park, and just one Lesser Black-backed Gull went through heading north.

Chiffchaff numbers were low with only 3 but this was probably due to the weather conditions, at least 2 Reed Warblers were on the top pool, a good count of 6 Bullfinches with a probable family of 5 together on the sewage works, Mistle Thrushes totalled 5 all together on the gas works, also a Sparrowhawk was seen here, a couple of Willow Warblers were calling one at the top of the main lake and one along the canal side of the main lake, lastly bird of the day was a Green Sandpiper picked up by Nick as he scanned the main lake, it flew around the lake looking to land for about 2 minutes before departing high to the south west, a new Westport tick for me.

Hope the good day continues as we now head off to Notts for the Baird's Sandpiper!

03 August 2010

Very dull with heavy cloud coverage, temp was 16c but felt cooler, breeze very light north westerly, visit from 05.45 - 08.30.

The Canada Geese numbers continue to drop now they are free flying again after there moult, just 129 are left which includes the CanadaxGreylag hybrid, a single Mute Swan on the boating lake and 34 on the main lake, was able to check a couple of rings and a new one is a yellow ringed bird but its badly marked/scratched and two numbers/letters are unreadable, the Moorhens seem to be on 2nd broods with a few new chicks about on the main lake and the top pool in the nature reserve, Great Crested Grebes include the family of 4 on the boating lake, a pair with 1 young and a pair with 2 young on the main lake, plus another 3 on the main lake, 2 Shovelers today, the usual eclipse male on the boating lake and a female on the main lake which flew off after just 20 mins or so, a Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard calling form the nature reserve and we spent alot of time today looking for the Green Woodpecker with no joy, the Tufted Duck were difficult to count today with most of them sticking close to the far bank but in the end we mananged 63 with the usual 2 Pochards, around 40+ Swifts were flying quite high over the top end of the main lake, a Grey Heron was as usual on the boating lake and a couple of Lesser Black-backed Gulls flew through, a couple of Willow Warblers were calling again from the same places as the other day, 1 by the middle of the nature reserve and 1 by the old gas works.

2 Whitethroat were on the old sewage works with a single Willow Tit and only a few Chiffchaffs today, plus 2 Blackcaps, a Jay also flew across towards the top of the main lake, a couple of Sand Martins were on the main lake and a couple of Reed Warblers on the top pool.

02 August 2010

Felt a bit cool this morning although the temp remains steady at 16c, cloudy and dry with a few sunny intervals, I can't for the life of me remember what the wind was, but it couldn't of been up to much otherwise I would remember, visit from 05.45 - 08.20, I will soon have to start going down a bit later, it had just turned light as I left the house.

A few more Lesser Black-backed Gulls were going through this morning than have for a few weeks, although there was no pattern as to which direction they were going, the hybrid CanadaxGreylag Goose remains with the Canada Goose flock, over 40+ Swifts were flying over the visitor centre, there was just a single Mute Swan on the model boating lake with a further 34 on the main lake, as always the family of 4 Great Crested Grebes on the boating lake and 11 on the main lake, of which 3 are juveniles, also as usual the Grey Heron was fishing on the boating lake, a Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard calling from the nature reserve, on the main lake 70 Tufted Ducks, and again the eclipse male Shoveler was on the boating lake.

2 Pochard are again on the main lake, 10+ Sand Martins were going through with a few House Martins and Swallows for company, on the sewage works 2 Blackcaps and 1 by the top pool, Chiffchaffs were everywhere at the top end of the park with most on the sewage works on gas works in total 7 were seen/heard but I believe there were over double this around, 4 Mistle Thrushes flew over the sewage works, also on here a single Whitethroat and Willow Tit, the dog flushed the Green Woodpecker which flew up to the Telegraph pole, I manage a quick photo using my bins, not brilliant but it looks like a juvenile bird (see above photo), on the gas works 3 Linnets flew over, finally on the top pool 2 Reed Warblers.

01 August 2010

A new month, but I'm afraid no change in the weather, the only good thing I could say was it's dry, heady cloud coverage, very little wind of note, temp 17c so at least it was quite warm, visit from 05.40 - 08.15.

Firstly Happy Birthday to my nephew Jake in sunny Auz, although it's a bit colder there now he tells me, anyway 3 Mute Swans on the model boating lake and 32 on the main lake means we have a extra Swan on this morning, now which one is it!, 3 Mistle Thrushes flew over the playing field high up with a further 1 over the boating lake and 1 over the sewage works, the family of 4 Great Crested Grebes remain on the boating lake and 9 on the main lake of which 3 are juveniles, a Moorhen chick on the top pool looked no older than a day or two, the eclipse male Shoveler remains on the boating lake and was with a female Mallard again, over 20+ House Martins were over the main lake and 15+ Sand Martins, 72 Tufted Ducks is the highest count since winter, pity were just into August otherwise it would of been the highest ever July count.

A single Coal Tit was along the 'Avenue' and 2 Treecreepers by the sidings, 2 Pochard were at the top of the main lake, only 3 Chiffchaffs today and no Willow Warblers so a few must of gone on from yesterday, at least 3 Reed Warblers on the top pool, bird of the day has to be the Green Woodpecker, first heard near the sidings, Nick picked it up in flight over the visitor centre, we followed it along the canal side of the main lake until it disappeared over towards the sewage works, this is a first at Westport for me, a single Willow Tit was calling along the reserve side of the main lake and a single Stock Dove on the old gas works were 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls flew over high north.

Total species seen 39.