11 December 2010

Firstly too go back a couple of days and news of 4 Whooper Swans at Westport received via RBA, I received a e-mail with photo from the finder today (thanks Paul Thompson), so mystery now solved as too were the report came from and photo included below.

Whooper Swans on main lake by Paul Thompson

News from yesterday from Nick Smith included a female Goosander and a immature male Goldeneye on the main lake.

I was looking forward to a good day out at Westport today with a visit out around Staffs for the rest of the day, sadly a very bad night at work and forgetting too set my alarm clock put paid too that (sorry Nick), news from Nick included 9 species of Duck the highlights being male Gadwall, female Goosander, 5 Teal, 2 Goldeneyes and 3 Wigeon flying around.

09 December 2010

News came in late last night from Nick (via RBA) that 4 Whooper Swans had been seen at Westport at 11am yesterday, if anyone can shead any light on this record can you please e-mail us, this is the 2nd record this year the first coming from Kane Brides when his team of ringers were ringing the Coots at Westport the previous month.



I briefly called down too Westport this afternoon before work but all was very quiet the good news is a thaw is ongoing but I've also heard that more snow is also on the way!



Lastly received this photo from Phil Jones of a Lapwing on the ice on the main lake last week, most Lapwing records at Westport are flyovers with very few landing here although I did have one this Spring on the grass verge.

08 December 2010

As you will see from Steve Seal's photo's a bit further on Westport is rather, white, cold and icy at the moment, still very little water on show and we really do need a thaw soon. I was down for nearly 2 hours this morning, it was very still and sunny and obviously rather cold.

Firstly news from a couple of days ago and Alan Hancock had a female Pheasant in the nature reserve, Pheasants are not very common at Westport and I think this is only the 2nd record of the year, the 1st being a male in March which was seen by myself and heard by Nick Smith, yesterday Nick had a Snipe on the stream and a couple of Teal.

Back to today, a couple of Bullfinches were near the bottom entrance and I had a couple more later by the top pool, there was very little on the boating lake except for the male Shoveler and 4 Mute Swans, at the bottom entrance to the nature reserve a pair of Teal were flushed from the stream and a bit further up another near the boardwalk bridge, a couple of Willow Tits were near the bottom entrance to the nature reserve and a couple more up by the top pool, 10 Redwings flew over followed by a single Fieldfare, a single Coal Tit by the top pool and another along the canal side of the main lake, a Grey Heron was by the bottom pool in the trees, on the main lake with just a small amount of water visible 11 Tufted Ducks, 6 Pochards, 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 1 Great Crested Grebe and 4 Common Gulls, very little was seen on the gas works or the sewage works but 4 Jackdaws flew over the sewage works, lastly just a single Pied Wagtail was by the visitors centre.

Later in the morning Pete Lunt had a Snipe feeding on the ice on the 1st pool, I'm gutted about this because this is what I was looking for this morning as I still need it for my Westport year list!

The following photo's by Steve Seal really do give a good idea as too how Westport is looking and faring in this very cold weather.

06 December 2010

My first visit too Westport since the 1st and it was absolutely freezing, with freezing fog all the trees were white, there was however slightly more water on the two main lakes than on the last visit.

I met up with Nick by the model boating lake which held 5 Mute Swans and not a lot else, the main lake was deserted at the bottom end with the lack of water so we walk too the top end, on the small open water there was 'Sammy' Shoveler, a single Great Crested Grebe and 2 more Mute Swans, I can't remember the exact duck counts as it was just too cold too write them down (although Nick was brave enough), Tufted Ducks counted around 10, 3 or 4 Pochards and not a lot else, a couple of Common Gulls were among the Black-headed Gulls. The nature reserve was very quiet with just a couple of Teal flushed off the stream just past the bottom gate.

01 December 2010

The last month of the year and as work sent me home early because they didn't want too pay out anymore overtime! I decided too go straight down too Westport Lake to see if the snow had brought anything in, when I left the house it was like a blizzard with around 3 inches of snow on the ground, the main lake and boating lake were both covered in snow with both having small pockets of open water, by the end of the visit, the skies had cleared the sun was out and the temperature reached a barmy 10c!

There was nothing much among the Gulls and Ducks on the boating lake except for the family of 3 Mute Swans and the only open water on the main lake is at the top, which had another 7 Swans on it, so I went into the nature reserve first, 6 Teal were along the stream between the bottom entrance and the boardwalk bridge, a Great Spotted Woodpecker was calling nearby as first a Buzzard flew over being mobbed by Carrion Crows, followed by a Sparrowhawk, at the top pool a couple of Willow Tits and Jays, a couple of Jackdaws also flew over calling, on the small open water on the main lake, 6 Tufted Ducks, 7 Pochards, the male Shoveler back on his own again, a single Lesser Black-backed Gull and just 1 Great Crested Grebe, among the Black-headed Gulls were 6 Common Gulls, on the gas works I decided to make an idiot of my self and went flying over on ice under the snow, the thud was loud enough to frighten a Grey Heron from Jeff's Pool! On the sewage works at least 4 Bullfinches with around 4 Meadow Pipits flying over and a single Siskin, back at the top of the main lake and I noticed a 1st winter Med Gull with the Black-headed and Common Gulls, it was chased off by a Coot but came back and landed on the water before settling back down on the ice, tried to get a few photo's with my camera phone but was hopeless and just ended up with blurred photo's or taking the picture of a Common Gull instead of the Med Gull, I think this is the 3rd record of the year.

Below are some nice snowy picture's from my mobile.