Tuesday 29 March 2011

29 March 2011

Jeff Jones had a adult Yellow Legged Gull sat on the main lake for 5 minutes at 09.35 today.

Monday 28 March 2011

28 March 2011

News this morning firstly comes from Nick Smith with just a Little Ringed Plover on the grass verge although it was very foggy so viewing conditions were difficult. Later mid morning from Jeff Jones, singing Blackcap and Reed Bunting and the Green Woodpecker was heard near the bottom pool. I'm back in Stoke later today although with no Internet allowance until April will only update if a good bird or two are found at Westport or I'm able to get to the library to update from there.

Sunday 27 March 2011

27 March 2011

Today's update comes from Nick Smith as I'm still 'up north', 40 Sand Martins through and a single Swallow, also 2 female Goosanders and 6 Mute Swans dropped in before being chased off by the resident pair.

Saturday 26 March 2011

26 March 2011

The following is a update of the last three days at Westport, unfortunately I'm currently offline and as I've come up to St Helens visiting family I thought I would take this opportunity to update the blog, as you we see it's been a rather good 3 days!

24/03/2011

Temp 5c, misty over water, bright sunny skies, no cloud or wind.

A female Goosander on the canal by the bottom entrance was unusual, a pair were also on the main lake and another female on the boating lake, 3 Cormorants also flew over near the bottom entrance, 2 Mistle Thrushes just before the boating lake with another 1 near the top pool and another 2 near the top entrance, male Shoveler on the boating lake, 24 Tufted Duck on the main lake also 2 Mute Swans, 1 Pochard, 1 Goldeneye and 6 Great Crested Grebes with the usual pair also on the boating lake, a pair of Linnets were feeding by the side of the visitor centre (Westport year tick 74) and a Meadow Pipit flew over here, a Little Ringed Plover landed briefly on the grass verge before flying off north, flushed the pair of Teal near the 1st gate too the nature reserve, a male Reed Bunting was calling from the reed bed on the top pool and a Chiffchaff was singing near here with another 2 singing on the sewage works, 2 Chaffinches near the top entrance plus another pair by the canal side of the main lake and a pair by the sidings, a Collared Dove was near the sewage works and a couple of Lesser Black-backed Gulls went over here with another 16 flying south over the main lake later and 2 on the main lake, 2 Willow Tits were along the ‘Avenue’ and a single Bullfinch.

25/03/2011

Weather very similar to yesterday with the temp slightly up at 7c, also a bit of cloud after 2 days of clear skies, again no wind of note.

Again as I entered the park a female Goosander was on the canal and 2 Mistle Thrushes just after the entrance with another 2 near the top entrance later, a couple of Pied Wagtails also flew over the bottom entrance, on the boating lake 2 Great Crested Grebes with another 6 on the main lake which also held 27 Tufted Duck, 1 Pochard, 1 Goldeneye and 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls flying in followed by another 3 later on, highlight of the day and a Westport life tick (112 life & 75 year) was a flock of 20 Waxwings flying towards us calling over the boating lake and then heading west towards Bradwell, in the nature reserve a Treecreeper was by the bend at the bottom end with a Coal Tit calling a bit further up and we flushed the pair of Teal from the 2nd pool, by the top pool a single Willow Tit and the 1st of 4 Chiffchaffs that were seen the rest being around the sewage works, a male Reed Bunting was calling from the reed bed and the pair of Mute Swans have moved into here for the start of there breeding, the male Shoveler was at the top of the main lake and a Jackdaw flew over the sewage works, back on the main lake a single Sand Martin was flying around, a Sparrowhawk was flying over Bradwell Wood and a Grey Heron flew over the main lake.

26/03/2011

A very cloudy morning with a slight mist as well, temp was 7c but felt colder with a slight south easterly breeze which built up over the visit, visit from 06.10 - 08.50.

By the bottom entrance the pair Mistle Thrushes were nest building, another was seen near the top entrance and another near the visitor centre, 2 Pied Wagtails flew over and another on the grass bank, on the boating lake 2 Great Crested Grebes and another 5 on the main lake, a Grey Heron flew off the main lake, also on here 21 Tufted Ducks, 6 Lesser Black-backed Gulls went over, 1 Pochard & 1 Goldeneye, by the visitor centre the pair of Linnets were still present and 4 Jackdaws flew over, the male Shoveler flew into the main lake and later the boating lake, 2 separate Meadow Pipits flew over the main lake, the Green Woodpecker could be heard calling distantly, 3 Sand Martin came in over the main lake and were present for the entire visit eventually increasing to 8, Chiffchaffs increased to 8 all around the park area, 5 Chaffinches were present, a single Willow Tit was calling from the nature reserve and the pair of Teal were at the top of the 2nd pool, the pair of Mute Swans were on the top pool, a Kestrel (Westport year tick 76) flew over the gas works to the sewage works and a single Stock Dove flew up the railway, 2 Lesser Redpolls (Westport year tick 77) flew over the sewage works calling followed by 11 Waxwings heading northwest, a Collared Doves was along the canal and a male Blackcap (Westport year tick 78) was singing briefly from the trees between the sewage works entrance and main lake, back down by the grass verge and 2 Little Ringed Plovers flew in for a few minutes before heading off north, a Little Grebe flew into the main lake and a Great Spotted Woodpecker flew over.

Not long after I'd left Westport, Phil Jones had a Swallow go through, this is the 1st of the year for Westport, also of note today was the complete lack of Goosanders for the 1st time in ages.

Tuesday 22 March 2011

22 March 2011

A cool bright sunny morning with slight cloud cover, very slight southerly breeze, temp 6c, visit from 06.20 til 08.10.

A very quiet morning around Westport with just a couple of decent birds to make it worth while, as I came into the bottom entrance a male Goosander flew over towards the main lake, there was also a female on there and another on the boating lake, also on the boating lake 2 male Tufted Ducks and the 2 Great Crested Grebes, with another 4 on the main lake, just 19 Tufted Duck remain on the main lake with 2 Mute Swans, 1 Pochard and the male Shoveler, along the grass bank a couple of Mistle Thrushes with another near the top entrance to the park, a single Meadow Pipit flew over calling and 2 Pied Wagtails flew low over, 3 Chiffchaffs were heard singing this morning, 1 near the bottom of the nature reserve, 1 on the sewage works and 1 along the 'Avenue', we flushed the usual pair of Teal from the small brook by the 1st gate, a pair of Bullfinches were by the top pool and a Jay flew across the gas works, on the sewage works and the female Pheasant which has been missing for a while was back in it's usual place, I think the last time I saw it was mid January! Back on the main lake and the long awaited arrival of the first Sand Martin, it flew around for a few minutes around the top edge before flying off, another Westport year tick, also on here the immature male Goldeneye and 4 adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls flew in.

Mid morning, Dave Kelsall recorded the following, Little Ringed Plover, Curlew, Raven, Peregrine, Skylark all flying over, also present Grey Wagtail and 2 Sand Martin.

The Westport year list currently stands on 87 with my personal list on 73.

Monday 21 March 2011

21 March 2011

Nick Smith started off with a good morning, flushing a Woodcock from the ridge on the sewage works, another Westport year tick, also present 3 Goosanders.

Later Pete Lunt was down mid morning and recorded, a pair of Goosander, Shoveler, Goldeneye, Pochard, 10 Great Crested Grebes and a skein of Geese flying north, I was in Hanley at the time and had a small skein of Geese flying over but was unable to say what species.

Later in the late afternoon I nipped down to Westport for a quick walk around the main lake, hoping to see Sand Martin, I called into the top pool area of the nature reserve and could hear a Nuthatch calling away after a few minutes I managed to locate it in the top of the tall trees in between the top pool and railway, also here at least 2 Chiffchaffs were singing and a female Reed Bunting was in the reed bed, I could also hear a Green Woodpecker 'laughing' from the gas/sewage works area, back on the main lake nothing new too what has already been mentioned by Pete Lunt.

Nuthatch is another Westport year tick for me, putting me on 73 for the year, and Nick's Woodcock puts the total for everyone at 85 for the year.

Sunday 20 March 2011

20 March 2011

Cloudy start with very light rain but cloud coverage was very high and started too burn off as the sun came through, wind was alight southerly breeze and temp was 8c, visit from 06.20 - 09.10.

On the boating lake a single female Goosander and a male flew into the main lake later on, the usual pair of Great Crested Grebes were on the boating lake but the main lake has shot up to 9 birds from just 3 all last week, also on the main lake 34 Tufted Duck, 1 Pochard and a nice surprise was 2 Shelducks in the middle of the lake, they went onto the stone bank just by the bottom entrance to the nature reserve before being flushed by a walker and going back too the centre of the main lake were they stayed until flying of high south at 07.15, I looked along the grass verge for any Little Ringed Plover but could only see 2 Pied Wagtails as I walked down the grass bank to the lake edge I flushed a Little Ringed Plover which immediately flew off high north, this was turning into a good morning with two Westport year tick already and the 1st Little Ringed Plover of the year, 2 days later than last year. A Sparrowhawk was circling over the new housing estate and 3 Willow Tits were by the entrance to the nature reserve, with a single by the boardwalk bridge.
Along the small brook by the 1st gate to the nature reserve I flushed a pair of Teal and a Great Spotted Woodpecker was drumming on trees by the railway line with another near the top pool, in all 4 Chiffchaffs were around the park today, mostly in various parts of the nature reserve and one on the sewage works, a Goldcrest was a nice find at the top pool and another later by the 1st gate was a bonus, 3 Bullfinches were on the top pool and a single Jay, good numbers of Lesser Black-backed Gulls were going through again this morning only this time they were all heading south, at least 20+ went through, back on the main lake the immature male Goldeneye is still present and a couple of 'large' Greylag Geese flew in, a pair of Mistle Thrushes were along the top of the main lake and 3 Chaffinches along the reserve side, a Grey Heron flew over, the first I've seen at Westport for ages and a Cormorant flew over north while on the gas works, also here, 2 Jackdaws, a Siskin was calling over and 5 Stock Doves along the railway line, the highest count for a while, lastly near the visitor centre, the male Shoveler flew in. All in all a good day around Westport.

My current Westport year list stands at 72.

Friday 18 March 2011

18 March 2011

Was down nice an early this morning at 06.25 and stayed for 3hrs til 09.25, it was another misty start and quite cold with a light ground frost, temp was 4c, although the forecast was for southeasterly winds there was a very light northeasterly blowing.

As I left the house I heard a Siskin flying over as a looked up a massive flock of birds were flying over, looking through my bins I noticed they were Thrushes. probably Fieldfare and Redwing and there was well over a thousand birds in the flock.

First bird I saw was a Lesser Black-backed Gull flying around the car park, there seemed to be some movement going on this morning with well over 20+ flying over north, plus 2 adults on the main lake. On the boating lake the usual pair of Great Crested Grebe plus another 5 on the main lake, I could hear a Chiffchaff calling in the distance and during the visit there were at least 3 birds involved with all coming from the nature reserve, a Jackdaw flew over the grass bank and another 4 flew over later, on the main lake 39 Tufted Duck, 1 Pochard, 1 Goldeneye, 2 Mute Swans, a male Goosander flew into the boating lake and later while on the gas works 2 females flew over heading north and with 2 male and a female on the main lake later there was probably 4/5 birds involved, during the visit 8 Meadow Pipits flew over all heading north, two groups of 3 flew over followed by 2 single birds, a Common Gull came into the boating lake and probably the same bird was later on the main lake, a couple of Pied Wagtails were on the grass bank and several were flying over all heading north over the course of the visit.
In the nature reserve a pair of Teal were flushed from the top of the middle pool and the male Shoveler was also on here, by the top pool a female Reed Bunting was in the reed bed which was a Westport year tick for me, by the top of the main lake a pair of Mistle Thrushes in the top left corner and a pair in the top right corner, now earlier in the morning I was 99% certain I had seen a Little Grebe through the mist at the top of the main lake and a bit later Nick received a text from Richard Sutton confirming he had also seen a Little Grebe, another Westport year tick and although I spent lots of time looking for it I never saw the Grebe again, a single Bullfinch was on the sewage works a couple of Chaffinches around the main lake, on the gas works a single Jay was the 1st one I had seen for a good while and later I also heard probably the same one on the sewage works, a couple of Stock Doves were on the gas works and a Collared Dove flew over the sewage works, as I walked down the canal side of the main lake a Siskin flew over calling, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers flew over the visitor centre and 2 Treecreepers were in the small wood at the side of the car park.

Thursday 17 March 2011

17 March 2011

Sadly no sign of yesterdays Caspian Gull first thing this morning but Nick had a pair of Gadwall which were new in.

I was down at Westport from 08.00 - 10.30, misty at first but brightening up later with a good amount of sunshine. temp 8c and very little wind of note.

Very quiet on the boating lake with just the pair of Great Crested Grebe and a couple of Jackdaws flew over, on the main lake, the usual pair of Mute Swans were later joined by the adult and immature which come and go, the pair of Gadwall were still present which was good news for me as it was a Westport year tick, 4 Pochard were an increase on yesterday and 38 Tufted Duck were present, a single female Goosander flew in as did a female Shoveler to join our resident male, by the entrance to the nature reserve a single Willow Tit just by the 1st gate, a Chiffchaff was singing by the boardwalk bridge and another between the top of the main lake and the sewage works, by the top pool a single Treecreeper and a single Mistle Thrush, lastly on the gas works 3 Stock Doves.

I've also heard news today that the wardens are leaving Westport Lake and that the area is to be changed from a Nature Reserve to a Municipal Park, what this means for the future of Westport I'm not sure but I think budget funding will be reduced.

Scarlet Elf Cap

Wednesday 16 March 2011

16 March 2011

Another good morning around Westport for Nick Smith first thing this morning with another Redshank flying around, it was desperate too land and tried too land near the jetty but like most waders these days it eventally gave up and continued it's journey, after no records since 2006 two within a week is amazing, also at Westport this morning, 2 Chiffchaff, 1 Reed Bunting and a single Goosander.

Sadly for me due too Achilles Tendonitis and Plantar Fascitis (yes its a word), I'm under doctors orders to keep off my feet as much as possible over the next 2 weeks, so thought it best not too rush off to Westport today, tomorrow though, I might just sneak down for a little walk!

Another Westport tick past me by this morning when Dave Kelsall had a 1st winter Caspian Gull at 10.15.

Tuesday 15 March 2011

15 March 2011

First news of the day came from Nick Smith with his early visit, he managed the first migrants of the year with 2 Chiffchaffs. 1 by the 1st gate to the nature reserve and one along the top shore of the main lake, also present 6 Shoveler, 1 Wigeon and 2 Goosanders.

I made may way down to Westport at 09.00 til 11.00, it was quite misty with a light southeasterly breeze, temp was a pleasant 9c.

By the bottom entrance a couple of Bullfinches flew over, on the car park a couple of unringed Mute Swans were enjoying a good feed on the bread on offer, on the boating lake 3 female Goosanders, the pair of Great Crested Grebes and 2 male Tufted Ducks, on the main lake, 3 Great Crested Grebes, 35 Tufted Ducks, 1 Pochard, 2 adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls and the immature male Goldeneye, I made my way to the 1st gate of the nature reserve but couldn't hear any Chiffchaffs, a male Chaffinch was calling and as I was watching it a Chiffchaff came into view flitting through the tree top, at last my first migrant of the year and of course a Westport year tick, by the boardwalk bridge and 4 Siskins flew over plus a Jackdaw could be heard but I couldn't locate it in the misty weather. By the top pool among a small Tit flock a single Willow Tit, Coal Tit and Bullfinch and just down by the 2nd bridge into the nature reserve by the main lake another Chiffchaff, this time singing away, on the gas works another group of this time 10 Siskins flew over and 3 Stock Doves were present plus 2 Bullfinches flew over, also a single Pied Wagtail flew over the sewage works were another pair of Bullfinches were present, along the canal side of the main lake the pair of Mistle Thrushes were present.

The picture below of a male Siskin was taken by one of our Westport regulars who wants to keep his name out of the bright lights of this blog!!

Monday 14 March 2011

14 March 2011

Lovely sunny day although the temp was low at 5c after a light overnight frost, no wind of note, visit from 08.30 - 10.15.

Still no luck on the migrant front but hopefully it just a matter of time and the next few days will produce the goods, just a few Goosanders remain with 3 present on the boating lake while I was there, a few minutes earlier and Pete Lunt had seen 5, the usual pair of Great Crested Grebes were present on here and another 3 on the main lake, the male Shoveler was also on the boating lake, on the main lake, the pair of Mute Swans, 39 Tufted Duck, 3 Pochard, 1 Goldeneye and a adult Common Gull, 3 Lapwings flew over the top end of the lake, these are a Westport year tick for me, a Collared Dove also flew across the lake and during the visit 6 Jackdaws flew over at various times, by the nature reserve a couple of Bullfinches and 2 pairs of Willow Tits, on the gas works just 2 Stock Doves were flying around and 3 Chaffinches flew over the sewage works, along the canal side of the main lake the pair of Mistle Thrushes remain, before leaving I took a walk along the 'Avenue' for my last chance of a migrant, pick of the area was 2 Redwing, 2 Coal Tit and a Great Spotted Woodpecker.

Sunday 13 March 2011

13 March 2011

A very very wet morning, it rained non stop for the whole visit, most heavy with the odd light spell, wind was mild and from the northwest and temp was 5c, visit from 06.40 - 08.15.

It was just raining to heavily to write down what I saw and how many so most of this is off memory, there were no Goosanders on the boating lake first thing, just the pair of Great Crested Grebes and a pair of Tufted Duck, on the main lake, another 30 Tufted Duck, 3 Pochard, 2 Shoveler, 1 Goldeneye, 2 Mute Swans and 3 Great Crested Grebe, I met up with Nick and braving the rain we headed around the nature reserve, very little on here with a Willow Tit and a couple of Bullfinches being the highlights, we saw nothing of note on the gas works and a single Redwing was the best on the sewage works, back on the main lake and a single male Goosander had flown in so we walked back down to the boating lake to find another 3 female Goosanders on here, I left Nick and headed for home soaking wet and Nick started to make his long walk back to his car at the top entrance, his extra time at Westport paid off when he picked up a Redshank flying around calling for a few minutes before it headed off north, another Westport tick I've missed and the first Redshank at Westport for well over a year, with non recorded at all last year.

Saturday 12 March 2011

12 March 2011

With a light southerly breeze and overnight rain i was hoping for a migrant or two today but it wasn't to be, hopefully tomorrow, temp was a pleasant 8c.

It was a very quiet morning around Westport, Goosanders numbered just 8 on the boating lake with 4 flying off early, 4 Jackdaws flew over in a couple of small groups, on the main lake, 38 Tufted Duck, 3 Pochard, 1 Goldeneye and 3 Great Crested Grebe with the usual other 2 on the boating lake, a pair of Teal were flushed from the stream by the 1st gate and later were seen flying back down that way from Jeff's Pool on the old gas works, a single Treecreeper and Great Spotted Woodpecker were in the trees along the railway line, on the gas works 3 Stock Doves and 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls flew over the sewage works, 2 Mistle Thrushes were by the top entrance, back on the main lake a single adult Common Gull and Shoveler were additions.

Friday 11 March 2011

11 March 2011

Frosty start to the morning with bright sunshine, no wind of note, temp 4c, visit from 06.30 - 08.30.

Goosander numbers have been dropping rapidly over the week and this morning only 7 were present with 6 on the boating lake and a lone male on the main lake, the 2 Great Crested Grebes remain on the boating lake with another 3 0n the main lake, 4 Pied Wagtails on the grass bank looked like passage birds, on the main lake, the usual pair of Mute Swans, 41 Tufted Duck, just 3 Pochard, 1 Goldeneye and our resident Shoveler flew across to the boating lake, while walking through the nature reserve a single Jackdaw flew over calling as did a single Mistle Thrush, another Mistle Thrush was on the gas works and one by the top entrance, a single Willow Tit was by the boardwalk bridge with 4 by the top pool and 2 on the gas works, a single Great Spotted Woodpecker was along the reserve side of the main lake, on the gas works 2 Stock Doves and 3 Collared Doves, back by the main lake and a couple of Lesser Black-backed Gulls flew through north, a quick walk along the 'Avenue' for early Warblers was fruitless but I did pick up 3 Redwings.

Monday 7 March 2011

7 March 2011

As there was no work to do I got an early finish and went straight down to Westport, although it was only 2c it actually didn't feel too cold, wind was from the south/east and light, visit from 06.40 - 08.30.

Nowhere near as many Goosanders today with just 46 seen in total, as usual most were on the boating lake with a handful on the main lake, 15 Jackdaws flew over heading north while around the boating lake, also on here the usual pairs of Great Crested Grebes, Mute Swans and Tufted Duck, towards the end of my visit I also saw 'Sammy' on here after he's been missing for a few days. The Green Woodpecker was again calling from Price's Field area, on the main lake, 10 Pochard, 43 Tufted Duck, the usual single immature male Goldeneye and just 3 Great Crested Grebes, 3 Siskins flew over while along here and a couple of Pied Wagtails were on the grass verge, the nature reserve was very quiet as usual with singles of Great Spotted Woodpecker, Treecreeper and Willow Tit, while by the top pool a Grey Wagtail flew over calling, amazingly this is a Westport year tick for me this year, lastly back on the main lake and a couple of adult Common Gulls and a single Lesser Black-backed Gull had come in.

Saturday 5 March 2011

5 March 2011

Felt a bit cold first thing with a temp of 4c, very little wind of note, heavy cloud coverage, visit from 06.45 - 08.40.

As I came into the park the Green Woodpecker could be heard calling from Price's field area and a bit later along the nature reserve, I went straight to the boating lake to count the Goosanders and managed 55, but they were flying in all the time and by the time I was joined by Nick and George we were up to 75, 5 short of the record set earlier in the week by Dave Kelsall, also on the boating lake were 3 Great Crested Grebe, on the main lake, another 3 Great Crested Grebes, a adult Herring Gull, 37 Tufted Duck, 9 Pochard, and the imm male Goldeneye,the usual pair of Mute Swans were joined by another pair which were quickly chased off onto the boating lake, while on the grass verge, 2 Mistle Thrushes flew over also a couple of Jackdaws and a single Pied Wagtail, walking through to the nature reserve a Sparrowhawk flew over the main lake, the nature reserve was very quiet as was the gas works with just 3 Siskins flying over, just as we came back on to the main lake from the sewage works a Treecreeper was making it's way up a nearby tree, at last a Westport year tick I've been trying to catch up on was out the way.
Most of the Goosanders were now on the main lake and we counted 71, so we made our way back to the boating lake to see how many were on here, Dave Kellsall was already there and between us we managed to get 14 on here giving us a new record of 85 Goosander at Westport!!


I have received a few more photo's from Steve Seal, shown below.









Thursday 3 March 2011

3 March 2011

Much colder this morning with a ground frost, cloudy with sunny intervals, no wind hence the main lake was like a millpond, temp 1c, visit from 06.50 - 09.15.

Not as many Goosanders on the boating lake first thing with a count of 58, but by the end of the visit there was 75 on the main lake including just 3 on the boating lake. Also on the boating lake again like yesterday a pair of Great Crested Grebes, Mute Swans and Tufted Ducks, on the main lake another 35 Tufted Duck, singles of Shoveler and Goldeneye and 5 Pochard, a couple of Siskin were near the sidings area as I walked towards the nature reserve, a single Willow Tit was by the first gate and a pair of Teal were flushed from the small stream by the gate onto the bottom pool, at least 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers were drumming in the same place as yesterday and a single Lesser Black-backed Gull flew over, by the top pool another Willow Tit and a single Bullfinch, onto the gas works and the usual 2 Stock Doves were on the railway gantry, another Great Spotted Woodpecker flew over towards Bradwell Wood and a pair of Bullfinches were flying around, on the gas works a single Jackdaw flew over calling, as it was frosty I decided to walk along the brook to see if any Snipe were present, no luck with the Snipe but had my first Kingfisher of the year at Westport, also on the gas works a single Chaffinch, 2 more Bullfinch and 2 Mistle Thrushes, along the canal side of the main lake 2 Collared Doves, a single Common Gull and Lesser Black-backed Gull again with the small Black-headed Gull flock and 2 Pied Wagtails by the visitor centre.

Wednesday 2 March 2011

2 March 2011

Visit from 06.50 til 08.45, temp slightly up on yesterday at 5c, much cloudier with a slight breeze.

First stop was the boating lake to count the Goosanders, between Nick and myself we managed 68 and with three on the main lake this gave us a record total of 71 birds, other birds on here included the usual pair of Great Crested Grebes and a pair of Tufted Duck, a couple of Siskin flew over calling and a single Starling flew over, my first at Westport this year, on the main lake another 29 Tufted Ducks, 4 Pochard were later joined by another and a single Lesser Black-backed Gull with another 6 seen flying south over the gas works, as we walked towards the nature reserve a couple of Buzzards were seen high over towards Bradwell Wood, the nature reserve was rather quiet with Song Thrush and a couple of drumming Great Spotted Woodpeckers being the highlights, on the gas works a couple of Stock Doves and Nick had a distant Sparrowhawk, onto the sewage works and nothing much here except for a single Jay and a pair of Bullfinches.
Back at the main lake and most of the Goosanders had now moved to the main lake with 68 present, 3 Mistle Thrushes were along the canal side of the main lake, a single Common Gull was in a small flock of Black-headed Gulls a couple of Chaffinches in the trees near the visitor centre and 'Sammy' was feeding around the old beach area, I met up with Pete Lunt who had also had another 5 Goosander still on the boating lake as well as the 68 on the main lake, a quick check confirmed this and hence another record count of Goosander at Westport with 73 present this morning, lastly as I left Westport a Redwing flew over and landed in the trees at the side of the canal.
Latter this morning Dave Kelsall smashed the goosander record with 80 on the main lake
Below are some of the many photo's I've been sent by Steve Seal and Pete Lunt while my computer has been off line, these will also be found on the slide show at the beginning of the blog.


Sammy Returns by Steve Seal

Pheasant by Pete Lunt

Kittiwakes by Pete Lunt

Male Goosander by Steve Seal

Pair Goldeneye by Steve Seal

Pheasant by Pete Lunt


Common Gull by Steve Seal


Avocet by Pete Lunt from last year


Goosanders by Steve Seal


Tuesday 1 March 2011

1 March 2011

Nice dry morning with a bit of sunshine, temp was 4c but didn't feel that low, visit from 07.00 - 08.00.

Good count of 70 Goosander on the boating lake first thing was the highlight of the morning, also the usual 2 Great Crested Grebes and a single Tufted Duck on the main lake a single Pochard, Shoveler and Lesser Black-backed Gull and around 20 Tufted Duck and 4 Great Crested Grebes, not very much in the nature reserve but a few Siskin were flying around, on the gas works 2 Stock Doves and a Mistle Thrush flew over the old sewage works, also on here a Coal Tit and a couple of Collared Doves.

Nick Smith also had the Green Woodpecker calling from Prices field area.

To follow later catch up on previous weeks after getting the Internet back on line and photo's from Steve Seal.