Last couple of days have been fairly quiet around the park as we await the arrival of the last of the migrants, over the next week we should see the arrival of Swift, Sedge Warbler & Reed Warbler which will complete the migrant list for the year, hopefully a couple of extras will make an appearance like last years Wheatear and Yellow Wagtails.
This morning Nick added Pochard and Jackdaw to the April list so I made a afternoon visit to see if the Pochard was still present and hoping for the first Swift of the year, it was a lovely afternoon with a temp of 15c, it felt much warmer with the sun on your back, a light SW breeze, visit from 16.15 til 18.30.
Five Chiffchaff were singing from various parts of the park along with five Blackcap and just two Willow Warbler were singing, a couple of Mistle Thrush were on the playing field, most of the Mute Swans were on the boating lake with a total of 13 on both lakes, well down on the last few weeks. also on the main lake, 26 Tufted Duck, two of the three Pochard from this morning and an impressive count of nine Great Crested Grebe, eight Swallow were over the main lake with 20+ House Martin but sadly no Swift, surely over a matter of a day or two before the first one arrives.
Along the canal side of the main lake a male Reed Bunting but no sign of the female I had with it the previous day and as I was leaving 13 Lesser Black-backed Gulls landed on the main lake along with three Black-headed Gulls.
Tuesday, 24 April 2012
Sunday, 22 April 2012
22 April 2012
A late evening visit around the park, after all the cold and rainy weather of the last week it was a lovely evening, the temp was a pleasant 13c with a light WNW breeze, visit from 18.30 til 19.55.
Although you don't normally hear as many Warblers in the evening as the morning, it wasn't too bad this evening, apart from just two Willow Warblers around the park, their was a decent count of Blackcap (seven) and Chiffchaff (eight). Mute Swans have dropped off with just ten, as well as the pair in the reserve another pair have built a huge nest at the top of the main lake, this pair normally breed on the nearby Festival Park marina so it will be interesting too see how they get along. A couple of Black-headed Gulls were on the main lake with six adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls, also on and around the main lake, 29 Tufted Duck, six Great Crested Grebe, twelve Swallow. two House Martin and the two Common Sandpiper that Nick had seen earlier in the day were still around.
Good news was the first young Coots of the year had hatched with two on the first nest and one already out on the second as the parent helped the other eggs out as they hatched.
A couple of Willow Tit were along the sidings and a Treecreeper by the second gate of the nature reserve, a bit further along and the recent bad weather had brought one of the trees down across the path.
On the old sewage works a single Great Spotted Woodpecker and two Mistle Thrush, lastly as I was leaving four Pied Wagtail were on the playing field.
Although you don't normally hear as many Warblers in the evening as the morning, it wasn't too bad this evening, apart from just two Willow Warblers around the park, their was a decent count of Blackcap (seven) and Chiffchaff (eight). Mute Swans have dropped off with just ten, as well as the pair in the reserve another pair have built a huge nest at the top of the main lake, this pair normally breed on the nearby Festival Park marina so it will be interesting too see how they get along. A couple of Black-headed Gulls were on the main lake with six adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls, also on and around the main lake, 29 Tufted Duck, six Great Crested Grebe, twelve Swallow. two House Martin and the two Common Sandpiper that Nick had seen earlier in the day were still around.
Good news was the first young Coots of the year had hatched with two on the first nest and one already out on the second as the parent helped the other eggs out as they hatched.
A couple of Willow Tit were along the sidings and a Treecreeper by the second gate of the nature reserve, a bit further along and the recent bad weather had brought one of the trees down across the path.
On the old sewage works a single Great Spotted Woodpecker and two Mistle Thrush, lastly as I was leaving four Pied Wagtail were on the playing field.
Wednesday, 18 April 2012
18 April 2012
I've been a bit under the weather with a viral infection for the last few days but as I felt a bit better this afternoon I decided I'd have a little walk around the lake, it actually felt much warmer than earlier in the day with a temperature of 10c, there was a N breeze but it was very light, it pretty much rained for the entire visit, quite heavy at times, visit from 16.25 til 18.15.
As I entered the park I scanned the playing field looking for a Yellow Wagtail, no sign but there were four Pied Wagtails, with at least ten seen around the park, and among them a Wagtail that I was sure was a White Wagtail, Nick had seen one the other day, I managed to get a photo or two but when I got home it just didn't look right, it was possibly the photo it's self which was taken in poor light, but have a look below and make up your own mind.
You never hear as many Warblers singing in the afternoon than you do early morning but around the park I managed seven Chiffchaff, four Willow Warbler and seven Blackcap, there was no sign of the Whitethroat Nick had seen early morning, which was the first of the year. Most of the Mute Swans were on the boating lake and as well as the pair in the reserve another pair have been trying nest building along the top of the main lake, in total twenty were on site, also on the main lake, 25 Tufted Duck and just a single Great Crested Grebe, with the constant rain it brought a good number of 130+ Swallows over the lake with a couple of House Martins, but no sigh of the Swift I was hoping for, from the grass bank a Great Spotted Woodpecker, Mistle Thrush and Grey Wagtail flew over.
In the reserve a single Coal Tit was near the top pool, as was a Willow Tit, Chaffinch and Jay, the old gas works had two Stock Dove and a Collared Dove with another along the canal by the old sewage works, along the top of the main lake a male Reed Bunting and lastly around Ted Heath Rock three House Sparrow.
You never hear as many Warblers singing in the afternoon than you do early morning but around the park I managed seven Chiffchaff, four Willow Warbler and seven Blackcap, there was no sign of the Whitethroat Nick had seen early morning, which was the first of the year. Most of the Mute Swans were on the boating lake and as well as the pair in the reserve another pair have been trying nest building along the top of the main lake, in total twenty were on site, also on the main lake, 25 Tufted Duck and just a single Great Crested Grebe, with the constant rain it brought a good number of 130+ Swallows over the lake with a couple of House Martins, but no sigh of the Swift I was hoping for, from the grass bank a Great Spotted Woodpecker, Mistle Thrush and Grey Wagtail flew over.
In the reserve a single Coal Tit was near the top pool, as was a Willow Tit, Chaffinch and Jay, the old gas works had two Stock Dove and a Collared Dove with another along the canal by the old sewage works, along the top of the main lake a male Reed Bunting and lastly around Ted Heath Rock three House Sparrow.
Sunday, 15 April 2012
15 April 2012
A rather cold morning with quite a heavy ground frost, clear blue sunny skies, temp 3c, wind was a very light N, visit from 06.10 - 09.10.
Not a bad morning visit today with three species added to my Westport year list, again good numbers of Warblers were present with ten Chiffchaff, a big increase in Willow Warblers with eight present and also eight Blackcaps, a nice surprise was a Raven flying over the housing estate towards Goldenhill area which was my first year tick of the day, most of the Mute Swans were on the main lake with 21 present in total, also on here two Great Crested Grebe and 34 Tufted Duck, on the grass bank my second year tick was the very late arriving Little Ringed Plover, two together, these normally arrive in March and are very late this year, the photo below is the best from a bad lot as it was still a bit to dull for a decent photo.
A couple of Pied Wagtails were also on here, a couple of Collared Dove flew across the main lake as did the first of seven Swallows, all were seen over the main lake except for one on the old gas works, the reserve was rather quiet with just Willow Tit of note, on the old gas works two Stock Dove and a Lesser Redpoll flew over as well as at least three Greenfinch and a Great Spotted Woodpecker could be heard close by, on the old sewage works a single Starling flew over as did a couple of Meadow Pipits, down by the visitor centre a couple of Mistle Thrushes, a Kestrel could be seen over the top of the main lake and a Jay flew over, lastly and my final year tick of the day was a House Martin over the main lake with the small group of Swallows I mentioned earlier.
Not a bad morning visit today with three species added to my Westport year list, again good numbers of Warblers were present with ten Chiffchaff, a big increase in Willow Warblers with eight present and also eight Blackcaps, a nice surprise was a Raven flying over the housing estate towards Goldenhill area which was my first year tick of the day, most of the Mute Swans were on the main lake with 21 present in total, also on here two Great Crested Grebe and 34 Tufted Duck, on the grass bank my second year tick was the very late arriving Little Ringed Plover, two together, these normally arrive in March and are very late this year, the photo below is the best from a bad lot as it was still a bit to dull for a decent photo.
Friday, 13 April 2012
13 April 2012
After a long Easter weekend away visiting family and then straight into the early shift at work this was my first visit to Westport in a week, being spring migration it's not a good time to go missing, luckily I didn't miss to much although a Shelduck a few days ago is still a year tick I need at Westport.
It was a very misty start to the morning but with clear skies about and a drop in temp overnight their was a light frost on the ground, their was a very light E wind, visit from 06.16 til 08.55.
As I entered the park the first of ten Chiffchaffs could be heard singing and the first of six Blackcaps, a single Mistle Thrush was on the playing field and a couple of Pied Wagtails flew over the boating lake, on the main lake, 20 Mute Swans plus another two in the reserve and 27 Tufted Duck, but no Great Crested Grebes and it looks like the pair of Goldeneye have now departed, near the sidings the first of three Willow Warblers was singing, a Greenfinch and two Chaffinch were also around here, in the reserve three Willow Tit were together along the railway path.
Back along the main lake and a group of three Moorhens were having a right scrap over territory.
Three adult Black-headed Gulls were on the main lake with a couple of Lesser Black-backed Gulls of which small numbers were going through heading NW, all of which were adults.
It was really quiet around Westport with very little of the commoner species around, as I made my way back along the canal side of the main lake I could hear a Reed Bunting calling from further along but never saw it, I went back to the grass bank and immediately picked up my bird of the day a Common Sandpiper on the boating lake, Richard Sutton had seen one the previous day but it was my first of the year and also had me wondering were are the Little Ringed Plover this year?
It was a very misty start to the morning but with clear skies about and a drop in temp overnight their was a light frost on the ground, their was a very light E wind, visit from 06.16 til 08.55.
Back along the main lake and a group of three Moorhens were having a right scrap over territory.
Tuesday, 3 April 2012
Look Back At March
March was a strange month, although 68 species were seen which is the highest monthly count of the year to date, there was nothing really outstanding in the additions to the Westport year list and yet twelve species were added to the list, leaving the total for the year so far at 80, which is eight down on this time last year.
Highlight species had to be the wader group with, Redshank, Woodcock and Curlew all added, Woodcock use to be a real mega at Westport but this is the fourth consecutive year it has now been recorded and the second year in succession that it's appeared in March, other highlights included a fly over Little Egret and Peregrine.
Other species added but more expected were Little Grebe, Kingfisher, Rook and Meadow Pipit, on the migrant front things were a real mixed bag, although a couple of species were missing that are normally seen in March ie Little Ringed Plover, Swallow and Willow Warbler, those that were seen were, Sand Martin which arrived on the 16 March which equalled the earliest ever date from 2008 and Chiffchaff which arrived on the 17 March.
Lets hope April can produce something a bit special.
Highlight species had to be the wader group with, Redshank, Woodcock and Curlew all added, Woodcock use to be a real mega at Westport but this is the fourth consecutive year it has now been recorded and the second year in succession that it's appeared in March, other highlights included a fly over Little Egret and Peregrine.
Other species added but more expected were Little Grebe, Kingfisher, Rook and Meadow Pipit, on the migrant front things were a real mixed bag, although a couple of species were missing that are normally seen in March ie Little Ringed Plover, Swallow and Willow Warbler, those that were seen were, Sand Martin which arrived on the 16 March which equalled the earliest ever date from 2008 and Chiffchaff which arrived on the 17 March.
Lets hope April can produce something a bit special.
03 April 2012
Quite a cool start to the morning although the BBC weather temp of 5c was slightly out as it was actually a bit warmer at 7c, with a light SWW breeze and showers from time to time it was ideal conditions for a migrant or two, visit from 06.30 til 09.20.
The first bird I heard as I entered the park was a Chiffchaff, in total 8 were heard and seen around the park with the highest number being as usual on the old sewage works, were three were seen together, a Collared Dove flew across the playing field and another was seen later on the old sewage works, a Mistle Thrush was collecting nest material from around the boating lake and the first of two Blackcaps was singing from the small wood here with the other being on the back railway path in the reserve, on the main lake 28 Tufted Duck, two Goldeneye (pair), two Great Crested Grebe and 21 Mute Swans with another in the reserve area, a single Great Spotted Woodpecker was by the second gate.
Lesser Black-backed Gulls were flying over in small numbers all morning with nearly all heading in a NW direction and most were adults, also flying over a single Redwing with two late Fieldfare and a couple of Meadow Pipits, a Reed Bunting was calling on the old sewage works but nothing else on here or the old gas works, along the canal side of the main lake a Treecreeper was calling with a further two in the reserve with two Willow Tits, a Jay and two Bullfinch.
I'd pretty much given up for the day, there had been several showers and it had gone rather dark when I noticed a single Sand Martin flying around the main lake, this was soon joined by another two and then a Swallow arrived the first of the year for Westport followed by another, I was hoping to add House Martin as well with Nick Smith having one yesterday afternoon but alas that one eluded me, but another Sand Martin came in making four in total, all in all not a bad morning, I'm away at the weekend so hopefully a few more migrants will arrive in the next two days before I go.
The first bird I heard as I entered the park was a Chiffchaff, in total 8 were heard and seen around the park with the highest number being as usual on the old sewage works, were three were seen together, a Collared Dove flew across the playing field and another was seen later on the old sewage works, a Mistle Thrush was collecting nest material from around the boating lake and the first of two Blackcaps was singing from the small wood here with the other being on the back railway path in the reserve, on the main lake 28 Tufted Duck, two Goldeneye (pair), two Great Crested Grebe and 21 Mute Swans with another in the reserve area, a single Great Spotted Woodpecker was by the second gate.
Lesser Black-backed Gulls were flying over in small numbers all morning with nearly all heading in a NW direction and most were adults, also flying over a single Redwing with two late Fieldfare and a couple of Meadow Pipits, a Reed Bunting was calling on the old sewage works but nothing else on here or the old gas works, along the canal side of the main lake a Treecreeper was calling with a further two in the reserve with two Willow Tits, a Jay and two Bullfinch.
I'd pretty much given up for the day, there had been several showers and it had gone rather dark when I noticed a single Sand Martin flying around the main lake, this was soon joined by another two and then a Swallow arrived the first of the year for Westport followed by another, I was hoping to add House Martin as well with Nick Smith having one yesterday afternoon but alas that one eluded me, but another Sand Martin came in making four in total, all in all not a bad morning, I'm away at the weekend so hopefully a few more migrants will arrive in the next two days before I go.
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