27 July 2010

Strange weather today, temp was 19c and very muggy, although dry at first heavy drizzle started after about an hour and didn't stop, heavy cloud and seemed quite dark but instead of getting lighter it seemed to get darker, really weird conditions, visit from 05.40 - 07.55.

As I was walking along the 'Avenue' 40+ Black-headed Gulls flew over east, the Canada Goose flock seems to be decreasing very slowly with 239 which also included the CanadaxGreylag hybrid, by the playing fields and 10 Starlings flew over also heading east, as you know I nearly always mention a Grey Heron fishing on the model boating lake, which was the usual case today but there was also one fishing from the old beach on the main lake, on the boating lake I could only find 3 Great Crested Grebes, the one parent back sitting yet again and 2 juveniles which seemed to be having to fend for themselves, on the main lake there were 9 but this included 4 juveniles group of 3 and a single, there parents were doing things different from the boating lake pair were only the male seemed to do the feeding but on the main lake the youngsters are all left on the water on the own while both sets of parents were diving for food, back on the boating lake and the eclipse male Shoveler is still present, on the main lake 34 Mute Swans, 52 Tufted Ducks and a single Pochard, there were good numbers of Swifts, Swallows, House & Sand Martins over the main lake.
Just 4 Chiffchaffs around the park today mostly on the old sewage works, a Kingfisher on the boating lake was a nice surprise this morning, it was in the trees on the island and then flew across to the trees by the model boating ramp area, a pair of Bullfinches were on the 'Avenue', a Willow Tit was on the sidings and also 1 near the boardwalk bridge in the nature reserve, Blackcaps were 2 on the top pool and 2 on the sewage works, 3 Reed Warblers were on the top pool, back on the main lake a Teal was again seen in the middle when it then flew of high south, on the gas works a Kestrel flew across and 2 Linnets were present again.

Total species seen 43.

A Med Gull was reported from Nick Smith, he received a text while he's on holiday in Portugal, but I don't know who reported it to him, it was seen briefly at 09.45 when it flew off north.

Mid to late afternoon and I'd just got home when I received a phone call from Phil Jones telling me that there were 2 Arctic Terns at Westport, I jumped on my bike and 2 minutes later was stood with Phil watching the Arctic Terns flying up and down the top side of the main lake, a nice little Westport year tick and with the earlier Med Gull puts us on 114 for the year with every ones records combined.