28 July 2010

Although dry it was damp underfoot due to a heavy dew, wind was moderate west/southwest, heavy cloud, temp 16c, visit 05.45 - 08.15.

For the first time in ages there were 4 Mute Swans on the boating lake, sadly they weren't new in and still 34 remain on site, also still the eclipse male Shoveler remains on here and I could only find 1 adult from the family of 4 Great Crested Grebes that are usually on here, on the ,main lake there now seems to be 3 pairs of Great Crested Grebes with young, a group of 3, a single and I think the new pair out have possibly 2 young but was hard to tell, 2 Common Sandpipers were flying around various parts of the main lake, 59 Tufted Ducks and 1 Pochard, as usual the Grey Heron on the boating lake.
A female Great Spotted Woodpecker was in the Tit flock in the middle part of the nature reserve, also in the flock 2 Blackcap and single Willow Tit and Coal Tit, I also had singles of the last three species mentioned on the old sewage works, on the top pool 3 Reed Warblers, a nice surprise was a singing Sedge Warbler just after the 2nd gate to the nature reserve from the bottom end, this is the first record since April and a sign of passage on return, good numbers of House Martins were over the main lake with a count of 50+, there were also a few Swallows and Swifts within them, Chiffchaffs totalled 7 with nearly all of them on the old sewage works and a few by the top pool, also 4 Whitethroats on the sewage works.

In total 39 species seen.