03 August 2010

Very dull with heavy cloud coverage, temp was 16c but felt cooler, breeze very light north westerly, visit from 05.45 - 08.30.

The Canada Geese numbers continue to drop now they are free flying again after there moult, just 129 are left which includes the CanadaxGreylag hybrid, a single Mute Swan on the boating lake and 34 on the main lake, was able to check a couple of rings and a new one is a yellow ringed bird but its badly marked/scratched and two numbers/letters are unreadable, the Moorhens seem to be on 2nd broods with a few new chicks about on the main lake and the top pool in the nature reserve, Great Crested Grebes include the family of 4 on the boating lake, a pair with 1 young and a pair with 2 young on the main lake, plus another 3 on the main lake, 2 Shovelers today, the usual eclipse male on the boating lake and a female on the main lake which flew off after just 20 mins or so, a Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard calling form the nature reserve and we spent alot of time today looking for the Green Woodpecker with no joy, the Tufted Duck were difficult to count today with most of them sticking close to the far bank but in the end we mananged 63 with the usual 2 Pochards, around 40+ Swifts were flying quite high over the top end of the main lake, a Grey Heron was as usual on the boating lake and a couple of Lesser Black-backed Gulls flew through, a couple of Willow Warblers were calling again from the same places as the other day, 1 by the middle of the nature reserve and 1 by the old gas works.

2 Whitethroat were on the old sewage works with a single Willow Tit and only a few Chiffchaffs today, plus 2 Blackcaps, a Jay also flew across towards the top of the main lake, a couple of Sand Martins were on the main lake and a couple of Reed Warblers on the top pool.