24 September 2010

At last 3 days off work and after that 2 noon shifts so gives me 5 full visits to Westport, after very heavy overnight rain it was a cool 12c with heavy cloud coverage with the odd light shower, wind was strong north/northeast, visit from 07.30 - 09.40.

Despite a good long visit there wasn't much to see, the small birds were keeping low due to the high winds, so very few Warblers etc were seen, 83 Tufted Ducks were on the main lake with 8 Great Crested Grebes and 5 Mute Swans, on the playing field 6 Pied Wagtails and another 5 on the grass verge and bank, a single Teal was on the boating lake and later went onto the main lake, just a single Mistle Thrush was still on the berries by the car park and the boating lake, a single Willow Tit was in the Tit flock by the top pool with a Bullfinch and a Chiffchaff, also single Chiffchaffs were on the gas works and along the canal side of the main lake, back on the main lake a single male Pochard and the pair of Ruddy Duck, a single Swallow was on the old gas works and a Blackcap on the old sewage works, a Treecreeper was in the trees at the top of the main lake and lastly a Feral Pigeon had me thinking it was something else when I found it having a swim in the middle of the canal.

Nipped back down Westport this afternoon, conditions pretty similar but not quite as windy, 121 Canada Geese on the playing field, Ruddy Ducks have increased to 2 females and 1 male and Great Crested Grebes 10, a Jay flew across the boating lake and 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls are on the main lake, a Sparrowhawk flew over the top of the main lake and Nick had a couple of House Martins along the canal side of the main lake.