Arriving after Jon has left the site I rarely find
anything new. Andy W accidently flushed a Water Pipit on the lower pools
straight past Jon, typical but hey ho, you can’t see everything. I did
however find an additional Little Egret that were on the main pit initially
before flying across to Pophills. The Cormorant flock continues to
expand, 94 were counted. Other sightings included a Pintail, 11 Lapwing, a
Green Sandpiper, a late Wheatear and a single Chiffchaff. Wildfowl included
just 18 Little Grebe, 7 Gadwall, 65 Teal, 280 Mallard, 8 Shoveler, 1 female
Pochard, 36 Tufted Duck and 141 Coot. Some good passage included 115 Fieldfare
and 22 Redpolls south.
I had a good walk around the Snipe meadow where
three Snipe took flight and four of Stonechats remained showing really well
despite the windy conditions. In all a pretty good weekend.
I've decided to not to carry on doing the
combined Warwickshire sightings for Bird Watching magazine for a number of
reasons. Warwickshire remains one of only a few counties that lacks a combined
sightings website unlike great examples in Worcestershire, Devon & Cornwall
(list is endless) and is certainly something that should be addressed. It's a
shame Salford Priors isn't a few more miles south in all honesty as the Worcestershire
birding community there is much more open & friendly.
Couldn't agree more about the need for a Warwickshire website. There have been a few false starts in the past, but its a big commitment for anyone who takes up the challenge. Not me by the way. Warwickshire birders seem to prefer Twitter. Also not me, too technically inept. Richard
ReplyDeleteTwitter quite easy once you're set-up on your phone, even for a semi-Luddite like me! Good for instant info. No doubt there'll be issues when you change phones though!
ReplyDeleteTo honest Richard Salford Priors & Morton Bagot would be left off any potential Warwickshire site. It's like we don't exist but at least it's consistant. There is certain sightings that won't be shared in future until after the event as access is very restricted and can't afford to sour relationships.
ReplyDelete