Salford Priors Gravel Pits summary
A strange year at the pits with some extremes of weather in which we have seen the highest & lowest water levels. Breeding successes include Turtle Dove after a two year absence and Oystercatcher. Northern Wheatear would have bred except for some disturbance by dog walkers.
We recorded 137 species down from 143. Highlights included Arctic & Black Tern, Avocet, Black-necked Grebe, Garganey, Marsh Harrier, Short-eared Owl, Wood Sandpiper and Woodcock. The biggest difference was the lack of passage waders.
Many thanks to all those who contributed throughout the year and special recognition to Jon who continues to undertake monthly counts and offers much needed encouragement.
I observed 10 new species in the year on my life list which had some genuine variation. Citrine Wagtail & Black-throated Thrush were two I was particularly see whilst Caspian Tern, Long-tailed Skua & Icterine Warbler remain on my most wanted list. Many thanks to Roland, Chris, the Captain & the Silver Fox for their company & banter through out the year.
1) Citrine Wagtail (Gloucestershire) April
2) Alpine Swift (Somerset) April
3) Baikal Teal (Cambridgshire) May
4) Black-headed Bunting (Yorkshire) June
5) Lesser Grey Shrike (Norfolk) June
6) Little Bustard (Gloucestershire) June
7) Brown Booby (Cornwall) September
8) Eastern Olivaceous Warbler (Hampshire) September
9) Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Suffolk) November
10) Black-throated Thrush (Befordshire) December
My favourite ten birds of the years based on the experience & location are the following.
1) Brown Booby - A fantastic jolly to Cornwall to see this amazing species in a wonderful location.
2) Black-throated Thrush - Very pleased to see this showy individual and was a real winter treat. I'd dipped this species twice previously so highly satisfying.
3) Little Bustard - This cracker came up as an alert on a Sunday afternoon. Thankfully I was only a few junctions away on the M5 although I had to kidnap the wife to get there as soon as I did.
4) Alpine Swift - I saw this species at Ham Wall after recording a Citrine Wagtail only an hour before. Twitching any Swift is high risk thankfully this gamble paid off.
5) Lesser Grey Shrike - A lovely day to Norfolk to observe this cracking indivual close to the coast followed by seeing my first Swallow-tailed Butterfly on the way home. A top day.
6) Black-headed Bunting - One species I would never have guessed at the start of the year. Long time to Yorkshire paid dividends on enjoyable trip with Rolly & Foxy.
7) Citrine Wagtail - Part of my west country double with the Alpine Swift. Went to see one and there was actually two !
8) Buff-breasted Sandpiper - Amazing views of this stunning wader on the way from seeing the Brown Booby.
9) Lapland Bunting - By no means a rarity but loved watching this bird at close quarters when in Scilly.
10) Great Skua - Perhaps a surprise addition but this monster was just brilliant to watch locally.
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