River Stort 2005

[mini-colster]

Hi,
Re-making my thread for my patch in 2005. Sorry if you have read this intro on my other thread, just skip down.

My patch is the River Stort; the navigation conveniently starts in my hometown, Bishop's Stortford, and runs down 13 miles to around Hoddesdon, where it joins the River Lee (near Rye Meads). It's cool when I walk the whole of it, then round Rye Meads.

Resident species, and that I hardly ever fail to see, are kingfishers (can get close views), grey wagtails, green and great spotted woodpeckers, kestrels, grey herons, cormorants, and a lot of finches and tits. Winter brings water rails, snipe, fieldfare, redwings, and summer brings common terns, spotted flycatchers, and many warblers (sedge warblers, reed warblers, whitethroats, chiffchaffs and blackcaps). Other nice sightings include: quail, scaup, willow tit, brambling, nightingale.
Click on the attachment for my total species list.

Mammals include foxes, weasels, rabbits, grey squirrels, deer, shrews, mice and voles. I have sighted (and nearly trod on) a slow worm, and many fish are present. I'm looking into bugs, but obviously I have to wait til summer.

I'll stop this now before it gets even longer, and I'll post my 2005 outings soon.

Mark.

[James Blake]

I'll post my 2005 outings soon. Mark.

Yes, please do!

[mini-colster]

I'll try to post once a month, maybe more if I have really good outings.

9/1/05. First patch outing of the year. Nice walk, got 28 species:

Water rail, 1
Kingfisher, 1 male
Goldfinch, 23
Greenfinch, 18
Bullfinch, 4
Wren
Robin
Blue tit, 33
Great tit, 28
Long tailed tit, 26
Moorhen, 26
Mallard, 21
Magpie, 19
Jackdaw, 230+
Jay, 1
Carrion crow, 8
Woodpigeon, 260+
Green woodpecker, 2
Great spotted woodpecker, 2
Blackbird, 21
Fieldfare, 86
Pheasant, 2
Grey wagtail, 1
Little grebe, 6
Mute swan, 4
Feral pigeon, 8
Black headed gull, 13
Goldcrest, 2

23/1/05: Brought a few more birds as well as the ones on the 9th. 36 species, patch year birds were:
Kestrel, 1 male
Meadow pipit, 1 (patch lifer)
Cormorant, 2
Reed bunting, 8
Song thrush, 1
Grey heron, 1
Dunnock, 2
Chaffinch, 3

I also got Lesser black backed gull, a patch lifer, on the 28th.

That's it for January. I'll post for February at the end of the month.

Mark

[pduxon]

Is it me Mark or are there more Kestrels about here lately? Other than the Rye Meads birds I hadn't seen many about. But this year I've seen them over the Forest.

[Nutcracker]

Nice list there Mark!

Plenty of Kestrels about up here too - they seemed to have a very good breeding season last year.

[mini-colster]

Yes, Kestrels do seem to be increasing. I had 3 yesterday, between Harlow and Bishop's Stortford. And I'm glad to hear that it's not just around here, Nutcracker. By the way, Pete, I got the waxwings at Church Langley yesterday too, I got 13 out of the 28 but I managed to get extremely close which was great. Now I just wish that they move up a bit to the river so I can count them as a patch lifer.

Mark

[birdman]

Water Rail and Quail, cracking birds for you patch list, m-c... keep posting :t:

[pduxon]

By the way, Pete, I got the waxwings at Church Langley yesterday too, I got 13 out of the 28 but I managed to get extremely close which was great. Now I just wish that they move up a bit to the river so I can count them as a patch lifer.

Mark

Hi Mark,

I saw them Sunday morning when I went for a paper but they had moved by the afternoon. Pleased they had only moved trees!! They've been at one of the two Tesco's at least 2 years running.

[mini-colster]

I've decided to post as many of my outings as possible, because if I limit it to the best eachmonth, I'll only have 12 posts on sightings. I've also scrapped posting at the end of each month; I'll post after each outing (unless I have reports which aren't good at all).

16/2/05

After going to Harlow for waxwings, I walked back along the river. Usual favourites were seen, plus lots of common finches etc. A total of 34 species:

Green woodpecker, 2
Great spotted woodpecker, 1
Kestrel, 3 (2 males and one female)
Grey heron, 1
Cormorant, 4
Jay, 1
Magpie, 45
Carrion crow, 13
Jackdaw, 250+
Fieldfare, 91
Blackbird, 16
Song thrush, 2
Robin, 9
Dunnock, 2
Wren, 8
Blackcap, 1
Great tit, 17
Blue tit, 23
Long tailed tit, 21
Bullfinch, 5
Chaffinch, 12
Greenfinch, 18
Reed bunting, 1
Kingfisher, 2
House sparrow, 7
Starling, 16
Mallard, 23
Moorhen, 25
Woodpigeon, 60
Feral pigeon, 10
Collared dove, 2
Mute swan, 6
Pheasant, 2
Black headed gull, 12

Also some deer were seen, although I had brief glimpses (probably fallow, as that is the only type I have seen on my patch).

Mark

[shaunchandler]

Hey Mark, nice list!

I wish I was back home on the Stort!
Thanks for posting your 'outings' I will look forward to seeing future lists.

Good Birding!
Shaun

[mini-colster]

First March outing. Went from Southmill Lock, Bishop's Stortford, to Sawbridgeworth Marsh and back. A gorgeous day to be out on, and I managed to see 31 birds:

Snipe, 4, patch year tick
Water rail, 2, one giving the best views ever, out in the open.
Kingfisher, 1 male
Kestrel, 3, 2 males and a female. One of the males was being mobbed by...
Woodpigeon, loads but 50 were mobbing the kestrel.
Great spotted woodpecker, 1 seen and another heard.
Little grebe, 10
Grey heron, 1
Cormorant, 2
Mute swan, 1
Blue tit, 23
Great tit, 20
Long tailed tit
Goldfinch, 10
Chaffinch, 2
Wren, 17
Moorhen, 9
Coot, 2
Mallard, 18
Collared dove
Jackdaw, 140
Carrion crow, 4
Jay, 1
Magpie, 10
Rook, 1
Blackbird, 24
Song thrush, 1
Robin, 8
Pheasant, 1 female
Black headed gull, 12
Common gull, 1

Mark

[pduxon]

nice numbers of Little Grebe Mark. How far is that? yeah I should know!!

[mini-colster]

Lol. They're on the stretch of water just before Spellbrook lock, most of them between that and the little bridge but a couple before it.

[mini-colster]

Hi all,

A patch visit today proved worthwhile. Went from Twyford lock (B/S) to Latton lock (Harlow). I managed to get 36 species, which ain't too bad at all:

Grey partridge, 2, patch lifer! That brings the total up to 68.
Chiffchaff, 1, year tick.
Pheasant
Coot
Moorhen
Mallard
Tufted duck
Canada goose
Mute swan
Black headed gull
Lesser black backed gull, 5
Woodpigeon
Feral pigeon
Collared dove
Kestrel, 4, 3 males 1 female.
Kingfisher, 1
Great spotted woodpecker, 1 seen and several more heard.
Green woodpecker, 2
Carrion crow
Magpie
Jackdaw
Blue tit
Great tit
Long tailed tit
Chaffinch
Greenfinch
Bullfinch
Wren
Robin
Dunnock
Blackbird
Song thrush
Cormorant
Grey heron
Starling
Meadow pipit, 5

Wish I could have carried on as I seemed to be doing rather well, but I had to go :C !!!

Cheers, Mark

[mini-colster]

An alright patch visit for the last day of the month. I was after two things today, one being any early summer migrants and the other being dusk birds.

Today I went from lock no.1 to Sawbridgeworth Marsh and back again. A darting blue figure appeared straight away, a Kingfisher. A second one was seen further up the river. The Chiffchaffs are well and truly back, with 9 individuals heard (4 seen), and more are probably going to join them.

However, the Little grebes have well and truly gone, with no sign of them today or on my last visit. I'm glad I managed to catch them in their wonderful summer plumage before they departed. The winter thrushes have obviously gone, so now I'm waiting for the summer arrivals.

A nice sight was a couple of Mallard chicks, my first of the year on my patch-awww! Also, there are two Feral pigeon nests under a railway bridge; I can see them very clearly and would be great to check up on now and then. My dusk watch however didn't prove very successful, with the only thing of note being 7 Snipe heading over to Sawbridgeworth Marsh. No owls or the supposed Woodcock showed, but it was worth a try, right?

By the end, I managed to get 33 species:

Water rail, 1
Kingfisher, 2
Snipe, 7
Kestrel, 2
Great spotted woodpecker
Green woodpecker
Coot
Moorhen
Mallard
Blackbird
Song thrush
Blue tit
Long tailed tit
Great tit
Chaffinch
Greenfinch
Robin
Wren
Grey wagtail, 2
Feral pigeon
Woodpigeon
Collared dove
Starling
Pheasant
Jay
Carrion crow
Magpie
Jackdaw
Cormorant, 4
Grey heron
Chiffchaff, 9
Mute swan
Black headed gull

Next month should be more interesting with the migrants.

Mark

[The Devil Bird]

I am so jealous, my local patch is rubbish, never get anything on it.It is just commonland though, I have had Ring-necked parakeets, a merlin and a kestrel and two of those are pretty pethetic but it is always nice to see even the common ones if it is a good veiw which most of the time it isn't!Got within 5 feet of the merlin which was amazing.
So far i think my patch list for all the time that i have birded on it is:

Woodpigeon
Black-headed gull
Song thrush
Jay
Merlin
Ring-necked parakeet
Kestrel
Blue tit
Redwing
Heard:Great spotted woodpecker,Pheasant and Jackdaw

Total of 12! 3 heard and 9 seen, you get 33 in a day! This is over 3 years!

[mini-colster]

That's alright, as long as you like going there. I'm just a bit more fortunate to have this habitat. Some people I know have much better patches than me, like estauries and stuff. And well done on the close view of a Merlin.

[mini-colster]

My first full patch walk of the year. Got to the river at 6:30 am. Was hoping for more summer migrants.

The dawn chorus was contributed to by Song thrushes, Robins, Chiffchaffs and other common ones. The only extra migrant I got was a summer Blackcap.

I got 2 patch lifers (common birds though |:$| ). They were Pied wagtail and Skylark, bringing my list up to 70.

Total species count 44:

Great crested grebe
Cormorant
Grey heron
Mute swan
Canada goose
Mallard
Tufted duck
Coot
Moorhen
Water rail
Black headed gull
Lesser black backed gull
Woodpigeon
Feral pigeon
Collared dove
Green woodpecker
Great spotted woodpecker
Carrion crow
Jackdaw
Rook
Magpie
Jay
Blackbird
Song thrush
Robin
Dunnock
Wren
Kingfisher
Skylark
Grey wagtail
Pied wagtail
Pheasant
Starling
House sparrow
Chiffchaff
Blackcap
Chaffinch
Greenfinch
Goldfinch
Blue tit
Great tit
Long tailed tit
Kestrel
Reed bunting

Cheers, Mark

[mini-colster]

First visit in ages. Many summer migrants have arrived during my absence, so it was a pleasure to see them. The first new arrivals that I saw were a group of Whitethroats, accompanied by Swallows darting behind them. Later on, I saw a mixture of Swallows, House Martins and Swifts skimming the insect-filled air. Then came Sedge and Reed Warblers, making themselves known by their usual racket. The last migrants I saw were 2 Common Terns, with beautiful gleaming white wings from the sunlight. A Cuckoo was heard, but was too distant. Nothing much else was interesting, although lots of species were present. Total count 43:

Cormorant
Grey Heron
Mute Swan
Canada Goose
Mallard
Moorhen
Kestrel
Pheasant
Black Headed Gull
Common Tern
Woodpigeon
Feral Pigeon
Collared Dove
Carrion Crow
Rook
Jackdaw
Magpie
Jay
Blackbird
Song thrush
Robin
Dunnock
Wren
House Martin
Swallow
Swift
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Greenfinch
Goldfinch
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Long Tailed Tit
Grey Wagtail
Pied Wagtail
Starling
Sedge Warbler
Reed Warbler
Whitethroat
Chiffchaff
Reed Bunting
Green Woodpecker
Great Spotted Woodpecker

Cheers, Mark

[mini-colster]

An afternoon walk on the river. The sun was shining and was very warm. Many birds were about, such as warblers, Common Terns, and a Cuckoo. I managed to track it down by its calling. It was conveniently on the top of a tree, though it was distant so it wasn't a great sight. However, this was a patch lifer so I was still happy with it. Also a pair of swans had 6 small fluffy cygnets which was nice to see. Not much else was of note.

List (33) :

Cuckoo
Cormorant
Mallard
Moorhen
Woodpigeon
Feral Pigeon
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Green Woodpecker
Blackbird
Song Thrush
Dunnock
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Chiffchaff
Sedge Warbler
Reed Warbler
Whitethroat
Common Tern
Reed Bunting
Goldfinch
Greenfinch
Chaffinch
Bullfinch
Carrion Crow
Rook
Jackdaw
Magpie
Jay
Grey Wagtail
Swallow
Swift
House Martin
Pheasant

Mark

[pduxon]

Thanks for that Mark.

How are the exams going?

[hornet]

Congratulations on the Cuckoo - nice patch lifer. I was out again last night looking for one on my patch - the terrain looks good for Cuckoo but so far, no joy.

Still, all things come to those who wait... I have had two patch lifers in the last fortnight - Common Sandpiper and Tufted Duck.

That's the wonderful thing about patch birding - it can turn even a common bird into an exciting discovery!

[mini-colster]

Wow. It's been ages since I've been here last. I decided to go today to see if my 16th bday brought any luck.

I left the house quite early and arrived at the river at 5:30 am. The first sightings were Mallards, Moorhens and a Mute Swan. As I made my way along the towpath, I noticed a difference in Rushy Mead, the little nature reserve next to the path. It was really overgrown with all sorts of plants, but I liked it. Nothing more exciting than a Jay was seen there.

I approached lock no.2 , Twyford Lock, and saw several Long-tailed Tits and Swallows flying overhead. Then a Kingfisher came and landed close by. A bit further on I caught sight of a fox ahead. I tried to get my camera out but it saw me and fled. I wasn't even that close. Also in that area I saw a Green Woodpecker and a pair of Kingfishers. I followed a Water Rail squeal, and found the fox again. It went away.

Later on I got a patch lifer. I managed to see a couple of Yellowhammers mixed with some Reed Buntings. Excellent! I walked to the edge of Sawbridgeworth and turned back. The return walk produced a flock noisy geese, more Kingfisher sightings (7 altogether, min of 3 different birds), and a Sparrowhawk chasing Swallows, another patch lifer!

Overall, the river was extremely active today. Very glad I went.
Total list (33 seen plus 1 heard):

Grey Heron
Cormorant
Mute Swan
Canada Goose
Mallard
Moorhen
Water Rail heard
Sparrowhawk
Pheasant
Woodpigeon
Feral Pigeon
Collared Dove
Kingfisher
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Green Woodpecker
Swallow
House Martin
Grey Wagtail
Robin
Blackbird
Song Thrush
Grey Wagtail
House Sparrow
Whitethroat
Sedge Warbler
Reed Warbler
Blackcap
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Long-tailed Tit
Greenfinch
Chaffinch
Yellowhammer
Reed Bunting

Cheers, Mark

[JSlee]

Went from Gaston Green up to Thorley Wash and back this am - bright and sunny, with lots of boats, canal boats, cyclists, joggers, and anglers.

Birdwise a Whinchat was the pick near the entrance to the Marina, with Yellow Wagtails in evidence – the max count was 7 around the feet of a small herd of cattle opposite by Tednambury Lock. Otherwise a few Reed Buntings, 4 Cormorant, Chiffchaffs, 2 Kestrel, 1 Sparrowhawk, at the wash Bullfinch, c30 Greenfinch, Kingfisher, and a very smart looking Fox.

Earlier at Stansted Airport Lagoons, c100 hirundines + 1 Swift, more Yellow Wagtails, but no waders on the lagoons as the water level is too high – just 3 Shoveler.

[mini-colster]

Wow, nice one! I've got to go tomorrow morning now! Yellow Wagtails and Whinchat will be two patch lifers! Thanks.

[mini-colster]

Today was absolutely beautiful as I'm sure many people witnessed for themselves, so I thought I'd do a spot of birding on my patch (actually I mainly went for the Yellow Wagtails and Whinchat that John saw yesterday). Despite this gorgeous weather, there was hardly any activity. A Kestrel was having a rough time being mobbed by a large Jackdaw and then a lot of Swallows. A Kingfisher showed very well. I got to Tednambury Lock and a bird landed in the tree directly opposite me. It was a wagtail, and a better look through my bins showed a Yellow Wagtail! That's my 76th species for the river! I didn't see any others, but it stayed in the tree for a good few minutes. On the return journey, I saw approx. 250 Swallows which was cool.

Day list (25):

Cormorant
Mute Swan
Canada Goose
Mallard
Moorhen
Kestrel
Pheasant
Woodpigeon
Feral Pigeon
Collared Dove
Kingfisher
Swallow
House Martin
Yellow Wagtail
Wren
Dunnock
Blackbird
Blue Tit
Goldfinch
Greenfinch
Chaffinch
Jackdaw
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jay

Cheers, Mark

[mini-colster]

Got some catching up to do here. LAST Sunday, I went out to practise digi-scoping. Weather was extremely hot! Two bird species perched long enough for me to test, though the results aren't brilliant but I am improving. One of the usual two Cormorants was in their tree (they have a special bare tree by one of the locks), so I set up there. Then a Kestrel was nicely situated on a wire. Nothing much else was of interest.

List(24):

Cormorant
Mute Swan
Canada Goose
Mallard
Moorhen
Kestrel
Black-headed Gull
Kingfisher
Green Woodpecker
Woodpigeon
Collared Dove
Feral Pigeon
Swallow
House Martin
Blue Tit
Wren
Chaffinch
Goldfinch
Greenfinch
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
Rook
Magpie
Jay

Mark

[mini-colster]

Today I decided to go to the river for the chance of adding some new birds to the list like Wheatear or Whinchat, especially as I have recently had a good run of patch lifers. I didn't get any new birds, although I may have heard a Little Owl but I'll have to look into that. Nothing exciting was happening, although a Coot was nice to see as I don't often see them on the river, and both common woodpeckers were good to watch.

List (26):

Cormorant
Grey Heron
Mute Swan
Mallard
Moorhen
Coot
Kestrel
Green Woodpecker
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Woodpigeon
Feral Pigeon
Collared Dove
House Martin
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
Rook
Magpie
Jay
Robin
Dunnock
Wren
Chaffinch
Goldfinch
Greenfinch
Blue Tit
Great Tit

Mark

[mini-colster]

On my way to school yesterday, I saw a bird perfectly situated at the top of a tree in a front garden in Sawbridgeworth, and I'm pretty sure it was a Wheatear (very slim, thrush size with longish beak, flew away while making a sound like a rattler, couldn't see colours though). I've now decided to add it on my patch list, as I know that the river is behind the house.

So Wheatear, patch lifer, number 76 (I've decided to chuck a bird of my list, Scaup, I was just plain stupid that day! Lol!)

Cheers, Mark

[dan pointon]

Hi Mark,

If it was making a sound like a rattler it was probably a Mistle Thrush, that's their very distinctive flight call, often heard from flocks roaming about in winter.

Dan

[mini-colster]

hi all,

A couple weeks ago i went to the river. Not a lot was about, but something was of interest. I met a fisherman and had a little chat, took a picture of a fish he caught and left. Shortly afterwards i briefly saw something quite long swimming in the water. I thought, probably mink as otter is more unlikely. I tried looking for it but didnt succeed. So i went on my walk, came back and met the fisherman again. We had another little chat, and i asked him if he sees any mammals, and he said that he knows we have mink round here. So i thought, cool, mink, i know everyone hates them but it's a new mammal for the patch.
Sightings:

Cormorant
Mallard
Moorhen
Water Rail
Sparrowhawk
Kestrel
Black-headed Gull
Woodpigeon
Feral Pigeon
Green Woodpecker
Kingfisher
Blackbird
Robin
Dunnock
Wren
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Long-tailed Tit
Chaffinch
Bullfinch
Greenfinch
Goldfinch
Rook
Jackdaw
Jay
Magpie


So, this morning i went to the river, mainly to take some "autumn" pics for my photography class. I ended up with Yellowhammer which was nice, and great views of active kingfishers. But the more exciting aspect was that I met the fisherman again from 2 weeks ago, and he said that other people have said that they've seen otters at Spellbrook Reservoir, which is basically around the area where i was. So now that's got me really curious as to whether what I saw was otter. I did go for a little hunt around where they were supposedly seen but didn't see anything. Otters on the Stort would be proper good though!
Anyway, today's sightings:

Cormorant
Black-headed Gull
Mallard
Moorhen
Kestrel
Green Woodpecker
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Kingfisher
Woodpigeon
Feral Pigeon
Collared Dove
Magpie
Jackdaw
Rook
Carrion Crow
Blackbird
Robin
Wren
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Long-tailed Tit
Chaffinch
Greenfinch
Reed Bunting
Yellowhammer

Sorry for that length, just really excited about otters!
Mark

[dan pointon]

Great stuff - keep working that patch Mark, the Pied Kingfisher'll come one day!! ;)

(long story)

Good news about the Otters,

Cya

Dan

[mini-colster]

Great stuff - keep working that patch Mark, the Pied Kingfisher'll come one day!! ;)

(long story)

Good news about the Otters,

Cya

Dan


Ha bloomin ha! People please don't ask, just don't ask!

[pduxon]

Ha bloomin ha! People please don't ask, just don't ask!
I'm asking...................

[mini-colster]

Hehe |:(| . Well...er...it aint that interesting really, honest. Muahahahaha! You're never going to find out!

K, you forced it out of me! Basically I was chatting to dan here, and you must know that he had been telling me all the latest rarities, with the date place etc. suddenly he goes "pied kingfisher, river stort", and he gave a time and everything! So i got really excited, coz i've ben waiting for a great bird to turn up, only to find out that he was of course joking! That little...

[dan pointon]

Lol, it worked a treat - now i'm just anticipating what the revenge will be......

[JSlee]

Re Otters ..... I'm a bit sceptical. Firstly, I believe an attempted reintroduction of Otters took place a while back and failed - not enough suitable territory. Secondly, Otters don't like Mink - is it likely Mink would be out in the open if Otters were around? Thirdly, Otters are notoriously difficult to see. Generally the first signs are tracks in mud and droppings - so I'd keep an eye out for those first.

I'd love to be proved wrong ...

[mini-colster]

Hi all, ages since I've visited the river.

So I had to go today, and what a great day it was. Early on, I encountered a big flock of Siskin (60+), a new bird to the patch (been ashamed of not having it already, so now that shame has been lifted). The Little Grebes are back for the winter, and a lot of common species were showing themselves. Lots of Redwing and Fieldfare too.

When I got to Sawbridgeworth, since the footpath beyond is STILL closed, i caught the train to Harlow. In between Harlow Mill and Harlow Town, I got 2 new birds for the patch list, Wigeon and Lapwing, so I'm very happy as my count has been brought up to 79!

The main highlight though was watching two weasels fighting right in front of me. They came right up close, that was fantastic!

However, I did notice something which is somewhat a bit of a shame. At Tednambury Lock, you can see a thin dead tree across a little field. I called it The Cormorant Tree, because it was a favourite perching site for a few local Cormorants. I hardly ever went through a walk without seeing at least one perched in their tree. But today i noticed that half of it has been broken off :-C Will be shame not to see them perched in their tree anymore.

Still, a good day. Here's my list:

Great Crested Grebe
Little Grebe
Cormorant
Grey Heron
Mute Swan
Wigeon
Gadwall
Mallard
Kestrel
Lapwing
Moorhen
Pheasant
Black-headed Gull
Woodpigeon
Feral Pigeon
Collared Dove
Green Woodpecker
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Kingfisher
Wren
Dunnock
Robin
Mistle Thrush
Song Thrush
Redwing
Fieldfare
Blackbird
Chaffinch
Greenfinch
Goldfinch
Bullfinch
Siskin
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Long-tailed Tit
Rook
Carrion Crow
Jay
Jackdaw
Magpie

Ok cheers, Mark

[jforgham]

Hi all, Mini Colster in particular,
Had wander along River Stort today from Pig Lane, Bishop's Stortford to Spellbrook Locks. Plenty of birds but pick of the bunch was a pair of Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers in the undergrowth at Wallbury Estate. This is just north of Spellbrook Locks on the eastern side of the river. Also on thetrip
1 water rail
2 nuthatch
5 GSW
Loads of LTT (40+)
Gt Tit
Bl Tit
3 Marsh Tit
1 kestrel
300+ Wood pigeons
24 goldfinch
7 siskin
1 bullfinch
17 fieldfare
24 redwing
good numbers of chaffinch/greenfinch
100+ BHG's
100+ jackdaws
1 kingfisher
2 song thrush
3 goldcrest
33 sp in all. A good 3 hour wander My list for this patch as from 01.09.05 is now 73
A very Merry Christmas and peaceful New Year to all
Jono