South Lincolnshire Patching (1 Viewer)

J Jones · Sep 3, 2006

A brief intro - my patch is Baston & Langtoft Pits in South Lincs. An average gravel pit really, its been a working site for 40 years at least now, so the range of maturity over the site is pretty extensive - useful for a wider range of species to be recorded. Further details can be found here.

I'm pretty bored (2006 - the worst year for birds in Britain ever?!), so I thought I'd set this up while I remember, and then I'll keep adding to it.

There's always something to see - even on the worst of days you can fall back on the resident Red-crested Pochard population. And they're not bread-munchers.

Anyway, enjoy - hopefully you will.

J Jones · Sep 3, 2006

Sunday 3rd September
Weather: mainly sunny, warm (circa 24c), but a brisk NNW wind

Not alot going on today, as often happens at this time of year (late August and early September often sees a lull locally before passerines start picking up in a week or so).

Large numbers of Red-crested Pochards have been hard to come by over the past year or so, so it was a nice surprise to encounter 26 messing around on the Corner Pit. Stupidly I forgot to look for immatures, but didn't see any 1w males in my scan of the flock. It was immediately noticeable that in the past 10 days or so since my last visit that wildfowl numbers had rocketed. The pits were stuffed with Mallards, and a single drake Teal was most unusual for this particular area. Northern Pochards had increased, and several females and juveniles were blogging around. Small numbers of Yellow Wagtails were also going through overhead. Encaptivating stuff.

I followed my usual route through the workings and saw naff all. A good flock of Teal were noted grilling the mud on the Slurry Pit - there are alot about this autumn. Most arrived the day after we watched a good westward passage on the Norfolk coast. That's what I love about patching, national movements reflected on a local scale - and to me there's nothing like it - it's a great feeling. The wader hotspots produced absolutely no waders, but more Teal. Otherwise, there was absolutely nothing. Still no hoped-for Spotted Crake. I wonder what tomorrow will bring.

J Jones · Sep 10, 2006

Sunday 10th September
Weather: sunny, hot, light to moderate SE breeze

What a stunning day weather-wise! It was boiling down the patch. Still, despite this, winter continues to creep in to view bird-wise. Due to getting back to school this week I have been rather busy, and so haven't been down the patch since last Sunday. It was remarkable just how much has changed over the past 7 days.

Not as many Red-crested Pochards on the Corner Pit today (only 18), but I decided to have a better look at them and, to my delight, I found a 1st-winter drake amongst them. Good to see they have bred again. Also on here a female Shoveler, and good numbers of Northern Pochards. I was pleased to find the first Eurasian Wigeons of the autumn on the New Workings, with a skittish flock of seven accompanied by two drake Gadwall and a drake Shoveler (the latter is always a notable species here by the way!). Once again, there were no waders present. The New Workings also produced a juv-type Northern Wheatear right on cue - these should be passing through in small numbers for the next few weeks. A few Yellow Wagtails went over, and Meadow Pipit numbers seem to have increased.

Once again, did my usual route. Two more Wigeon (a pair) were on ARC Pit, and Slurry Pit held good numbers of Lapwings and small gulls, but lacked anything scarcer. 12 Teal were asleep in the heat on the small pond next to Slurry Pit, and a Green Sandpiper was probing around in the mud here. Two further Green Sands flushed from workings near the Sand Martin bank, but bird of the day goes to the Curlew that flushed from by Pocket Park and flew off calling - this species is rather scarce here.

I have attatched two crap pics: one of the Wheatear, and the other showing three Red-crested Pochards - two adult drakes and the 1st-winter drake (note the bill beginning to turn red).

That was about it, more of a day to appreciate the cloudless skies than the quality of the birding. Hopefully I will get out more this week - Pec, anyone?

J Jones · Sep 12, 2006

Tuesday 12th September
Weather: overcast with light showers, very humid, light SW breeze

Only a brief visit this evening amongst homework and other things. All the usuals present, still good numbers of Red-crested Pochards showing on Corner Pit, and a Snipe flew over the road by the New Works. No waders again this evening.

J Jones · Sep 17, 2006

Saturday 16th September
Weather: sunny, warm, still, slightly misty at times

Brief visit again this evening, but that did not prevent some superb birds being seen. A dark-morph Honey Buzzard drifted south just before 18:00, and a little after a Tree Pipit flew south calling. Both were patch ticks, with the latter especially being highly-anticipated. Aside this it was the same old, with a single Green Sandpiper still, and good numbers of returning Eurasian Wigeon and Teal.

J Jones · Sep 17, 2006

Sunday 17th September
Weather: very warm, sunny, light SW veering more W by evening

Today was the first WeBS count of the 'winter', and so naturally I spent quite alot of time wandering around this afternoon, counting exciting species such as Coots. Actually to be fair, I did see quite alot that wasn't water-based, with the highlight being a passage of Common Buzzards. The now-resident adult was hanging around in the Slurry Pit area as usual, but just before this put in an appearance, a fresh-looking individual flew SW at very high altitude. About 15 minutes later, a second individual went SW at equally high altitude - only just visible to the naked eye. Three Buzzards in an afternoon here is quite something! In addition to this, a female Sparrowhawk went high south, and an adult Hobby also went through - quality raptor movement in addition to yesterday's Honey Buzz.

Bird of the day goes to a superb Spotted Crake however, which is sadly on private land. Picked up immediately after scanning an area and thinking "wow, why has this never had Spotted Crake before?!". We will see if it is still present tomorrow, but it has rounded off a quite fantastic September weekend (the 17th is a bit of a red-letter day, with such gems as Manx Shearwater in 2003).

Passerines included several flocks of Meadow Pipits over, and four flava wagtails south. I was amused by a Sparrowhawk attacking a Green Woodpecker aswell, the woody made one hell of a racket!

Anyway, waterbird counts for today's survey:
Little Grebe 12
Great Crested Grebe 14
Cormorant 6
Grey Heron 4
Mute Swan 8
Greylag Goose 233
Canada Goose 76
Barnacle Goose 2
Eurasian Wigeon 78
Gadwall 12
Common Teal 54
Mallard 132
Shoveler 4
Red-crested Pochard 22
Northern Pochard 34
Tufted Duck 55
Moorhen 7
Coot 235
Golden Plover 1
Lapwing 16
Common Snipe 2
Green Sandpiper 1
Kingfisher 1

... and thats about it!

J Jones · Oct 1, 2006

Apologies for the lack of updates. Last time I went out was Tuesday 19th, when the Spotted Crake was still present...... going out later today though.

JRE · Oct 1, 2006

Excellent stuff Josh, keep it coming.

J Jones · Oct 2, 2006

Monday 2nd October
Weather: mild, partly cloudy, moderate SW wind dropping by dusk

Really not getting out as much as I would have liked at the moment. Anyway, definitely the coolest evening of the autumn so far, with it being the first time my ears have got cold since April! Quite an eventful evening out again though, as usual Corner Pit held a healthy number of Red-crested Pochards (20), with some now almost fully moulted. Wigeon are still very prominent, with most pits holding good numbers. A couple of Snipe were also feeding on the Corner Pit island.

New Works produced the bird of the evening, a small adult Peregrine bombing through terrorizing the newly-arrived Golden Plovers. A nice sign that winter is only just around the corner...

Not alot doing otherwise, a Ringed Plover flying south calling was quite an unseasonable surprise, and a few flocks of Meadow Pipits moved through. Still no Redwings.

Check out the attatched - shows the first-winter drake Red-crested Pochard as of 2nd Oct - note how much it has moulted since my last image.

J Jones · Oct 3, 2006

Tuesday 3rd October
Weather: cool, sunny intervals, moderate W breeze

Very little to report from a brief outing this evening, aside an increase in Wigeon numbers. Still 16 Red-crested Pochards performing admirably on Corner Pit.

Jono L · Oct 4, 2006

Rcp

wrexile1 said:
Tuesday 3rd October
Weather: cool, sunny intervals, moderate W breeze

Very little to report from a brief outing this evening, aside an increase in Wigeon numbers. Still 16 Red-crested Pochards performing admirably on Corner Pit.

ayup!
We got a manky RC Poch at Grafham Water today. Sexed as a male due to the red beak, but I am not sure whether it is a bird coming out of eclipse or a juvenile just acquring a few adult feathers. It has quite a lot of black mottling on the breast, otherwise female-like.
Any thoughts??
Cheers Jono Leadley
www.indybirder.com

Jono L · Oct 4, 2006

Jono L said:
ayup!
We got a manky RC Poch at Grafham Water today. Sexed as a male due to the red beak, but I am not sure whether it is a bird coming out of eclipse or a juvenile just acquring a few adult feathers. It has quite a lot of black mottling on the breast, otherwise female-like.
Any thoughts??
Cheers Jono Leadley
www.indybirder.com

By the way there is a photo on the Grafham Water Photos 2006
section of www.indybirder.com
ta

J Jones · Oct 12, 2006

Jono L said:
By the way there is a photo on the Grafham Water Photos 2006
section of www.indybirder.com
ta

Jono - only just seen your post, sorry. Looks like a 1st-winter drake to me. The adult drakes retain the bright red bills, and are generally brighter-looking than this even in eclipse.

The first-winter is still here at BLGP today, and is beginning to look more adult like aside the dull bill and poor head markings.

J Jones · Oct 12, 2006

Thursday 12th October
Weather: mild, sunny, light westerly wind

More ducks today than last week, with 81 Wigeon on Corner/Long Pits - this place usually holds no more than 10!

Still 12 Red-crested Pochards showing including the 1w drake - an educational bird if anyone cares.

Plenty more finches and thrushes about now.

J Jones · Oct 29, 2006

Sunday 29th October
Weather: mild, sunny and still at first, but cooling off rapidly towards dusk

After missing October's WeBS, I decided to do one for my own personal records today. As it happened, I got too distracted by other birds, and so only a partial count was undertaken. Still, a count of 386 Coot on the New Works/Hanson areas was exceptional - this is an excellent total even in mid-winter for the particular area of the complex. Compare this to about 150 in September.

Anyway, today's highlight was a singing Cetti's Warbler deep in the 4-ways fishery complex. This is presumably the same bird as the one that sang here in the spring. A female Stonechat was only about the third I have ever seen on the patch, so also a very good record. This little cracker was performing well along the road to the reedbed.

Perhaps the most encouraging sighting was a vocal flock of at least 15 Tree Sparrows, loafing in the hedgerow opposite the New Workings, and giving great views amongst other finches and buntings. Also, a Brambling showed nicely by Park Farm. Up to 6 wintered here in 2003/04, so it was nice to see one back again (most of the more recent records have involved flyovers or passage birds).

A Siskin flew west over the Pocket Park just after 14:00 - always a good bird here (apart from last winter where there were over 150!).

As for wildfowl, Teal numbers have plummeted (as expected), but Wigeon continue to increase. Red-crested Pochards numbered 21 today on Corner Pit, of which three were first-winter drakes. I wonder where the extra two immatures have been all autumn.. it just shows how easily things disappear on the complex.

Anyway, check out the crappy pictures attatched for now, and enjoy...

J Jones · Oct 30, 2006

Monday 30th October
Weather: mild and cloudy with a moderate to brisk WSW wind

Remarkably, I made my second visit to the patch in as many days today - something quite unheard of in recent times, I am ashamed to say.

Much less action today, presumably due to the rather unsettled weather conditions, but a cracking Merlin (the first of the winter and a rather scarce bird here) flew east over the crossroads mid-afternoon. The first Fieldfares of the autumn for the patch flew west in one flock of 46, pausing only briefly.

I had a walk round some of the private pits today (I'm allowed, don't worry), and wildfowl levels were pretty low. However, a congregation of over 25 Great Crested Grebes on the Ocean was very notable.

J Jones · Nov 4, 2006

Saturday 4th November
Weather: clear, sunny, cold and a moderate NW wind

At last! I finally find a real rarity on the patch, in the shape of the first site record of Richard's Pipit! A real shock, picked up on call as it flew in to the paddocks, where I had it twice in five minutes but then we could not relocate it all afternoon.

Excitement aside, there were two noisy Water Rails in the reedbed (the first of the winter), and at least eight Red-crested Pochards still knocking about. Wigeon numbers had once again swollen.

The first Goldeneye had arrived back today (although more likely some time in the week), with three female-types around; one on Gull Pit and two on ARC Pit.

J Jones · Nov 9, 2006

Thursday 9th November
Weather: sunny, cool, moderate to brisk NW wind

A very nice day weather-wise, but very little birds to show for it. The highlight was a movement of Fieldfare. Although I saw only 50 or so go through west at BLGP, along the A15 between Langtoft and Bourne I recorded three large flocks going west totalling over 300 birds.

The only other significant occurrence was a near full summer-plumaged Black-headed Gull on ARC Pit. This phenomenon has become annual in November and early December of late, with several birds often moulting in to partial summer plumage before moulting in to winter plumage again by late December - most odd, and comments very welcome!

Gadwall had increased, with 12 on Corner Pit alone. However, only one Red-crested Pochard (a drake) showed.

Check out the attachments - this is the typical state of these partially-plumaged Black-headed Gulls, although I have seen some with much more extreme 'black' heads. There are typically one or two in a flock of BHGs ranging in size from 100 - 300 birds.

J Jones · Nov 19, 2006

Sunday 19th November
Weather: sunny, cold, moderate S to SW wind

Today saw me attempt to do the WeBS count. Sure enough I got two of the four areas done, but sadly was distracted by a large flock of some 800 Golden Plovers on the southwestern side of the complex. After much stalking, I eventually got a look at about 400 or 500 of the birds, but there was no hoped-for American Golden Plover. I will hopefully go back for better views of all the birds as soon as possible...

Aside the plovers, there wasn't really much happening. A couple of flyover Siskins were pleasant, including a male in some kind of subsong. Highlight for me was a Chiffchaff (the first wintering bird I have located), calling regularly on the western side of ARC Pit.

The first Jack Snipe of the winter was flushed from the meadow, which quite interestingly uttered a single soft note - I don't recall hearing them before.

J Jones · Nov 26, 2006

Sunday 26th November
Weather: sunny, mild, moderate westerly wind

After a late night the previous evening, my walk around round the pits was more of a slow stumble today. After an hour or so, the only real bit of quality I had encountered was a brief fly-through juvenile Peregrine, and my concentration and energy levels were waning.

After a count of 29 Red-crested Pochards made by local birder Trev Williams last weekend (the highest so far this year), I was spurred on to spend a little more time grilling the Corner Pit to see just how many there were. A number (at least four) of first-winter drakes appeared, and it was encouraging to note several new birds. As I worked my way around the pit, I was amazed to encounter no less than 36 birds on the pit alone and, in addition to a single adult drake on Long Pit, this made a record count of 37+ birds! An excellent result considering I had no evidence of breeding this year until September.

Anyway - check out the attatched pochard images. The first image shows an adult and a first-winter drake, and the second shows a pair of adult birds in the foreground with two first-winter drakes in the background. The immature birds are now so adult-like that a brief scan is not enough to distinguish them. Black on the bill is now extremely limited, and aside a few brown feathers and a slightly duller look, they may well be identified as adults.

Incidentally two Little Egrets were seen last Sunday (19th) by Trevor Williams, perhaps returning birds as they are favouring the same drains as the birds of last winter/spring.

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