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RSPB Middleton Lakes (1 Viewer)

RSPB Middleton lakes

Morning visit, 5 Shelduck were seen, 3 on the hall lake and 2 on the north pit, 2 drake Pintail were also on the north pit. 1 Dunlin, 1 Snipe and 2 or 3 Redshank were around. There was at least 1 Yellowhammer with a flock of Chaffinch at the Pheasant feeders and set aside by Fishers Mill public footpath.
Geoff

14/12/11 sightings Chris Cook
Middleton Hall pool 2 Redshank.
Fisher's mill/Drayton Bassett pits newreedbed pool Redshank & Dunlin.
Drayton Bassett pits Mid pools male Smew.
North pit 4 Pintail ( 2 male & 2 female)

Regards, John
 
No sign of any Pintail this afternoon but the drake Smew was back on one of the midwest pools, it has now almost regained it's full breeding plumage (It doesn't look like a 1st winter).
5 Shelduck were on the north pit and 2 Dunlin were on the last bit of mud left on the new reedbed pool. A Redshank and a Water Rail were on the hall lake.
Geoff
 

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Morning visit in a mix of sun and showers. 2 Little Egret, 3 Shelduck and 2 Dunlin were on the north pit. The drake Smew was still at the midwest pools and a Wren and Cetti's Warbler were singing, made it feel a bit more springlike.
A ringing group were working the southern end of the reserve, they caught a Chiffchaff, Goldcrest, Jay and some Redwing amongst others.
Geoff
 
Not much to report since last Saturday.
18/12, 1 Green Sand and 2 Little Grebe on the river. 3 Cetti's Warbler calling or singing Dosthill side. 4 Skylark by water ski pit.
20/12, 8 Little Egret including 5 on Hall Lake, no sign of the Smew and I missed a Hen Harrier by a few minutes which flew over the north pit. There were circa 500 Lapwings on the reserve but no other waders now that the water levels have risen on the new reedbed pool.
21/12, 1 Raven by Dosthill NR. my 81st species of the month for the reserve.
Geoff
 
Over the last few days it has still been quiet birdwise.
22/12, 31 Golden Plover. 1 Redshank and 2 Green Sandpiper on the hall lake, 1 Grey Wagtail, 1 Siskin. A pair of Stonechat were reported.
24/12, 1 Little Egret, 3 Shelduck, 4 Goldeneye, 31 Golden Plover, 1 Snipe and 1 Chiffchaff.
Geoff
 
Not many birds about but 100's of people walking off their Xmas meals.
On the reserve were 3 Little Egret, 3 Shelduck and a Pochard. A woodpecker was drumming and the pair of Stonechat were in the midwest section.
Geoff
 
Highlight today was a flower and not a bird. I was surprised to see 2 Coltsfoot in flower, my earliest ever by 11 days (7/1/89), average date is 14/2.
1 Jack Snipe was at Fishers Mill Pool and a Woodcock in the southern section. I didn't go any further north than FMP.
Geoff
 
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Nothing new to add to the Midd Lakes list today, so the final total was 158 species of which I saw 146.
85 species were seen in December.
Highlights of the year were 4 or 5 Bitterns in the early winter, a Great White Egret flyover, 1 brief Pectoral Sandpiper and 4 Short-eared Owls in the autumn, rather poor compared to other years.
Let's hope we get a hide and a river bridge in 2012 plus some real rarities.
Happy new year everyone.
Geoff
 
At least 60 species of birds were seen today by various birders. John Harris has asked me to list them all so he can add to them later.
Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Cormorant, 4 Little Egret, Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, 2 Shelduck, Wigeon, Gadwall, Teal, Mallard, Shoveler, Tufted Duck, Goldeneye, Buzzard, Kestrel, Pheasant, Water Rail, Coot, Lapwing, 1 Jack Snipe, Black-headed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Stock Dove, Woodpigeon, Kingfisher, Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Pied Wagtail, Wren, 1 pair Stonechat, Blackbird, Redwing, Fieldfare, Cetti's Warbler, Goldcrest, Long-tailed Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Jay, Magpie, Jackdaw, Rook, Crow, Starling, House Sparrow, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Linnet, Redpoll, Bullfinch and Reed Bunting.
If anyone else has anything to add, please feel free to do so.
Geoff
 
RSPB Middleton lakes Day List

At least 60 species of birds were seen today by various birders. John Harris has asked me to list them all so he can add to them later.
Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Cormorant, 4 Little Egret, Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, 2 Shelduck, Wigeon, Gadwall, Teal, Mallard, Shoveler, Tufted Duck, Goldeneye, Buzzard, Kestrel, Pheasant, Water Rail, Coot, Lapwing, 1 Jack Snipe, Black-headed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Stock Dove, Woodpigeon, Kingfisher, Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Pied Wagtail, Wren, 1 pair Stonechat, Blackbird, Redwing, Fieldfare, Cetti's Warbler, Goldcrest, Long-tailed Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Jay, Magpie, Jackdaw, Rook, Crow, Starling, House Sparrow, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Linnet, Redpoll, Bullfinch and Reed Bunting.
If anyone else has anything to add, please feel free to do so.
Geoff

Hi Geoff, Some nice birds there I can only make 59 on your list maybe you missed out Robin by accident. So ROBIN 60 (which I saw), also my sightings 61 Tawny Owl, 62 Moorhen, 63 Yellowhammer,64 Snipe, 65 Goosander, 66 Sparrow Hawk,67 Meadow Pipit,68 Skylark, 69 Song Thrush,70 Common Gull, 71 Dunnock, 72 Raven, 73 Chiffchaff, 74 Coal Tit. Also a sighting by Steve Cawthray 75 Smew.

Regards, John
 
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Hi Geoff, Some nice birds there I can only make 59 on your list maybe you missed out Robin by accident. So ROBIN 60 (which I saw), also my sightings 61 Tawny Owl, 62 Moorhen, 63 Yellowhammer,64 Snipe, 65 Goosander, 66 Sparrow Hawk,67 Meadow Pipit,68 Skylark, 69 Song Thrush,70 Common Gull, 71 Dunnock, 72 Raven, 73 Chiffchaff, 74 Coal Tit. Also a sighting by Steve Cawthray 75 Smew.

Regards, John
Hi John, Yes I did miss off Robin.
75 species was a good score for our traditional New Years Day bird count, it beat our previous best of 69 in 2008.
Today I managed to add Chaffinch and Siskin to my year list and another birder saw a Green Sandpiper on the new reedbed pool. Shelduck had increased to 6 on the north pit. Otherwise there seemed to be more people than birds, with the carpark full to overflowing at one time. The RSPB would make a fortune if they started charging non members.
 
News year's day list

Hi John, Yes I did miss off Robin.
75 species was a good score for our traditional New Years Day bird count, it beat our previous best of 69 in 2008.
Today I managed to add Chaffinch and Siskin to my year list and another birder saw a Green Sandpiper on the new reedbed pool. Shelduck had increased to 6 on the north pit. Otherwise there seemed to be more people than birds, with the carpark full to overflowing at one time. The RSPB would make a fortune if they started charging non members.

Hi Geoff, I did not notice you did not see Chaffinch, I saw Chaffinch yesterday so count for day is now 76 species.

Regards, John
 
New Years Day Bird Count.

Hi Geoff, I did not notice you did not see Chaffinch, I saw Chaffinch yesterday so count for day is now 76 species.

Regards, John

76! Even better, it's not often we beat Belvide, they had 74 species according to Belvide Birding blog and Upton Warren only had 67 species by the 2nd.
Let's hope it's a good omen for the rest of the year.
Geoff
 
76! Even better, it's not often we beat Belvide, they had 74 species according to Belvide Birding blog and Upton Warren only had 67 species by the 2nd.
Let's hope it's a good omen for the rest of the year.
Geoff

Hi Geoff
We are like Man U mate, slow starters beware8-P
B :)John
 
Hi Geoff
We are like Man U mate, slow starters beware8-P
B :)John
Hi John, I expect you'll get some real rarities as usual.

A pleasant walk around the reserve today. A Goosander was on the river. 480 Lapwing were on the north pit. 3 species of woodpecker were in the Mill Plantation including the male Lesser Spotted Woodie and a Mealy Redpoll was with 20ca. Lesser Redpoll there.
The pair of Stonechat were showing well on the west side of new reedbed pool and it was nice to here a Song Thrush singing, Spring can't be far away.
Geoff
 
6/1/11 DBP New Reedbed pool 2 Shelduck, ditch by the canal Cetti's Warbler, Mid pools Male Smew and 4 Goldeneye, pools towards the river a Water Rail calling, North pit 800 Lapwing. Later SLC Pair Stonechat New Reedbed pool West end.
Dosthill NR Little Egret, Goldeneye and 3 Pochard.
Warks side Short-eared Owl Dosthill lake (JH) and Middleton Hall Mill plantation Lesser Spotted Woodpecker(JM).

Regards, John

Not much to add, but at least one Little Egret was roosting in the heronry at dusk.
Geoff
 
Four year ticks for me today, the drake Smew showed well at last on one of the midwest pools, a Sparrowhawk flew through, a Green Sandpiper was back on the hall lake and a Cetti's Warbler was calling along the canal ditch. This brings the year list to 83 species of which I've seen 78. However I still haven't seen a Snipe, they have become really scarce lately.
7 Shelduck were on the north pit and a Kingfisher flew through, the pair of Stonechat were still in the middle section.
Chris Edwards said he is arranging two sponsored bird counts this year but I don't know what dates he has chosen, they should be good fun.
The work party were busy road repairing.
Geoff
 

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