January
The month got off to a great start with 68 species being seen on the 1st the main highlights being Oystercatcher, Raven and Willow Tit. On the 2nd we had a pair of Goldeneye on Swan Pool, 90 Goosander, 80 Tufted Duck, 36 Teal, 26 Pochard, 20 Shoveler, 4 Wigeon, 7 Water Rail and a Great Black Backed Gull on Forge Mill and 5 Goldcrest in the area. The 3rd gave us a Woodcock at Park Farm, 18 Fieldfare, and 60 Redwing in the Paddocks, 38 Pochard, and 97 Goosander on Forge Mill, a Raven flew over the RSPB and a Little Egret was in the Marsh. On the 5th we had Green Woodpecker, Common Gull, 2 Willow Tit, Marsh Tit, 60 Fieldfare, 120 Redwing, 20 Goldfinch, 12 Siskin, 8 Redpoll, 17 Chaffinch and 30+ Greenfinch. The 6th gave us a peregrine trying to take a Moorhen in front of the Hide. On the 7th we had 3 Willow Tit, 2 Coal Tit and a Marsh Tit at the Feeding Station. The 8th gave us 3 Little Egret, 95+ Goosander, 21 Wigeon and 2 Great Black Backed Gull on Forge Mill. On the 9th we had a Peregrine over Monks Meadow, Little Egret roosted in the trees at Forge Mill and a Water Rail was seen from the Hide. The 10th gave us a male Goldeneye on Swan Pool, Stonechat in Brownies Fields, 88 Snipe, and 5 Jack Snipe on the RSPB Reserve and a Barn Owl was seen nearby. On the 11th 7 Great Black Backed Gulls flew north this being a new Valley maximum count record. The 13th gave us a Pair of Goldeneye on Swan Pool, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker near Cascade, 46+ Long Tailed Tits, 8+ Ring Necked Parakeets, 70+ Goosander, 2 Great Black Backed Gulls, 14 Wigeon, 36 Gadwall, 22 Siskin and a Meadow Pipit in the Forge Mil area. The 15th gave us 5 Willow Tits near to the Marsh. On the 16th a Redhead Smew spent the day on Forge Mill, 2 Common Gull, Peregrine, 60 Goosander and a Tawny Owl where also seen in the area. The 17th gave us a new species for the Valley when Pete Hackett had 4 Tundra Bean Geese fly over his head going easterly following the River Tame, a Fantastic record, also that day a Woodcock flew down the River and a Great Black Backed Gull was on the island. On the 18th a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker was seen on the Farm Trail. The 19th gave us a Common Gull on Forge Mill, 7 Little Grebes on Swan Pool, and a Raven over Forge Farm, a Barn Owl and a Merlin were also reported. On the 20th we had Woodcock and Peregrine over Forge Mill, at the Feeding Station we had 2 Willow Tit and a Marsh Tit, a wildfowl count on Swan Pool and Forge Mill produced 36 Pochard, 37 Shoveler, 17 Gadwall, 130 Tufted Duck. 2 Kingfisher were seen on Forge Mill and a Tawny Owl was heard in the High Bridges area. The 21st gave us a reported Mediterranean Gull. On the 22nd we had an Adult Yellow Legged Gull on Swan Pool and a possible first winter Caspian Gull on the Ice at Forge Mill. The 23rd gave us a female Pintail on Forge Mill and 100 Goosander roosted that evening. The 24th gave us our first Skylark of the year and the possible Caspian Gull was seen again briefly on Swan Pool. On the 25th we had 203 Canada Geese in the Valley and 25 Grey Herons at the Ice House Lake Heronry, 16 Ring Necked Parakeets flew over Sotts Hole, the Barn Owl was seen hunting over Forge Mill Farm Fields and 80 Fieldfare, 250+ Jackdaws and 56 Magpies were also in the Farm Fields. The 26th gave us 19 Barnacle Geese, Great Black Backed Gull and 2 Tawny Owls where heard calling. On the 27th the pair of Goldeneye was still on Swan Pool and a Little Egret was on Forge Mill all day. The 28th gave us 66 Goosander and 32 Gadwall on Forge Mill. On the 31st we had 2 Whooper Swan fly south west over Dartmouth Park.
February
The month got off to a slow start with 2 Raven over Monks Meadow on the 4th also that day 2 Oystercatchers were on the island at Forge Mill, 43 Redwings in the Paddocks, 30 Siskin and 2 Kestrel near Swan Pool and a Marsh Tit at the Feeding Station. On the 5th there were 4 Linnets in the Paddocks, 32 Lapwing over Swan Pool, a Peregrine caught a Lapwing over Forge Mill, lucky for the Lapwing it got away and was not perused by the Peregrine, there where 17 Snipe and 5 Jack Snipe flushed by the Work Party in the Marsh, we had 14 Shoveler on Forge Mill and a Possible Cetti’s Warbler was heard in the south west corner of Forge Mill, on Hill Sixty we had a Jack Snipe, 3 Goldcrest. A Raven and a Great Black Backed Gull flew over. The 6th gave 19 Barnacle Geese, Great Black Backed Gull and Little Egret on Forge Mill. On the 7th we had 3 Willow Tit at the Feeders and on Swan Pool we had 3 Goldeneye a male and two female. On the 8th we had an Adult winter Kittiwake on Swan Pool our first record for five years and on Forge Mill we had 2 Great Black Backed Gulls. The 9th gave us the Kittiwake still on Swan Pool with 2 Greylag Geese flying over, a Raven was seen to fly over the Birmingham Road, Little Egret on Forge Mill and willow Tit and Coal Tit at the Feeding Station. The 11th gave us 50 Goosander, 200 Canada Geese, 3 Greylag Geese, 4 Water Rail, Common Gull on Forge Mill and 500 Jackdaw flew over to roost, Marsh Tit was at the Feeding Station and a Female Pheasant was seen. On the 12th we had a possible Tree Sparrow heard near Forge Mill Farm, 23 Lesser Black Backed Gull and 7 Herring Gull were on Swan Pool. The 13th gave us 9 Goldeneye, 18 Goosander, 5 Great Crested Grebe, 20 Gadwall, 7 Wigeon and 19 Barnacle Geese on Forge Mill, at Swan Pool we had 2 Shelduck and a Raven flew over. On the 14th we had 8 Little Grebe at Swan Pool and 2 Golden Plover flew over, 2 Greylag Geese, 3 Pochard, 11 Wigeon and Common Gull on Forge Mill, 2 Peregrine over the RSPB, 20 Siskin and 2 Redpoll on the Forge Mill Farm Trail and the Oystercatchers were in the Maize Field. The 16th gave us a wintering Blackcap near the Marsh Screen, 22 Wigeon, 26 Gadwall, 36 Soveler and 3 Goldeneye on Forge Mill. On the 18th the Marsh Tit was seen at the Feeding Station, 19 Pochard were on Forge Mill, a Woodcock was flushed on Forge Hill and a Tawny Owl was seen in flight just off the reserve. The 21st gave us 3 Raven over the Marsh and 56 Goosander on Forge Mill. On the 22nd we had a Little Ringed Plover this bird was the earliest returning bird for the Valley and also setting a new record for the earliest returning bird in the West Midlands Bird Club region. Also seen on the 22nd, 75 Redwing and 15 Fieldfare near Sotts Hole. The 23rd gave us 30+ Siskin near Forge Mill and 7 Jay in the Priory Wood and Gun Emplacements area. On the 24th a Peregrine attempted to take an Oystercatcher from the island and on Forge Mill we had 70+ Tufted Duck, 47 Goosander, 19 Wigeon, 27 Gadwall, 31 Shoveler and 8 Pochard. A Snipe survey on the 26th produced 70+ Snipe and 15+ Jack Snipe in the Marsh. The 27th gave us an Adult Yellow Legged Gull on the island at Junction One of the M5 the bird was seen to fly into the Valley. On the 29th the male and 2 female Goldeneye could still to be found on Swan Pool and had been with us for 59 days Also a Valley first with the first breeding record of Raven.
March
The month started off slowly. On the 3rd we had the pair of Goldeneye still on Swan Pool also 8 Herring Gulls were present, a Curlew was new for the year and stopped briefly on north island, a Pheasant was heard calling from Forge Mill Farm area, a Peregrine flew over Forge Mill and 3 Willow Tit and 5 Redpoll where at the Feeding Station. On the 4th we had a Little Egret on the River Tame. The 5th gave us a Stonechat in front of the RSPB Centre. On the 6th we had 3 Goldeneye on Forge Mill a male and 2 female, 2 Oystercatchers and the Little Ringed Plover were on the island. The 8th gave us a male Stonechat in the Paddocks and a Raven flew over, on Forge Mill we had 2 Greylag Geese and 20+ Lapwing on the island. On the 9th a Raven flew over Sots Hole. The 10th gave us 30 Fieldfare and 120+ Redwings in the Paddocks, there were 18 Shoveler on Ice House Lake, a Pheasant was heard calling in the Swan Pool area, a Male Stonechat was showing well at Salter’s Lane and on Forge Mill we had 20 Pochard, Common Gull and a Ringed Plover flew through. On the 11th we had 2 Greylag Geese in Dartmouth Park and 4 birds flew over Sots Hole, we had a pair of Stonechat in the Marsh and a male was also in Monks Meadow, at Forge Mill we had 2 Water Rail on north island, 20+Siskin near the Slipway, 2 Little Ringed Plovers and 9 Wigeon and at the Paddocks we had 60 Redwings and a Little Owl was heard calling. The 12th gave us a Stonechat out side the RSPB Centre, 3 Goldeneye, 14 Goosander and a Little Egret on Forge Mill. On the 13th we had a Redshank, 3 Oystercatcher, 2 Little Ringed Plover and a Little Egret all on view from the Hide. The 14th gave us 24 Goosander on Forge Mill and a Barn Owl was seen. On the 15th a cracking male Black Redstart was found on the Fence Line between Swan Pool Meadow and the Paddocks but only showed briefly before being flushed by Dogs, only the fifth record for the Valley and the first for eight years, the Goldeneye pair still on Swan Pool and a Peregrine over the Car Park, 30+ Redwings in the Paddocks, 18 Pochard on Forge Mill, our first Chiffchaff of the year singing in the trees around Forge Mill and a male Stonechat was at Salter’s Lane. The 17th gave us 9 Herring Gull on Swan Pool and our first returning Blackcap singing near Swan Pool Car Park. On the 18th there was a movement of Redwings and Meadow Pipits in the Valley with Redwing being seen has follows 80 in the Paddocks, 30 Forge Mill Farm, 70 Salter’s Lane, 25 over the RSPB Centre, 20 Monks Meadow and 10 over Hill Sixty, there were 30+ Meadow Pipits in Swan Pool Meadow, thirteen at Forge Mill Farm and four in Monks Meadow. Also seen on the 18th 2 Skylark, 40+ Fieldfare, 25+ Snipe, Chiffchaff, 5 Water Rail, 70+ Starling, 15 Ring Necked parakeets and a curlew over the Golf Course. The 19th gave us a Tawny Owl at High Bridges. On the 20th there was a Peregrine over Swan Pool and a Chiffchaff near the Island, 6 Buzzard over Salter’s Lane, 30 Redwings over Park Farm Wood, Little Owl and Blackcap in the Swan Pool Paddocks and 22 Goosander on Forge Mill. On the 21st 300 Redwings flew North over Swan Pool. The 22nd gave us 6 Greylag Geese in the Marsh. On the 23rd we had a Raptor fest in the Valley with Osprey and Red Kite both spending a short time with us, male Stonechat in the Marsh, Chiffchaff and Stonechat at Swan Pool and a Firecrest was reported. The 24th gave us the first Sand Martin or the year with two birds at Swan Pool also at Swan Pool Goldeneye, 2 Peregrines, 2 Ravens and 3 Chiffchaff and 2 Little Ringed Plover on the island at Forge Mill. On the 25th a Snipe Survey in the RSPB Marsh produced 61 Snipe, 7 Jack Snipe and a Woodcock. On the 26th we had our first Swallow and House Martin with birds on Swan Pool and Forge Mill, 10+ Sand Martin and 4 Goldeneye also on Forge Mill, 3 Chiffchaff and 3 female Stonechat at Swan Pool and a Stonechat in the Marsh. The 27th gave us 20+ Sand Martins over Forge Mill. On the 28th we had a possible Osprey over Dartmouth Park and a female Stonechat near Swan Pool. The 29th gave us a Little Egret on the River Tame, 2 Little Ringed Plover on the island, Raven over Forge Mill, Wigeon still present and 6 Chiffchaff in the area. On the 30th we had our first Wheatear of the year in Swan Pool Meadow also in the Meadow 2 Meadow Pipits and a Linnet; an Osprey flew over Salter’s Lane, 2 Raven, 12+ Chiffchaff and a male Brambling where also in the area. The last day of the Month gave us a Goshawk seen over Salter’s Lane and later on over the RSPB Centre, a possible Osprey was seen over Forge Mill and the Goldeneye had clocked up 90 days in the Valley.
April
The month started off with a Red Kite seen over the RSPB and 3 Little Ringed Plovers on the island. The 2nd gave us Wheatear and Skylark in the Swan Pool Meadow, the first Willow Warbler of the year in the Dell behind the Sailing Club, a Redshank on Forge Mill island the Goldeneye was seen for the last date after spending 92 days in the Valley, a Jack Snipe was in the Marsh and a Mealy Redpoll was seen at the Feeding Station our sixth record. On the 3rd we had 2 Greylags in Dartmouth Park, a pair of Shelduck on Swan Pool, Wheatears were seen on the island at Forge Mill and at Hill Top, and a male Stonechat was at Salter’s Lane, a Peregrine over the Golf Course and a Little Egret on the River. The 4th gave us 3 Wheatear at Salter’s Lane a bird in the Paddocks and a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker at Forge Mill Farm. On the 5th we had 7 Buzzard seen from Salter’s Lane, a Wheatear and Redwing in the Paddocks at Swan Pool, 2 Ravens over Swan Pool and the Redshank was still on the island. The 6th gave us a male Ring Ouzel, Fieldfare and a Wheatear in Swan Pool Paddocks, 2 Greylags on Swan Pool, the Little Egret was on the River Tame, a pair of Teal in the Marsh and a male Common Scoter was found on Forge Mill. This was our first April record and our 44th record since the first in March 1984. On the 7th the Ring Ouzel and Wheatear were still in the Paddocks, Jack Snipe, 10 Snipe and 3 Water Rail were in the Marsh, a male Pheasant was seen to run across Park Lane on to the Golf Course, 11 Goosander and 10 Shoveler on Forge Mill, 2 different Peregrines were seen with one taking a Pigeon over Sandwell Hospital and a Goshawk was also seen over the Hospital drifting over Salter’s Lane and upsetting the resident Buzzards. The 8th gave us a Wheatear in the Paddocks, the Redshank was still on the island in the company of 3 Oystercatchers, the Common Scoter was still present, 25+ Chiffchaff were in the Valley and a female Ring Ouzel was found at Salter’s Lane. On the 9th the female Ring Ouzel and 2 Wheatears were still at Salter’s Lane, there was a Wheatear in Swan Pool Paddocks and the Scoter was still on Forge Mill. The 10th gave us the first Tree Pipit of the year at Swan Pool, a male Pheasant was on the Golf Course, the Mealy Redpoll and 15+ Redpoll at the Feeding Station, 3 Greylags in the Marsh and the first Yellow Wagtail of the year on the island. On the 12th we had a busy day in the Valley the first Common and Green Sandpipers of the year were seen at Swan Pool, there were 18 Wheatears in the Valley 3 in Swan Pool Meadow, 2 in Brownies Field, 2 at Forge Mill Farm, 2 in the Maize Field, 1 on the island at Forge Mill and 8 birds at Salter’s Lane, the female Ring Ouzel was still at Salter’s Lane for her 5th day, the first Whitethroat of the year was on the South Bank, on the island at Forge Mill there were 2 White Wagtail, 2 Common Sandpipers, a Ringed Plover was on the Bund briefly, the Common Scoter was still present for his 7th day, a Little Owl was seen at a second location and the last Redwing and Fieldfare of the winter were seen the Redwing at Salter’s Lane and the Fieldfare at Dartmouth Park. The 13th gave us 14 Barnacle Geese on Forge Mill. On the 14th we had 4 Wheatear, a Pair of Redstart, the first Lesser Whitethroat of the year, and brief view of a possible Ouzel at the Paddocks, the Common Scoter was still present for his 9th day, a Common Sandpiper on the island at Forge Mill, 4 Teal in the Marsh and the Mealy Redpoll was still coming to the Feeding Station. The 15th gave us 2 Wheatear in the Paddocks, a male Redstart on the Quayside at Swan Pool, Yellow Wagtail on the island at Forge Mill and our first Sedge Warbler of the year behind the Sailing Club at Swan Pool. On the 17th we had 2 Wheatear in the Paddocks, female Redstart near Cascade, male Ring Ouzel, Wheatear and Garden Warbler at Salter’s Lane, male Redstart was still around Swan Pool, 15 Goosander, male Pochard and Common Tern on Forge Mill and the Mealy Redpoll was still at the Feeding Station. The 18th gave us the Common Scoter still on Forge Mill, 2 Common Sandpiper on the island and 2 Whitethroat on the south bank. On the 19th we had 70 Lesser Black Backed Gulls, 10 Herring Gulls, 2 Wheatear and a Common Sandpiper at Forge Mill. The 20th gave us a male Black Redstart near the Andrew Kilgallon Memorial Screen. On the 21st we had our first Swift of the year and 2 Yellow Wagtail at Swan Pool, 17 Goosander, 2 Common Tern and the Common Scoter for his 16th Day on Forge Mill, a pair of Linnet and Skylark where seen at Salter’s Lane, Sedge Warbler in the Marsh and Reed Warbler at North Island, Wheatear, Yellow Wagtail, Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Kingfisher and a fly through Ringed Plover all at Monks Meadow. The 22nd gave a female Marsh Harrier over Browns Field, 2 Greylag and a Common Tern on Swan Pool, male Whinchat at Salter’s Lane. On the 23rd a pair of linnet, Yellow Wagtail, male Redstart and a Wheatear at Salter’s Lane, Common Sandpiper at Swan Pool, Willow Tit at two locations and 10+ Goldcrest in the Valley. The 24th gave us a Green Sandpiper on the Bund, yet another Osprey flew over, 10 Goosander, 10 Shoveler and the Common Scoter was on his 19th Day on Forge Mill. On the 25th we had a Dunlin and Common Sandpiper on Swan Pool, 2 Wheatear in the Paddocks, 3 Common Sandpiper, 3 Little Ringed Plover and a Whimbrel on Forge Mill. The 26th gave us 5 Common Sandpiper, Pochard, 7 Black Headed Gull, 1 Wheatear in the Paddocks and one at Salter’s Lane. On the 28th we had a Peregrine and 14 Ring Necked Parakeets over Forge Mill. The 29th we had a Cuckoo and Whinchat near the Paddocks and the Common Scoter was on his 24th Day. On the 30th we had 5 Common Sandpiper, 4 Little Ringed Plover on the island.
May
The Common Scoter was still present on the 1st and was last seen on the 2nd; also on the 1st we had 4 Common Sandpiper, 3 Little Ringed Plover, male Pochard, 10 Goosander and 2 Redpoll at the Feeders. On the 2nd we had a possible Goshawk. The 3rd gave us a Whinchat at Salter’s Lane and 2 Willow Tits and a Raven on the Reserve. The 4th gave us Red Kite over Forge Mill Farm and 4 Raven over the Reserve. On the 5th we our first 3 Lapwing chicks of the year. The 7th was our all day birdwatch we clocked up 85 species highlights being Redstart, Spotted Flycatcher, Whinchat, Cuckoo, Grasshopper Warbler, Woodcock, Curlew and Goshawk. On the 8th we had Water Rail in the Marsh, 3 Common Sandpiper, 3 Little Ringed Plover, Ringed Plover and 10 Black Headed Gull on the Reserve. The 9th gave us 4 Little Ringed Plover and a Ringed Plover on Forge Mill and our Lapwing chicks where up to six. On the 10th we had a Shelduck, 29 Common Tern, 2 Arctic Tern, 175+ Swift, Ringed Plover and 3 Common Sandpiper on Forge Mill, the 12th gave us a male Goosander, on the 13th we had A Little Egret on Forge Mill. On the 14th we had a possible Hobby over Forge Mill, Spotted Flycatcher at Cascade, Goosander and Shelduck on Forge Mill and Ringed Plover and the Oystercatcher had their only young of the year. The 15th gave us 6 Linnets on the reserve. On the 16th we had an Aytha Hybrid on Forge Mill. The 19th gave us a Hobby and 4 Common Tern at Forge Mill. On the 24th we had a Peregrine over Forge Mill and 2 male and a female Pochard on Ice House Lake. The 25th gave us 6 Oystercatcher, 20 Lapwing and 12 Reed Warbler on the Reserve and Peregrine and Raven over Forge Mill. On the 27th we had 3 Shoveler and Black Headed Gull sitting on a possible nest. The 28th gave us Red Kite and Peregrine over Forge Mill 2 Common Terns sitting and the Barn Owl was seen. On the 29th we had a Greylag join the Canada’s on the Slipway at Forge Mill.
June
The month started off with a Little Egret on Forge Mill, the 2nd gave us 7 adult Oystercatchers and the single chick and 2 Common Sandpipers on the Island. On the 5th we had a pair of Linnets at Salter’s Lane, the 9th gave us an Osprey over Swan Pool, Red Kite nearby over Scott Arms and the Gadwall had four young, and the 13th gave us a Curlew over Brownies. On the 14th we had 5 Little Ringed Plover on the island at Forge Mill. The 18th gave us a redhead Goosander and the Barn Owl was seen again, on the 21st the Common Terns had two chicks. The 22nd gave us a White Stork drifting over Forge Mill.
July
The month started of with 5 Skylarks seen possibly a family party. On the 4th we had a Cuckoo over Brownies Fields. The 6th gave us 4 Common Sandpiper. On the 14th we had 16 Ring Necked Parakeets fly over the RSPB also on the reserve that day where Water Rail and Willow Tit. The 17th gave us a male Pheasant in Swan Pool Meadow. On the 19th we had 50 Ring Necked Parakeets fly over Monks Meadow. The 23rd gave us a report of 18 Pochard on Forge Mill. The 28th gave us a Hobby over Forge Mill.
August
The 1st gave us a Mediterranean Gull, Common Sandpiper and a Green Sandpiper all visible from the Hide. On the 3rd the Green Sandpiper was in the Marsh. The 4th gave us 2 young Great Crested Grebes on Swan Pool, the Green Sandpiper was on the Bund and the Med Gull was seen to fly past the Hide. On the 6th we had a Hobby over the Newton Road. The 8th gave us 2 Green Sandpiper in the Marsh. On the 11th we had a Greenshank in the Marsh and a second bird on the island and the Med Gull was seen again. The 13th gave us a juvenile Yellow Legged Gull on Forge Mill. On the 14th we had 2 Tree Pipits over the Legion Field, a fully fledged Tawny Owl was seen and the Greenshank was in the Marsh. On the 15th the Med Gull was stood on the Slipway at Forge Mill. The 17th gave us 22 Cormorant stood on the Boom, 21 Ring Necked Parakeets flew over Forge Mill and a possible Tree Sparrow was heard too call in the Paddocks. The 18th gave us 7 Buzzards over Hill Top and the Med Gull was sat on the water at Forge Mill. On the 19th the Med Gull was on the Boom, 2 Common Sandpiper where on the island and 60 Lapwing where counted. The 21st gave us a Little Egret in the Marsh. On the 22nd we had 8 Barnacle Geese on the Slipway. The 23rd gave us a Wheatear and Tree Pipit in Swan Pool Meadow, 5 Spotted Flycatcher and a male Redstart in the Paddocks, a Greenshank flew over Swan Pool and 3 Crossbills where seen on the Colliery Banks. On the 24th we had 8 Crossbills fly over Salter’s Lane, a Cuckoo was seen near Park Farm, 2 male Redstarts and 2 Spotted Flycatchers where in the Paddocks and the Greenshank was seen in the Marsh for the last time after a fourteen day stay setting a new record for the longest staying bird. The 27th gave us a Whinchat at Salter’s Lane, a male Redstart in the Paddocks, 2 Spotted Flycatchers on the reserve, 3 Wigeon on Forge Mill and at Hill Top we had 3+ Spotted Flycatchers, 2 Redstarts male and female and a Tree Pipit. On the 28th we had a female Redstart at Salter’s Lane, a male Redstart in the Paddocks and a Wheatear behind the Colliery Banks. The 30th gave us 2 male Redstart in the Paddocks and the 31st gave us 3 Spotted Flycatchers in the Paddocks.
September
The 1st gave us 2 Ravens over Forge Mill to the north, 14 Mistle Thrush and a Tawny Owl at Hill Top, and 50 Ring Necked Parakeets over Forge Mill. On the 3rd a team of eight participated in an All Day Bird watch in the Valley dawn till dusk competing against several others reserves we clocked up eighty one species main highlights being Red Kite over Brownies, 4 Spotted Flycatchers and a Redstart in the Paddocks, 6 Goosander, Common Sandpiper, Tawny Owl and a Hobby over Forge Mill in the evening. The 4th gave us a Yellow Wagtail over Forge Mill. On the 6th we had 3 Ravens over Park Farm and a Tree Pipit was seen in the Marsh. The 8th gave us a Little Egret in the Marsh. On the 9th we had a juvenile Common Tern on Forge Mill and a Hobby over the Hide. The 11th gave us a Osprey reported over the Valley. On the 17th the Little Egret was on the island, a possible Rock Pipit flew over and a Peregrine was seen over Forge Mill. The 18th gave us 17 Wigeon on Forge Mill. On the 19th we had a Cetti’s Warbler near the north island, female Pintail on the River, 32 Cormorant, 36 Shoveler and 137 Coot where counted on Swan Pool. The 23rd gave us a Rock Pipit on Swan Pool. On the 24th we had 57 Meadow Pipits at Hill Top and a Spotted Flycatcher in the Paddocks. On the 25th the Little Egret was back in the Marsh. The 28th gave us a Wheatear and a Stonechat at Salter’s Lane, a combined total of 232 Coot on Swan Pool and Forge Mill and the Little Egret was on the north island. On the 30th a female Marsh Harrier flew over Forge Mill.
October
The 1st gave us a new Valley record count of Meadow Pipit with 320 birds over Hill Sixty also seen over the same location where 3 Skylarks, Yellowhammer, 3 Siskin and a Linnet and a Osprey was reported over Hill Top. On the 5th we had a Jack Snipe on the Bund and a Merlin was seen to fly in front of the RSPB Centre. The 7th gave us a pair of Pintail on Forge Mill, a pair of Stonechat and 20+ Blackbird at Salter’s Lane, a female Stonechat in the Marsh, a Willow Tit at the Feeding Station and a late Willow Warbler was seen around Forge Mill. On the 8th the Jack Snipe was still to be seen from the Hide, the female Stonechat was still in the Marsh and a juvenile Common Gull was on Forge Mill. The 9th gave us 2 Chiffchaff around Forge Mill and 2 Raven over the Paddocks. On the 10th we had a Brambling fly over Forge Mill and 2 Chiffchaff where still in the area. The 11th gave us a Green Sandpiper in the Marsh. On the 12th we had a male Yellowhammer and a Raven was in the Paddocks at Salter’s Lane and a Rock Pipit was on the Quay at Swan Pool. On the 13th we had a male Stonechat and a Skylark in Brownies Fields. The 16th gave us 2 Little Egrets in the Forge Mill area and a female Goldeneye. On the 20th we had 5 Redpoll and 2 Skylark over Swan Pool and a Marsh Tit was at the Feeding Station. The 21st gave us 2 Peregrine over Forge Mill. On the 26th we had a Common Gull and Jack Snipe on view from the Hide. The 29th gave us 2 Skylark and a Brambling over Forge Mill.
November
The 3rd gave us a Water Pipit on the RSPB Island and was last seen flying towards the north island, 300 Jackdaw and 30 Ring Necked Parakeets flew over the Centre in the direction of Swan Pool. On the 4th the pair of Pintail was near North Island. The 7th gave us a Little Egret and 14 Lapwing on the RSPB Island, a Chiffchaff and 20 Teal were along the River Tame and a Woodcock was flushed from the Legion Field. The 8th gave us a Tawny Owl in Dartmouth Park. On the 9th we had a Redshank on the island, 44 Teal where counted on the Reserve, 200 Coot on Swan Pool and a small flock of possible Waxwing where seen in the Double Hedge behind the Centre. On the 11th we had 39 Snipe on the Reserve. The 12th gave us 71 Goosander on Forge Mill and the Little Egret roosted in the Trees near the Slipway at Forge Mill. On the 13th we had 2 Ravens over Forge Mill. The 15th gave us a possible Waxwing heard to call near Park Farm.
On the 16th we had 2 Willow Tits at the Feeding Station. The 18th gave us a Woodcock, pair Pintail and a Jack Snipe on the Reserve. On the 21st a Little Egret flew over the Newton Road. The 22nd saw the Little Egret in the Marsh, 30 Greenfinch at the Feeders, 40 Starling flying around the Marsh, 20 Redwing and 33 Ring Necked Parakeets flew over the Reserve, 7 Goldcrest where counted and a Wildfowl count on Forge Mill and Swan Pool produced 230 Coot, 90 Tufted Duck, 45 Teal, 20 Pochard, 8 Great Crested Grebe, 30 Mute Swan and 7 Little Grebe. The 23rd gave us a Peregrine over the Centre. On the 24th there was a possible Caspian Gull seen briefly at Forge Mill. On the 25th we had a Common Gull on the Boom at Forge Mill and a 1st winter Yellow Legged Gull was photographed on the Reserve. The 26th saw an immature Whooper Swan on Forge Mill briefly before departing dawn River also on Forge Mill female Goldeneye, 2 male and a female Pintail and 120+ Redwing flew over the Centre. The 27th saw 30 Fieldfare fly over the Centre. On the 30th a Peregrine spent all day sat on a Pylon near Forge Mill, 290 Coot where counted on Forge Mill and Swan Pool, 500+ Jackdaw flew over Forge Mill and at Swan Pool we had 21 Wigeon and a Jack Snipe was flushed.
December
The 1st gave us the Pintail pair still present on Forge Mill and a female Goldeneye. On the 2nd we had 25 Wigeon, female Goldeneye and a Water Rail at Swan Pool and in the Valley we had 319 Coot and 135 Tufted Duck. The 3rd gave us 3 Goldeneye on Forge Mill, 1000+ Jackdaw flew over to roost, a Green Sandpiper was in the Marsh and the Little Egret roosted. On the 5th we had 33 Herring Gull on Swan Pool. The 7th gave us 100+ Starling in Dartmouth Park; on the 9th we had 15 Lapwing on the island. On the 10th we had 23 Siskin in the Alders around Forge Mill. The 14th gave us 90 Goosander at dusk and a Chiffchaff along the River, between the 7th and the 14th there was a large movement of Redwing in the Valley involving at least a thousand birds. On the 16th we had 56 Lesser Black Backed Gulls and a male Goldeneye on Swan Pool. The 17th saw the male Goldeneye move to Forge Mill. On the 21st a Adult Mediterranean Gull was found on the Reserve, 60 Snipe and 12 Jack Snipe and a male Blackcap where in the Marsh and 200 Black Headed Gull where on Forge Mill. The 22nd saw an impressive 100 Goosander on Forge Mill at dusk, 1000+ Jackdaw and 20 Ring Necked Parakeets flew over and the Chiffchaff was still along the River. An Owl species was also seen and believed to be a Long Eared Owl. On the 28th we had 38 Shoveler and 28 Pochard on Forge Mill. The 30th gave us a pair of Goldeneye, 15 Wigeon and 10 Little Grebe on Swan Pool and a Marsh Tit near Newton Meadow. The last day of the month gave us the pair of Pintail, a Pair of Goldeneye and an impressive 42 Pochard on Forge Mill. We finished the year with 143 species.
Good Birding YAMYAM
