Cambridgeshire Birding (1 Viewer)

[Matthebirder]

Grafham water 26 Sep; the odd hybrid duck still off Plummer; wouldn’t like to say what it is at this stage .....
Certainly doesn’t fit Baikal

Slightly bigger than Teal
https://www.flickr.com/photos/avesandmore/50387218067/in/album-72157712463187667/

Tail end looks a bit Pintail like?
https://www.flickr.com/photos/avesandmore/50387217947/in/album-72157712463187667/

Also today one Great White Egret over lagoons, 20 Little Egrets in over the dam late pm and a Peregrine.

Six Dunlin flew through

 

[GWB77]

Grafham water 26 Sep; the odd hybrid duck still off Plummer; wouldn’t like to say what it is at this stage .....
Certainly doesn’t fit Baikal

I've not even been to look for it yet (I was at Sheringham all day yesterday), but it is worth noting that lots of hybrid wildfowl combinations can show a Baikal-type head pattern (I have seen several involving the genus Anus especially). There was a good paper in BB about this a few years ago. I'll try to find it.....

 

[Matthebirder]

Grafham water 27 Sep; Great White Egret at west end in the evening.

 

[GWB77]

Grafham Water; A good day, with lots of birds passing over and in the bushes. It had the feeling that it was building to something good; Tree Pipit over south, Rock Pipit over west, Stonechat below dam.... More Robins than usual, a possible Redstart briefly, Skylarks, Mipits, Siskin all moving through.

I was just having one last scan at Hill Farm when a single call from behind me alerted me to this beauty!

https://twitter.com/grafhamwbirder/status/1310554089038786565?s=21

The first record for Grafham Water. It showed well for 45 mins, but then disappeared.

 

[Matthebirder]

Grafham Water 3 Oct ; single Great White Egret moving about during the day, 3 Common Scoter, 2+1 Common Sandpiper, single Dunlin. Several Yellow-legged Gulls around the dam.

 

[Matthebirder]

Grafham water : Sunday 4 Oct ; Great White Egret seen in various location as the water is getting lower. 3 Dunlin and Common Sandpiper on the dam. Car parks close at 18:00 now....

Forgot the two new Common Scoters off Mander Carpark different to previous day.

 

[Matthebirder]

Grafham Water 6 Oct; evening on the dam only. A spectacular Great Northern Diver just off the dam; thanks to the WhatsApp report (thanks Mark). Difficult light as usual on the dam in the evening and the vast distance covered under water was a challenge but some shots here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/avesandmore/50428127923/in/album-72157712463187667/
Lets hope hope it is here for the winter?

 

[Matthebirder]

Grafham Water 10 Oct; while searching for the reported Scaup in Littleless Creek, all I could find was the usual adult drake hybrid. A good 'Lesser Scaup' look-a-like now in almost full plumage. Still aggressive towards drake Tufted Ducks if they come too close. Worth studying to see why it isn't one! https://www.flickr.com/photos/avesandmore/50447186337/in/album-72157712463187667/

 

[Matthebirder]

Grafham Water 12 Oct; two Great Northern Divers this morning. Luckily the two soon found each other and gave a close swim-by past Marlow Point https://www.flickr.com/photos/avesandmore/50463867797/in/album-72157712463187667/
No sign of either late afternoon although weather was poor.

 

[Matthebirder]

Grafham water 13 Oct ; 2 Great Northern Divers still

 

[Matthebirder]

Grafham water 14 Oct am; 1 Great Northern Diver, the original summer plumage bird only off north shore still.

Seen on and off through the day but always off the north shore; at dusk it moved out to the middle as previous night to join the gull roost. The winter adult appears to have departed.

Many Yellow-legged Gulls around, some very approachable on the dam.

 

[Matthebirder]

Grafham Water 15 Oct; Great Northern Diver early morning off north shore. Seen to take off but lost in poor light, may have departed as no further sightings. Afternoon spent waiting for the Bittern to show in the lagoons; seen three times with a few record shots managed from the hide https://www.flickr.com/photos/avesandmore/50492047272/in/album-72157712463187667/

 

[Matthebirder]

Grafham water 17 Oct; Rock Pipit on the dam early morning.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/avesandmore/50498806011/in/album-72157712463187667/

No sign off GND by dusk; previously the diver usually ended up in the centre by dusk.

 

[Matthebirder]

Grafham water 18 Oct; single Common Scoter moving about. Rock Pipit on Marlow Point; maybe same as seen on dam on 17th.

 

[Matthebirder]

Grafham Water 19 Oct; Red-breasted Merganser a nice surprise off the dam early morning, then joined the Tufted duck flock just off the dam wall. https://www.flickr.com/photos/avesandmore/50507314527/in/album-72157712463187667/ (not seen at 15:30 looking from Plummer area, but most Tufted ducks had moved off)

 

[Matthebirder]

Grafham water 20 Oct; Mediterranean Gull (Ad) off Mander Car park late afternoon.

 

[Matthebirder]

Grafham Water 21 Oct; Mediterranean Gull (Ad) , different bird to yesterday, off Mander Car park in the roost. Also the hybrid drake 'Tufted/Scaup' off Church Hill road with Tufted ducks.

 

[Matthebirder]

Grafham Water 22 Oct; Great White Egret moving about but chased off by Grey Herons in Dudney Creek. A single Goosander female spent a few minutes on the water late morning before flying east towards the river.

 

[Matthebirder]

Grafham Water 23 Oct; two 1st winter Mediterranean Gulls in Valley Creek and a Caspian Gull 1st winter moving about the western bays. Watched a Great Black-back kill and eat a Moorhen in the open water off Littless hide - rather gruesome!

 

[Matthebirder]

Grafham Water 24 Oct; Rock Pipit on the dam early morning. 3 Red Crested Pochards in Valley Creek in the afternoon. Maybe the same Great Black-backed Gull that killed the Moorhen yesterday killed and ate a Coot in the middle of the reservoir; not sure why the coot was alone in the centre to begin with away from the safety of the flocks, possibly a recent arrival?