Getting a goose

Brent Goose is a bird I've dipped twice in Notts (at Dunham and Langford), but it's also one I've been expecting to find locally one day - and that day was yesterday (Saturday). I'd had a nice morning out at Collingham, with the two redhead Smew still on Ferry Lane Lake, along with a Great White Egret which then flew south towards Langford. This bird is missing a primary from the middle of its right wing, and is the same bird that has been frequenting the area of late.  

Running out of time, I had a quick look at Mons Pool. As well as a pair of Red-crested Pochards, there were lots of Greylags present. After a quick scan, I concluded there were no Pinkies (or indeed any other grey geese) lurking amongst them, and started back towards the car. What sounded like a Pinkie calling had me turn round, and note a small, dark goose... scoping it revealed it to be a juvenile Dark-bellied Brent Goose. I'm not sure how I'd missed this initially, but at least I got it in the end... A county tick and my 185th patch species. 

Juv Dark-bellied Brent Goose

Juv Dark-bellied Brent Goose

Patch mega!

I had a whole day with Freya today, and after a morning playing and an early lunch, we headed out to Collingham, and she fell asleep in the car (as I hoped she would). I was after the Great White Egret which has been kicking around here and Langford (and Meering), and with which I haven't been having much luck. Having looked at Ferry Lane Lake yesterday, I had a quick scan, not expecting much to have changed, but almost did a double take as I completed my first sweep - there were two female-type Velvet Scoters! This is a rare bird inland, and the last one in Notts was at King's Mill Res way back in 1996 (my GCSE year at school). They were diving quite happily, but occasionally becoming more alert, necks extended. I aged these as 1cy birds from photos, with a pale belly patch visible in the wing-flapping photo below (although other features of this age such as browner plumage tones and pale fringes to scaps and upper-wing covs are difficult to make out). 

Velvet Scoters

Velvet Scoters

Velvet Scoters

Velvet Scoters

Velvet Scoters

I called Mark Dawson, and was just about to put the news out when my phone died. Mark arrived (and was suitably excited about a Notts tick), and then called various people, and RBA. I stayed until Alan Clewes arrived, and by which time Freya had woken up, so we went off for a push around in the push chair. Once again, no sign of the Great White Egret (like yesterday), but there were a few other bits round - 5 Curlew, 3 Common Redshank and a Dunlin, with the Spotted Redshank still present on Ferry Lane Lake. The Scoters stayed for the rest of the day, and were widely appreciated by Notts listers, but had gone the following day. 

Spotted Redshank

Last weekend was a non-birding weekend (stag do in Leeds), and the weekend before I had my parents visiting; this was when the GWE first turned up (found by Mark D), and despite an immediate visit, I couldn't locate it - the aforementioned Spotshank was some recompense, being the first here for some time (since at least 2013). 

Summer doldrums

Despite the fact that June has been and gone, the summer doldrums on the patch continue, with small numbers of passage waders, but nothing of particular note. However, pair of Red-crested Pochards on 21 July were the first addition for PWC in too long, and a juvenile Garganey on Mons Pool at the weekend was a welcome, if expected, appearance. 

Garganey

Frustratingly, Yellow-legged Gull remains elusive - normally expected this time of year, but Phase 3 at Langford seems to be too much of a draw for them. Small number of GBBG and LBBGs have been the only big gulls. I guess I'll have to wait for the normal autumn roost build up for this species, and hopefully also a Casp or two. 

Elsewhere, I've had a couple of pre-work summer gulling visits to Cotham Landfill, where there have been small numbers of Yellow-legged Gulls of various ages present.

Ducks n' Gulls

Last weekend (Saturday 9th) I did my WeBS count at Girton; nothing much of note, and only modest numbers of wildfowl, but there were two odd looking Aythyas in the Sailing Lake . Both promptly swam out of sight - one a male, the other a female or young bird. Sunday past, I made another visit to Girton, where I was aided by ice concentrating the wildfowl. There was no sign of the female bird, but the male showed well - a Tuftie x Pochard, with a charcoal grey mantle showing no sign of any vermiculations.

Tuftie x Pochard

Tuftie x Pochard

Tuftie x Pochard

Tuftie x Pochard

Tuftie x Pochard

Today, I had a quick look at Cotham Landfill - I'm managing one brief visit a week at the moment. Last week's produced the 1st W Yellow-legged Gull, and the same bird was still present today. Overall gull numbers remain fairly low... 

1st W Yellow-legged Gull

1st W Yellow-legged Gull

1st W Yellow-legged Gull

1st W Yellow-legged Gull

1st W Yellow-legged Gull

Red and Yellow

Back to last week, and the Garganey at Mons Pool lingered until Sunday 23rd, when volunteering at East Leake allowed views of three of the Bee-eaters without having to leave the carpark, and my WeBS count at Girton yielded a Redstart - very nice, although it would have been better at Collingham!

Bee-eater

Juv Redstart

This week, and the highlight until today had been a party of 11 Black-wits on the 26th (with 19 the day before, according to the Notts Birders sighting page), along with a drake Scaup on Ferry Lane Lake which John Ellis had found at the weekend. 

Drake Scaup

However, today produced my second Redstart in as many weeks, this time obligingly on patch, in the hedgerow along the western footpath at Mons Pool. Not a guaranteed species annually on the patch by any means. 

Female Redstart

I then decided to have a look at Cotham Landfill, which I'd been meaning to do since I cycled past a couple of weeks ago, spurred on by a monster count of 37+ Yellow-legged Gulls just to the south at Kilvington Lakes yesterday (along with 4 Casps). Several hundred Lesser Black-backs were present (, along with at least 25 Yellow-legs - nearly all adults or near-adults, plus a second summer and a juvenile, as well as a couple of Herring Gulls (including 2 juvs) and one GBBG. 

An adult YLG

Another adult YLG

Check out the bill - a brute!

Juv YLG

Mid Summer birding

The best things about mid Summer birding is the big screaming flocks of Swifts over Newark. They're always difficult to count, but the biggest count visible from my garden has been 55, in two groups. Love 'em!

Aside from another stint on car park duty at the Bee-eaters, my only other birding has been a few patch visits. There have been a few waders, most notably 5 Black-wits on 15th (with singles on 9th and another tonight), the first few Common Sands (2 on 14th and 2 tonight), several Green Sands, a high count of c.10 Oystercatchers (on 14th), and a juv LRP (not bred here). At least 220 Coot were across Ferry Lane Lake and Mons Pool on 14th.

On the breeding bird front, one of the two pairs of Great Crested Grebes on Mons Pool has managed to hatch a chick on the third time of trying (having been flooded out twice), whilst the second pair abandoned there nest for some reason (they were on their second try). The three remaining Kestrel chicks have fledged, and there are two Tufted Duck families around too (with a total of 10 ducklings). 

Wildfowl have also provided a little interest of late, with an eclipse drake Pintail last night bettered by a Garganey tonight, which appeared to be a juvenile rather than a female. Also present tonight was a brief juvenile Yellow-legged Gull which flew off shortly after I scanned onto it (amongst a group of LBBGs and BHGs, plus a single Common Gull). 

Gulls and patching

Having spent a long weekend in Spain last weekend (on which more in another post...), I headed to Cotham Landfill this morning, my first visit in two weeks. With 3 juv Glaucs and an Iceland Gull in the roost at Hoveringham for the last couple of nights, I had high expectations...

I quickly located a juv Glauc, and then the Iceland Gull. From a distance, the Iceland Gull looked like a juv as well, but on closer inspection it had a pale iris and grey mantle, so was a 2nd winter. However, I couldn't find any other white-wingers, making do with the 1st winter Caspian Gull that has been around now since at least the 6th. A kronking Raven added some non-larid interest.

Juv Glaucous Gull

Juv Glaucous Gull

2nd W Iceland Gull

2nd W Iceland Gull

2nd W Iceland Gull

1st W Caspian Gull, doing the 'albatross long-call'

I then headed to Collingham, which I last visited on the 15th. A Slavonian Grebe had been seen on 21st and 22nd, whilst I was away, but I wasn't really expecting it would still be present. Present it was, however, and showing closely along the southern shore of Ferry Lane Lake. Also present were two redhead Smew (and a pair of Goosander), whilst a Stonechat was at Mons Pool, where a small party of Golden Plover flew over - so four additions for PWC 2017. 

Slavonian Grebe

Redhead Smew

First Glauc of the winter

I managed an all-to-brief weekday visit to Cotham Landfill yesterday. Within just a few minutes I located a juvenile Glaucous Gull, undoubtedly the bird that John Hopper has had in the roost at Hoveringham. Always a good bird to see, and my first white-winger of the autumn. 

Glauc

Glauc

Glauc

 Also present were two 1st winter (2cy) Caspian Gulls. One was quite petite, and had rather grey wing coverts (rather than the more usual brown), but looked good in all other respects. The second bird was the same as one had a similar bill pattern to the bird on 23rd December, but differed in plumage pattern, so both were new birds.

2cy Casp no.1

2cy Casp no.2

2cy Casp no.2

There were also a few colour-ringed gulls around, close enough to read the codes, for once - 2 GBBGs and 2 HGs. I'm trying to track these birds down. 

Today,  patch visit produced two additions for PWC; a Cetti's Warbler calling in the Silt Lagoon reedbed and an Egyptian Goose, in one of the fields between Mons Pool and Meering. There were also 8 Whoopers here, with 12 Mute Swans. 

Scaup but no Smew

At the weekend, Mark Dawson had a redhead Smew at Girton on the A1133 Pit. I had a look there today (mainly to do my WeBS count a few days late), butt couldn't find it; however, there is plenty of marginal willow for a Smew to hide in, so there's a fair to middling chance it's still there. I had more luck at Spalford Pit, where I found a 1st W female Scaup.

After Girton, I could only fit in a brief visit in to Collingham, checking Ferry Lane Lake without seeing anything of note. I'd had a trawl round the patch last Sunday (after a gap of two weeks), but again couldn't find much to write home about (although Cetti's Warbler and Water Rail were both being vocal). With second-hand rumours of a 'large brown owl' hunting along the floodbank (presumably a Short-eared Owl) and Waxwings (with Fieldfares) a couple of days before, seen by a dog-walker (via Mark Dawson) I'd been hoping for more...

Wild Swans

There wasn't much of note around Collingham Pits yesterday - 3 Goosander flew over heading south, whilst a couple of Water Rail were being noisy in the Silt Lagoon reedbed. On Ferry Lane Lake, the juv Pink-foot was still in with the Greylags, whilst a single adult YLG was in the gull roost. 

Another quick look at Ferry Lane Lake this morning didn't reveal anything new, so I decided to check out Meering and the fields to the North - if I'm going to get Merlin for the patch yearlist, it'll be here. No luck today, but a scan of the swan herd revealed 2 Bewick's in with the Mutes, along with 4 adult Whoopers. I also recorded 2 Bewick's here during the first winter period of 2015, having never recorded them around here before, so not a species I was expecting to get in 2016. For Patchwork Challenge, this puts me on 153 species for 193 points. In addition, about 210 Pinkies flew over East. 

Bewick's Swan

All three Swan species