Less of the same

Another look at the gull roost on Ferry Lane Lake tonight; numbers of large gulls were well down on last visit, with 3 Yellow-legs (all adults) and just 3 Herring Gulls (1cy, 3cy and adult). The 2 Pintail, 2 Goldeneye and 1 redhead Goosander were still present, but no sign of the Red-crested Pochard. Also waves of Starlings, hundreds strong, overhead on their way to Langford - I love that sound as they pass overhead. 

Adult YLG

The nights draw in

After an uneventful visit to the patch this morning (no Siskin or Brambling...), I returned for the gull roost this evening. Still no Caspo, but 6 Yellow-legs (4 adults and 2 1cy), 15+ Herring Gulls (at least 9 adults and at least 6 sub-ads), and 2 GBB's. Still present was the Red-crested Pochard, 2 Pintail and 2 Goldeneye.

A winter duck selection

On Ferry Lane Lake at Collingham Pits tonight, 1 female Red-crested Pochard, 2 female Pintail, a redhead Goosander and 2 Goldeneye amongst the duck, and 3 Yellow-legged Gulls (2 ads and a 1st W) in with the Lesser Black-backs. 

Belated WeBS

After a lie-in this morning, a visit to Girton Pits was necessary to do the WeBS count which I failed to do last weekend. There was nothing unexpected; single Goldeneye and Red-crested Pochard (a female on Spalford Pit) were the wildfowl highlights, although I also spent some time watching a bathing Sparrowhawk. 

Bathing Sparrowhawk (digi-binned)

Red-crested Pochard

A visit to Collingham then produced 368 Wigeon, 164 Pochard, 2 Pintail, 2 Egyptian Geese and a Common Sand on Ferry Lane Lake, along with a Redshank on the Silt Lagoon. After lunch, a session picking sloes at Meering produced a Merlin, but little else. 

Vis-migging

Yesterday I spent the fist two hours after dawn vis-migging on the patch, along with a few other Patchwork Challengers at other sites. It's fair to say that conditions weren't exactly ideal, but I was hopeful I might get a patch yeartick like a Brambling, Siskin or Tree Sparrow. I didn't, and my rather modest totals area as follows:

• Redwing - 46
• Meadow Pipit - 15
• Skylark - 4
• Pied/alba Wagtail - 13
• Grey Wagtail - 1
• Reed Bunting - 2
• Golden Plover - 300
• Curlew - 2
• Snipe - 1
• Lapwing - 3

There were a few other things moving around, such as Goldfinches, Linnets and wildfowl, but I assumed these to be local birds. The Pied/White Wags were probably most interesting (for me), as I think I would otherwise assumed these were just local birds moving around the site, but it appeared these were definitely birds moving south. 

My vis-mig vantage point

I curtailed my vis-migging session at the start of the third hour when I saw two waders drop into the Silt. Assuming them both to be Ruff, I nevertheless had a nagging thought that the smaller of the two could be something more interesting (e.g. Pec Sand). Tracking them down, they proved to be a Ruff, and a smaller Ruff. Oh well. The Silt Lagoon also held a Redshank, whilst there were 103 Pochard and a Goldeneye on Ferry Lane Lake. 

2 Ruff

Redwings back

After a dentist appointment I managed some birding on the patch; best were my first Redwing of the autumn, with 54 (3 + 16 + 6 +29) heading in a westerly direction. Always nice to have these back. 

Other stuff included the first Redshank for a while on Mons Pool and 2 Common Sands on Ferry Lane Lake; the gull roost here hosted 5 adult Yellow-legged Gulls, but I gave up due to driving rain... No skuas though.

Back in Newark, and there were a few more Redwing over my street just after 6pm, with another overhead just now when I stuck my head out of the front door (8.20pm). With others being reported across the county, it looks like they're arriving back en masse. 

Back to the joys of gravel pit birding

After spending last week in (mainly) sunny Scilly - more on that in another post - it was back out to Collingham Pits last night. A skein of 110 Pinkies flew over heading NW, and a Green Sand called unseen on Ferry Lane Lake, where there were also nearly 200 Wigeon. However, the main attraction was the gulls. 

Whilst I'm pleased that Ferry Lane Lake seems to be developing as a good roost site, I find roost watching tricky; key features can be difficult to see/interpret, and time is not on your side; indeed, all the interesting gulls appeared as the light failed (or perhaps they just looked interesting in the half-light..??). There were at least 10 'grey-mantled' gulls in with the Lesser Black-backs, of which one was a Herring, and at least 3 were Yellow-legs - the rest were left unassigned in failing light. A juvenile gull was also intriguing, seemingly an LBBG but looking very white-headed with a slender dark bill. Hmm.

White-headed juv gull

White-headed juv gull

3cy Yellow-legged Gull

3cy Yellow-legged Gull

Gulls, gulls, gulls