Garden Birds: October 2012

Wednesday, 31 October 2012

31/10/12 sightings

Very windy so lots of gulls flying over including 30+ herring gulls, 1 lesser black backed gull and flying behind my house 30+ black headed gulls

Other flying over sightings

40+ starlings
1 pied wagtial
1 house sparrow
1 great tit
30+ jackdaws
1 kestrel sighted just about 3 minutes down the road landing on another house.
2 magpies

Opposite house

13 ferel pigeons
6 jackdaws

30/10/12

Same as yesterdays post that i had to go off again so only a few sightings for today

Flying over

10 starlings
1 wood pigeon
1 buzzard which was getting mobbed by lots of jackdaws to the nearby rookery
NO redwing as the night was cloudy so no redwing heard flying over.

Trees

2 magpies
1 chaffinch
1 male blackbird
1 blue tit
10+ starlings
2 jackdaws

Opposite house

7 ferel pigeons
5 jackdaws

29/10/12

A quick look outside before having to go off.

Flying over sightings

1 carrion crow
1 black headed gull
1 herring gull
5 goldfinches
1 wood pigeon
30+ starlings
1 male blackbird
1 REDWING Heard at 20:45.

Trees

2 chaffinches
goldfinches
1 magpie
2 jackdaws
4 starlings
1 robin
1 carrion crow

Opposite house

2 ferel pigeons
1 collard dove
4 starlings
2 jackdaws

Sunday, 28 October 2012

Slimbridge WWT quick 30 minute sightings

I was very lucky to see the first Bewick Swan which arrived at Slimbridge. This is one of 300 birds which arrive at Slimbridge every winter.

Sightings at the Rushy

Humbug the bewick swan

1 of a flock of 5 redwing in the Car park

Tufted duck female

Male pochard

Lapwing in the front and a black headed gull behind

Humbug the Bewick swan
20+ tufted ducks
40+ pintail
10 canada geese
1 grey heron
1 lapwing
30+ black headed gulls
40+ pochard
10+ Mallards
20 greylag geese
coots

Other sightings which I didn't see

1 LONG BILLED DOTWICHER- South lake
1 FEMALE GOLDEN EYE- South lake
10+ WHITE FRONTED GEESE- Holden tower
1 BRENT GOOSE- Holden tower

28/10/12 sightings

Flying over

10 black headed gulls
20+ starlings
2 rooks
12 wood pigeons
2 magpies
5 jackdaws
10 carrion crows mobbing each other
Lots of common and herring gulls flew over
5 house sparrows
10 pied wagtails
2 mallard ducks
4 collard doves
1 sparrowhawk
40+ REDWING
10+ FIELDFARE
1 MEADOW PIPIT
1 SKYLARK

Trees

Chaffinch female

Green finch

Robin

2 robins
1 coallard dove
5 gold finches
1 green finch
3 house sparrows
10+ starlings
10 chaffinches
3 magpies
1 dunnock
3 jackdaws
2 blue tits

Opposite house

1 carrion crow
20 ferel pigeons
1 wood pigeon
2 magpies
5 jackdaws
10+ starlings

Saturday, 27 October 2012

27/10/12 Sharpness sightings from SARA and the picnic area

Migrants have been flooding into the Severn this week as key places along the River has had hundreds of migrants. Today a HAWFINCH at Olbury Power Station was sighted for its second day as well as the WATER PIPIT at Berkeley Power Station sighted at the river named Berkeley Pill.

Sightings at the Picnic area

WATER PIPIT

The redshank

2 redshank
1 WATER PIPIT which is the first ever sighting here
3 great black backed gull
30+ Black headed gulls
1 chaffinch

SARA Migrant cenral

Grey heron

2 great black backed gulls and 8 cormarants

Canada geese

Wigeon getting scared by the grey heron

Grey heron and a female wigeon

Juv cormarant left with adult right

2 wigeon

15 cormarants feeding and a few flew over
1 grey heron was feeding and scaring the wigeon
Several species of gulls counting up to at least 300- 400.
13 chaffinches- Migrants
1 male blackbird
4 wood pigeons
2 carrion crows
1 buzzard which isn't usually sighted here
18 canada geese flew through
100+ WIGEON- A small autumn influx. Hopefully they'll stay for the winter

A lovely sunny start to the day. 27/10/2 Sightings

Flying over sightings have been the BEST as its a little windy but there wasn't any clouds in the sky so sighting birds was easy.

Flying over sightings

2 common gulls

2 great black backed gulls

6 Rooks

7 chaffinches

20+ black headed gulls

2 carrion crows

1 pied wagtail

5 wood pigeons

25+ starlings

1 collard dove
2 buzzards scared the fieldfare and caught the wind and flew off
30+ FIELDFARE- big flocks have been flying over. 30 sighted in one flock scared by the buzzards
30+ jackdaws all mobbing the buzzards
10 REDWING- All of them flew over with no landing
1 LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER- 1st sighting over the year

Opposite house

Not the best photo of the white wagtial

Collard dove

2 Magpies

Starlings

5 ferel pigeons
2 magpies
2 jackdaws
6 black headed gulls
1 collard dove
10+ starlings
2 carrion crows
1 great black backed gull
1 WHITE WAGTAIL

Trees

Female chaffinch

Fieldfare

The head and whole body of the Fieldfares

A male chaffinch and a Female

2 male blackbirds
1 wood pigeon

5 goldfinches

1 magpie

15+ house sparrows

1 great tit

15+ starlings

3 blue tits
2 FIELDFARE- They landed in the berry bush for about 5 minutes until they flew off. They didn't eat alot and scared a few finches.
30+ chaffinches- A mixture of males and females

Friday, 26 October 2012

Bird sighted at Berkeley Power Station from the River Severn on the 26.10.12

Canada Geese

Starlings

Black headed gull

2 cormarants- 1 flew over the River Severn and 1 was diving near one of the rocks.
1 lapwing- flew over
3 curlew were feeding on the mud
1 little egret flew over
20+ black headed gulls
200+ starlings in there flock
3 male chaffinches flew through.
2 pied wagtials
1 pipit/lark species not identified
No sign of WATER PIPIT or RING OUZEL which was sighted on the 25/10/12.

26/10/12 Sightings Migrants

Flying over

Not the best Redwing photo

3 jackdaws

herring gulls and common gulls were sighting en mass as it was very windy

20+ black headed gulls

3 great black backed gull

19 male chaffinches

1 carrion crow

1 male blackbird

3 pied wagtails

1 female sparrowhawk is a very common visiter to all our gardens throughout the year. Today she flew straight over my head spooked all the birds and landed in the furthest tree. Normally she startles all the other birds and doesn't catch any.
50+ STARLINGS

40+ GOLD FINCHES- in several small groups of atleast 10- 15

50+ WOOD PIGEONS- in two flocks of 25.

1 MEADOW PIPIT- heard and sighted high in the sky

2 SKYLARKS- both flew over together calling

1 JAY- not the same one which landed

40+ FIELDFARE- getting blown in from all differenet directions and feeding in a nearby orchard. Most in flocks of 7-15 but some were higher whereas others were flying singly or in pairs

40+ REDWING- getting blown in from all directions. Some have been with the fieldfare but most of them have either been flying singly of in flocks calling to each other.

Trees

Female sparrowhawk in the furthest tree away

Male chaffinch

JAY

Male chaffinch (berry bush)

Green finch

Male chaffinch (Apple tree)

One of the many flocks of Golfinches with a Chaffinch.

A REDPOLL in the middle of the picture

on its own below left of the chaffinch.

3 magpies

1 male blackbird- Different to the flying over one

17+ blue tits

2 great tits

1 green finch

15+ house sparrows

1 Female sparrowhawk- Same bird which flew over

40+ GOLD FINCHES- in flocks of about 10-15 then they flew off and another flock landed

50+ CHAFFINCHES- All males with 0 females

1 COAL TIT- Briefly in tree before getting blown away
1 REDPOLL- 1st sighting of the year
1 JAY- breifly

Garden

1 dunnock
5 Jackdaws came late before sunset.

Opposite house

10+ jackdaws

30 feral pigeons

1 carrion crow

Thursday, 25 October 2012

25/10/12

I havent been here for the whole day so no detailed sightings. Slimbridge had 42,829 migarnts sighted today. The sightings below were sighted from 8am- 9am. It was rainy and cloudy between the times and only a few birds sighted.

Whereas we had flying over:

3 gold finches
1 carrion crow
1 juv herring gull
3 adult herring gulls
5 chaffinches
7 starlings
10 black headed gulls
1 pied wagtail
3 jackdaws
1 wood pigeon

Trees

1 magpie
1 starling

Opposite house

5 jackdaws
2 wood pigeons
3 feral pigeons

Garden

1 jackdaw

Wednesday, 24 October 2012

My Slimbridge WWT Sightings 24/10/12

Holden Tower

8 white fronted geese
2 little egrets
2 buzzards
14 long tailed tits
30 canada geese
2 banacle geese
30+ lapwing
10 gadwall
2 blue tits
1 robin
Lots of gulls flew from the River Severn and from in land

NEW bird feeder hide

Male chaffinches (left) and goldfinch (right)

Female chaffinch (left) and male (right)

3 chaffinches
2 blue tits
1 wood pigeon
1 goldfinch

The Rushy

Little egret

Cormarants

4 mallards ( 2 females and 2 males)
and 9 pintails ( 7 males and 2 females)

1 female pintail (left) and a molting male (right)

30+ pintails
3 cormarants
1 little egret
20+ teal
Mallard ducks
No Bewick Swans yet
1 shelduck
1 wood pigeon
Lots of black headed gulls but no other species

South lake

3 herring gulls 2 adults and 1 1st winter

1 adult male infront of the female behind

                                          1 black headed gull, 1 grey heron, several blackwits
                                         and the long billed dotwicher which is on the bottom
                                                                 right of the photo

1 little grebe

2 grey herons
1 little egret
10 herring gulls
30 tufted ducks
40 black tailed godwits
1 LONG BILLED DOTWICHER
20 canada geese
26 teal
2 little grebes
Shovelers and other ducks like mallards were sighted alot on the lake
4 cormarants
Several types of gulls including 12 herring gulls and at least 30 black headed gulls
20 starlings in there autumn flocks
30 jackdaws came into roost in the trees at the back of the lake

24/10/12 sightings

Yesterday at Slimbridge WWT there was an amazing number of migrants they counted. They counted 17535 and that didnt include any non migrants including the LONG BILLED DOTWICHER which they've had for almost 100 days.

Sightings at home
Flying over:

Lots of herring and common gulls flying low and high
A few blck headed gulls with the common gulls
5 wood pigeons
5 feral pigeons
1 female blackbird- possibly the female from yesterday
13 chaffinches
5 house sparrows
5 pied wagtails
30+ starling- in one flock
37REDWING- A small influx
7 FIELDFARE
2 SWALLOWS- A common summer migrant which should be migrating back to Africa
1 common buzzard was getting mobbed by several jackdaws
lots of jackdaw and only 1 carrion crow
A few flocks of goldfinches flew over the trees