Christmas Eve 2012 garden and SARA sightings

Sharpness sightings

Picnic area

                                                        Mallard males and females
Lots of mallard ducks feeding close to the site and several black headed and a few great black backed gulls.

SARA

                                                         Morhen

Winter plumaged great crested grebe

                                              Little grebe (top left) with cormarant

                                                              Cormarant

• Record number of 20+ redshank feeding together
• Lots of black headed gulls and a few common and herring gulls mixed in.
• 1 grey heron
• 30+ cormorants feeding on the rising tide and then even 1 in the Marina whereas others flew up river.
• A small flock of Dunlin which aren't usually seen at this part of the River got scared by a train on the other side of the River and then they flew up river towards Slimbridge where they have hundreds.
• The great crested grebe in winter plumage feeding in the Marina
• 10+ mallards feeding in the docks
• 1 Morhen which is the first I've seen down here on the canal and they're usually seen further up the canal near Purton.
• 1 Little grebe feeding close to the cormarant and was very shy so not easily sighted. 1st I've seen down here.
• A flock of 10 house sparrows which have recently came to the feeders
• Lots of blue and great tits flying and feeding in the trees.
• 20+ wood pigeons
• Carrion crow on the remaining mud

                                                                                                                                                       

Garden sightings

• 3 jackdaws
• 2 starlings
• 1 adult male blackbird

Flying over

                                                Lesser or greater black backed gull

                                                        Feral pigeon

                                                    Common gull

• 1 great black backed gull, 40+ common and black headed gulls in flocks
• Starlings, jackdaws and several flocks of feral pigeons
• Corvids
• Pigeons and collard doves
• 2 green, several gold and a few chaffinches
• 1 wagtail

Opposite house

                                                Black headed gull in winter plumage

• 10+ black headed gulls
• 20+ Starlings
• 20+ jackdaws
• 1 wagtail- probably the white wagtail which is around of a new pied wagtail

Trees

                                                      Chaffinch

                                                              Singing robin

                                                          Gold finch

• 3 magpies
• 40+ house sparrows
• 20+ blue tits
• 1 robin
• 16 starlings
• 2 adult males and an adult female blackbird fed and chased each other all day
• 30+ chaffinches
• Lots of jackdaws, 2 carrion crows, 3 collard doves and a wood pigeon