My 16/12/12 garden sightings. Highlights 2 warblers and lots of birds

There was some great birds today and a few unexpected ones which I didn't think I would see today. For example in my garden a Female Blackcap arrived today and I only saw it when it flew from one of the small trees. She was the first female blackcap of the year in the garden but she could have been the same female recorded in the berry bush a few months ago. The blackcap is a very common summer migrant for the most of the UK but around my area they stay all year round and as a result in February a male came to the garden and then last Tuesday another male was sighted in the fog just down the road.

Another highlight for today was the White wagtail who has been sighted yesterday and several times in the last few months after his arrival last Autumn. Today he was calling from the houses and he is very distinctive with a little yellow bit on his face.

The third special bird was a Chiffchaff which are usually widespread and breeding in the summer throughout the UK. Recently chiffchaffs have been staying in Britain all year round and as a result Slimbridge WWT recently had 3 and today OIdbury Power Station and other places have had a few. This is the first sighting of the year around the garden but every year we hear lots wherever we go in the summer and sometimes in the Autumn.

Other sightings

Flying over

• Lots of common, lesser black backed and black headed gulls
• 20+ wood pigeons
• 3 collard doves
• 1 magpie
• 4 green finches
• 40+ starlings
• 3 fieldfares
• 30+ redwings
• 3 adult male blackbirds
• Corvids
• 10 house sparrows

Trees

                                                                            Dunnock

 

                                                                  

                                                              1st winter male blackbird

                                                                      Mistle thrush

                                                                           Starling

                                                                  Female house sparrow

                                                                   Chiffchaff

• 30+ house sparrows
• 3 dunnocks
• 10 blackbirds- 1 1st winter male, 6 adult males, 3 adult female blackbirds
• 2 green finches
• 10+ gold finches
• 10+ chaffinches
• 30+ starlings
• 20 jackdaws
• 2 magpies
• 7 redwings
• 40+ Blue tits unusual numbers in the trees all day. Lots of them together and flying to every tree.
• 9 great tits
• Heard a few long tailed tits
• 1 Chiffchaff sighted and photographed briefly in the apple tree
• 1 gold crest heard
• 1 mistle thrush
• Several carrion crows

Opposite house

                                                                   White wagtail

• 1 White wagtail
• 20 feral pigeons
• 3 house sparrows
• 3 black headed gulls
• 30+ jackdaws

Garden

 

Female Blackcap

• 1 adult male blackbird
• 7 jackdaws- 1 on the 3rd post and the other 6 on the bird table or fence
• 2 house sparrows
• 1 blue tit on the 3rd post briefly
• 1 Female Blackcap

Other news
Glos Birds

• Smew at Cotwolds water park
• Waxwings still around Gloucestershire, Somerset and the old avon area
• Old Avon sightings http://avonbirding.blogspot.co.uk/

Somersets Rare Birds

• Lesser scaup (Blagdon Lake)
• Ringed necked duck (Hawkridge Resivour)
• Great white egret and smew (Ham Wall RSPB).
• Hawfinch (Bruton)
• Temmerincks stint (Steart)
• Scaup (Wall common)
• Black Redstart (Portishead)
• 4 Jack snipe (Sand point)