Ham Wall NNR sightings for the 24/2/13. Great birding.

For one week now they has been one very rare PIED BILLED GREBE at Ham Wall. I haven't been able to see it through the week so i decided to go on the 24th. There was lots of people a the 2nd viewing point on the track, all with scopes. The grebe was very distant but i did get one photo of the adult summer but its not that good.
I came to Shapwick Heath NNR which is right next to Ham Wall in 2012 to see the first ever great white egret nest. There was to pairs. The first pair raised 3 juvs but i don't know how many the second pair raised. There is already at least 2-4 pairs on the reserve so i hope that they will successfully breed again this year.
Other sightings:

• 1 deer
• 2 robins
• Blackbirds
• Mute swans
• 1 snipe
• 1 buzzard
• 20 lapwing
• 3 wrens
• A flock of starlings. Usually at dusk over one thousand perform their roost flocks over the reedbeds.
• A range of ducks. Most wigeon, tufted and shovelers with mallards and others
• 1 little egret
• 1 Great white egret adult
• 1 marsh harrier juv
•  The adult summer PIED BILLED GREBE. 1st ever for me.

i didn't see the water pipit which has been seen regually at one of the view points neither the 2 smews which have been at Shapwick Heath (partly because i didn't go to Shapwick Heath).

A weekend trip tp see Wales birds 24- 27/2/13 sightings

We stayed near Snowdon and sighings were:
House sightings (garden sightings)

• 1 tree creeper
• 1 nuthatch
• 1 jay
• 2 ravens flew over
• 10+ blue tits
• 2 blackbirds
• 2 robins
• 2 great tits
• 10+ house sparrows
• 4 canada geese flew over
• 1 buzzard flew over getting mobbed by jackdaws

Snowdons sightings

• 2 ravens
• 5 herring gulls in one of the lakes

Harlec Beach sightings

• 1 owl pellet discovered
• 1 barn owl flew almost into a persons face but we did not see it
• 2 meadow pipits
• 2 stonechats
• 5 house sparrows
• 1 robin
• 2 oystercatchers
• 1 SLAVONIAN GREBE out at sea. Very hard to spot but i possibly saw it where as other birders sighted it with their scopes. A first for me
• 1 great crested grebe

From Harlec to our house sightings

• 50+ red kites around a feeding station
• 30+ buzzards
• A few ravens
• 2 Golden eyes. A male and a female at Power Mountain.
• 2 Marsh tits. A first for me at CAT- Centre of Alternative Technology

SARA Sharpness's 14/2/13 bird sightings

There was:

• 1 great crested grebe in summer plumage
• A few mallards
• 10 wigeons
• Herring, black headed, lesser black backed and greater black backed gulls
• 1 redshank
• 2 Meadow pipits
• 10 cormorants with 1 in summer plumage
• 2 mute swans on the canal
• 10 wood pigeons
• 5 redwings
• 2 blackbirds
• 2 song thrushes
• Great and blue tits
• 30 linnets went to roost in a tree on the left of the walkway in the field
• 1 buzzard
• 1 SPOTTED SANDPIPER possibly 1 feeding on the mud in the stones otherwise a coomon sandpiper. If confirmed it would be the 2nd record in Gloucestershire. It showed features like yellow legs, short tail, grey back and also had a small call when it flew off. On the other hand, there is always a common sandpiper who winters on the Berkeley Shore so it could be it.

Great birdwatching at Cotswold water park today on the 11/2/13

Neigh bridge country park

• 1 Goosander male breifly on the water
• 1 Hybrid duck male with the tufted ducks
• 1 little egret
• 5 pochards- a male and 4 females
• 6 tufted ducks
• 1 great spotted woodpecker
• 3 redwing
• Black headed gulls
• 3 blackbirds
• A robin
• 2 chaffinches
• Blue and  great tits

Between lake 44 and Neigh Bridge country park

• A flock of blue and great tits
• The same little egret scared from the country park was scared again from the River Thames.
• 2 mute swans on the lake on the right of Lake 44
• A Blackcap male
• A few chaffinches
• 2 blackbirds
• 8 gold finches

Lake 44

• 2 great crested grebes which performed part of their courtship
• 10+ coots
• 1 cormorant fle over
• 1 grey heron flew over
• Tufted ducks and pochards
• 4 Red crested pochards
• 7 SMEW 3 males and 4 females have been on this lake all winter. Very distant and infront of the reeds.

Berkeley station sightings on the 8/2/13. A nice morning for birdwatching

Sightings on the 8th

• 10 blue tits
• 2 robins
• 2 dunnocks
• 1 song thrush
• 2 blackbirds
• A few great Tits
• Carrion crows and jackdaws
• Chaffinches
• 1 green woodpecker drumming
• 1 fieldfare
• 1 Willow tit singing. 1st ever sighting for me. Sadly didn't have camera.

Sightings on the 9th

• A few great tits
• A few blue tits
• 2 song thrushes
• 2 blackbirds
• A dunnock
• A robin
• Starlings
• 5 Jays usually only 1.
• Corvids
• Starlings
• No sign of Willow tit

SARA Sharpness sightings on the 6/2/13

Lots of sightings between 2:00 and 3:30

• Lots of common gulls passing in the wind
• 30+ great black backed gulls
• A few herring and black headed gulls
• 20+ Kittiwakes flew north
• 40+ Cormorants including a few with a white head and others in summer plumage
• 2 redshank
• 1 curlew
• 1 Common sandpiper was briefly infront of the Marina but flew off after photographed
• 2 great crested grebes (1 in summer plumage and a new adult in winter plumage). The summer plumaged adult is the resident whereas the winter plumaged adult disappears after breeding. 
• 10 mallards
• 4 wigeon
• 30+ teal flew past
• 10 wood pigeons
• Corvids
• 6 Bull finches (5 females and a male)
• 10 house sparrows
• Blue and great tits
• Dunnocks
• 2 robins
• A few blackbirds
• 1 Redwing

GREAT NORTHERN DIVER at Pittville park (cheltenham) on the 2/2/13

I had some amazing views of an adult great northern diver in winter plumage at Pittville park today. He came within 3 metres of me and a few other birders.
Other birds:

• 40+ black haeded gulls
• 20+ mallards 

Garden sightings through the week

Roughly 4-5 weeks until we see our first swallow and another few until our house martins and swifts arrive. I think that we may possibly see an alpine swift or possibly get a wheatear in the garden or on the roof. 

Flying over

• 2 Mute swans
• 5 cormorants (1 juv, 3 in non- breeding plumage as well as an adult in breeding plumage with a whitish head)
• Corvids

Trees

• Usual birds including: 3 blackbirds.
• 20+ house sparrows.
• Corvids.
• 10 starlings.
•  2 robins
• Chaffinches and gold finches
• A small finch (roughly the size of a blue tit) was in the tree. Possibly a siskin or lesser redpoll.
• Blue tits
• A male great tit who calls most mornings.
• Wood pigeons and the collard doves.

Garden

• 1 female blackbird

Opposite house

• 1 black headed gull
• The corvids
• 20+ feral pigeons.

SARA Bird sightings on the 1/2/13

Photos later
Some great views on some great birds at SARA between 3:30 and 4:30

• 10 great black backed gulls.
• 100+ black headed gulls.
• Common gulls.
• There were a few herring gulls.
• 20+ KITTIWAKES which don't usually come up this far although there was 35 at the picnic area on the 31/1/13 as well as over 200 at Severn Beach.
• A few lesser black backed gulls.
• 2 cormorants in summer plumage (1 with white behind head) as well as 2 cormorants in non breeding plumage.
• 20+ wigeon.
• 10 mallards. Two started mating while there.
• 50+ lapwing flew over.
• 100+ dunlin flew through in groups. In total 9 flocks flew through.
• 2 carrion crows.
• Rooks.
• 2 singing song thrushes.
• 1 robin.
• Several blue and great tits.
• A party of long tailed tits.
• A few chaffinches.
• 10 wood pigeons.
• 2 female bull finches which flew away when taking a photo.
• 1 meadow pipit flew from the other side of the river.

Possibles

• A possible Caspian gull in a small herring gull flock. This bird didn't have the grey head as the winter plumaged herring gulls but shape and colour was like them.
• A small gull which may possibly be a  Little gull in the gull roost flock.
• Also an unconfirmed juv gull which could well have been a Mediterranean or just a common gull.