Slimbridge WWT sightings- Humbug's back

After a few days in France I arrived back at home at 2am in the morning and started checking any interesting sightings which I may have missed due to Britain faced with remnants of a hurricane from the America.


My Slimbridge Sightings

 

 

• 30+ teal
• 100+ wigeon
• 10+ pintail
• 20+ pochard
• 20 white fronted geese
• 50+ Feral banacle geese
• A few migrant chaffinches (all females)
• 10+ probable migrant great tits
• 5 cormorants
• A mistle thrush
• 100+ lapwing
• 10+ curlew
• A buzzard
• 1 POCHARD+ FERRUGINOUS DUCK hybrid
• 8 COMMON CRANES- 7 from the GCP (Great Crane Project and the wild individual)
• 1 BEWICK SWAN- Humbug has arrived, yet again, first to Slimbridge this year. 2 bewicks arrived firstly at Blagdon Lake and 7 landed on Northwick Warth as they had overshot Slimbridge. The 7 stayed at the warth for less than an hour before flying to Chew Valley Lake where they stayed for a few days. After, they flew to Slimbridge on the 27th but have disappeared leaving Humbug. Where have they gone? They may come to roost at Slimbridge but I haven't seen any reports of them around. Humbug is special as she has been the first Bewick Swan to arrive back at Slimbridge  for three years now and luckily for me I saw her today and last year. In fact, she was the first Bewick swan to arrive in Britain last year. 

Humbug 2012 (Above)
                                                                                                                                                       


29/10/13 Mega rare birds in Britain today.

• Lesser Kestrel- Devon
• Whites thrush- Scilly
• American Robin- Scilly
• Cape May Warbler (Second ever for Britain)- Shetland
• Hermit thrush- Cornwall
• Yellow rumped warbler (Myrtle warbler)- Galway
• Laughing dove (4th ever for Britain)- Highland

Birds I missed nearby:

• 3 leach's petrels- Severn beach
• 1 storm petrel- Severn beach
• Great skua- Severn Beach
• Gannet- Severn beach
• Gannet- SARA/ Sharpness
• Guillemot- Weston Super Mere

20/10/13 -A whole year of my blog.

Throughout this summer, and the year, I have been awful at putting my sightings on and my photos which I have taken as, in my opinion, the year was full of records.

• The Berkeley Park- Scott Law (mostly in the Spring but a little in the Autumn) proved great for migrating warblers with Whitethroats, chiffchaffs, willow warblers, blackcaps, reed warblers, lesser whitethroats, sedge warblers, garden warblers and even the very secretive grasshopper warbler being sighted with some great photo opportunities. Also a pair of Spotted flycatchers bred and this was a first for me and great to see.
• An amazing morning in the summer with excellent weather proved great for swifts as we had roughly 40 in one huge flock at one point.
• Hobby's scored high with 3 being sighted hunting together very quickly over our house in the summer.
• The same goes with buzzards as on the 19/5/13 we had 11 on the thermols and even a red kite.

Clapton 19/10/13 sightings + probable FIRECREST

A small rain cloud came up the Severn but luckily went across to Wales. When I went up the sea wall and started heading towards Berkeley Power station I saw an unusual flock of roughly 10-15 lapwing. I looked back and saw lots of corvids and gulls fly up from a field near enough where the WRYNECK had been sighted but he had gone a day after I last went there.
2 grey herons flew along the shore and 3 curlew flew from the mud in different directions calling. I heard a buzzard calling and saw it dive down at another bird of prey which I couldn't identify. Was it another buzzard or the Female MARSH HARRIER which was sighted at Berkeley Pill just the other side of the Power station a day ago.
A little egret was on the shallow pools on the saltmarsh and I looked over to a ploughed field  where a linnet and a meadow pipit flew over. A chaffinch, I think, flew along the bushes but it wasn't until I stopped that a WHETEAR was in the field. Although a very common Autumn migrant and me sighting about 9 here, including a Greenland whetear, it was only a surprise as it's getting quite late for then.
2 skylarks flew across the field chasing each other and with a black headed gull and carrion crow both landing on the same field there was quite a bit to see.  
Suddenly, I heard thunder and as I looked behind me a HUGE thunderstorm was heading my way and it had just hit Oldbury Power Station which isn't that far away. I ran as fast as I could and when I got in line with the clouds the rain came down like hail. It was so strong and powerful. The rain was so powerful a flock of Canada geese flew onto the river from the field which had all the gulls and corvids.
I still had a bit to go so I ran a bit more before going down the sea wall, having to push a gate which was broken, dodge some cows who had their heads down and jump in the car. I was socked. We drove home and I jumped straight into the house but luckily, after a lot of thunder and lightning, a call came from the trees which coincidentally I  was listening to before we went out. It was a FIRECREST. Sadly I had only heard it once and a check of the trees proved there was no sign of this great bird. This would only be the Garden's and my second ever firecrest with one being sighted from the garden briefly in the berry/apple tree last year.

19/10/13 garden sightings

Not very much sighted between the 13th and the 19th from the garden and around except 24 redwing in Berkeley on the 14th and the 15th and a cormorant, 10+ gold finches and a FIELDFARE over on the 18th.

19/10/13 garden highlights flying over

• 11 pied wagtails
• 2 grey wagtails
• 10 gold finches
• 2 cormorants
• 5 skylarks
• A buzzard
• Song thrush
• 6 meadow pipits
• 2 Fieldfare
• 100+ redwing
• 1 SWALLOW- latish individual over but have seen later.

Garden

• 1 jackdaws
• 3 house sparrows

Berkeley road (Prince of Wales hotel) near Berkeley 17/10/13 sightings

Birds sighted:

1. 2 bull finches
2. 4 blue tits
3. 7-10 long tailed tits
4. 1 goldcrest
5. 1 jay
6. 1 mistle thrush
7. 10+ chaffinches
8. 1 Chiffchaff
9. 1 meadow pipit
10. Wood pigeons
11. Common gulls
12. Herring gulls
13. Black headed gulls
14. 5 pied wagtails
15. 5 redwing
16. Sparrowhawk
17. Buzzard heard
18. 2 SWALLOWS
19. 2 HOUSE MARTINS- my latest ever sighting as they flew high east. Latest Glos date is 3/11 so determined to see the latest

All birds sighted from garden

Birds

1. Blue tit
2. Great tit
3. Long tailed tit
4. Coal tit
5. Willow warbler
6. Chiffchaff
7. Blackcap
8. Brambling
9. Chaffinch
10. Linnet
11. Gold finch
12. Green finch
13. Grey heron
14. Little egret
15. Cormorant
16. Mallard
17. Canada goose
18. Dunlin
19. Lapwing
20. Redshank
21. Buzzard
22. Sparrowhawk
23. Hobby
24. Marsh harrier
25. Kestrel
26. Perigrene
27. Red kite
28. Blackbird
29. Song thrush
30. Mistle thrush
31. Redwing
32. Fieldfare
33. Robin
34. Wren
35. House sparrow
36. Dunnock
37. House martin
38. Swift
39. Swallow
40. Sand martin
41. Starling
42. Magpie
43. Carrion crow
44. Jackdaw
45. Rook
46. Raven
47. Jay
48. Feral pigeon
49. Collard dove
50. Wood pigeon
51. Stock dove
52. Goldcrest
53. Firecrest
54. Common gull
55. Black headed gull
56. Herring gull
57. Great black backed gull
58. Lesser black backed gull
59. Yellow legged gull
60. Mediterranean gull
61. Meadow pipit
62. Skylark
63. Pied wagtail
64. Grey wagtail
65. White wagtail
66. Great spotted woodpecker
67. Green woodpecker

67 species up to 22/10/13.

13/10/13 Migration mad for THRUSHES and FINCHES

A drizzly cloudy day with a northern wind again brought quite a few species all flying into the wind.
I got up at 8:15 and watched the migrants fly through before it started raining and the migration came to a halt before a few others flew over.

In the garden

• 7 jackdaws
• An adult male and an adult female blackbird

Trees

• 2 great tits
• A blue tit
• The two blackbirds
• Corvids
• Collard doves
• A chaffinch
• Corvids

Opposite houses

• Feral pigeons
• 2 lesser black backed gulls
• 2 common gulls
• 5 black headed gulls
• Corvids
• Collard doves
• Wood pigeons

Vis Mig Flying over

• 350+ gulls- mostly migrating common gulls mixed in with black headed gulls, herring gulls and lesser black backed gulls
• Wood pigeons
• Strangely quite a few collard doves which I didn't think migrated. This has been happening for a week and we've had roughly 20 flying over with only about 7 today.
• 4 cormorants
• A skylark- calling
• 12 pied wagtails
• 10 green finches- calling, making "jup" type call and weren't like the chaffinches.
• 6 chaffinches
• 5 meadow pipits
• 122 GOLD FINCHES- great count with numbers ranging from 1- 20+ all flying around the area.
• 7 FIELDFARES-flying over with the redwings (3,4)
• 1421+ REDWINGS- flying over with massive flocks ranging from 6-60+ with about 1000+ sighted before it rained in the hour and a half and only a few sightings when it was rainy.

My 12/10/13 Slimbridge WWT sightings. REDWING CENTRAL.

When getting to Slimbridge WWT at around 10:00 the mass of redwing was apparent as over a hundred birds flew over as soon as I got out of the car and went to the entrance.
Then, while I was waiting with a warden he said that there had already been 1000s of redwing flying over since 8:00. At least 400+ flew over when we headed off to a hide where we were making a fence out of willow for the small garden birds which feed at the feeders.

My Sightings
Vis Mis flying over (10:00- 12:30)

• 30+ meadow pipits
• 20+ pied wagtails although at least 70 were sighted between 8:00 and 12:00
• 5 skylarks
• 5 grey wagtails
• 1 mistle thrush
• 7 Golden plover- flew north together
• 1000+ REDWING
• 6 Siskens- 2 individuals alone and 4 with a redwing flock
• 1 Snipe- in with a redwing flock

A Look around the hides

• 100+ feral barnacle geese
• The White fronted geese
• 100+ wigeons
• 30+ teals
• 20+ pintails
• 5 shovelers
• Morhens
• Greylag geese
• 10+ shelducks
• Corvids
• Long tailed tits
• Great tits
• Blue tits
• Chaffinches

Afternoon vis mis between 13:30- 14:00

• 800+ REDWING- including 2 or 3 flocks of 100
• 10 FIELDFARES- together in a flock of redwing
• 1 Snipe- few alone south quite slowly.

The Wardens sightings

• An amazing total of 17,180 Redwing between 8:00 and 12:00 before it came out sunny when the migrating redwings would fly thousands of metres high up compared to when it was rainy with low cloud as they were sighted much lower. Also a few song thrushes, 300+ fieldfares and around 50+ siskins.

12/10/13 Garden Sightings. INFLUX OF REDWING CONTINUES.

With the redwings still flooding up the river our house got some decent numbers and even to make it more great we had a few fieldfares mixed in as well. They were all flying into the wind and calling a lot o each other.

Trees

• 2 blue tits
• House sparrows
• 2 robins
• A blackbird heard
• 1 wren- new individual
• Collard doves
• Gold finches
• 8 REDWING- (5,3) including a 1st winter individual showing great plumage.

Opposite house

• 1 lesser black backed gull
• 2 pied wagtails
• Feral pigeons
• 30+ starlings
• Collard doves
• Wood pigeons

Flying over (non migrants)

• Corvids- 2 magpies, carrion crows, jackdaws and rooks
• Black headed gulls
• Starlings

Vis Mis flying over (visible migration)

• 20+ gold finches
• 200+ common gulls
• 10+ pied wagtails
• 2 grey wagtails
• 6 meadow pipits
• 591 REDWINGS- 308 sighted in the morning with flocks ranging from 2- 40+ with most of the flocks being large.
• 5 FIELDFARE- 1st of the Autumn with the Redwing flocks.
• A few wood pigeons.

11/10/13 sightings. An Influx of REDWING.

With a change in wind direction from the north now there have been a lot of redwing but fewer fieldfare pouring into the Old Avon Area and Gloucestershire area with  9000 being sighted at Slimbridge WWT and thousands being sighted at Weston Super Mere- Aust cliff and another 14500 sighed downriver from Slimbridge around Aust.


My Redwing sightings

• 2 REDWING- over Dursley
• 3 REDWING- Over Cam Woodfields church
• 35 REDWING- Over Berkeley- (30+ and 5)
• 6 REDWING- flew over the house

Other rarer Migrants in the area

• 2 Snow buntings flew over Aust Warth (the 1st of the autumn for Severnside)
• 2 Jack snipe at Aust Warth with snipe
• 2 Ring ouzels at Aust Cliff

Clapton (South of Severn house Farm) 8/10/13 sightings- WRYNECK Still

With the WRYNECK still being down at Severn house farm on the seawall for it's third day now. I went to see it as I didn't get a good photo last time. On the fifteen minute drive down a very low flying raven was calling as we passed the Deer park and a wood pigeon was on one of the wires. When we got there, there was a lot of gulls feeding on the low tide and 3 grey herons squabbling over the best feeding places.
When we started walking down the sea wall going south I couldn't see the Wryneck until a small bird popped up on the fence. Although it wasn't the wryneck it was a Chat species. It was either a whinchat or a stonechat but with the sun right in our faces indentifying it was difficult so we walked on further. Even further than where the bird was reported on Sunday.
Suddenly we heard a meadow pipit on the lower bit of the sea wall and noticed there was two of them. I tried to get the opposite side of them to get a decent photo but when I got passed them another bird shot out from feeding and flew to where the two meadow pipits were. After taking a photo of a bird which walked differently from the pipits I said "WRYNECK." It was feeding with the pipits but then the pipits flew south and another bird shot out from the group of  birds and luckily it was a Whetear. She flew north.
The wryneck was surprised by our presence and flew onto a post. Then, as if it was a miracle, it came back down and started feeding on the lower part of the sea wall only about 2 metres away from us. We fell silent and watched as he came closer and closer until he was staring right into our faces. The cameras made noises as many photos were taken of this magical bird.
Two other birdwatchers arrived and the WRYNECK flew between the fence and landed in a few plants hidden from everyone. As a result, we walked back and heard a curlew, saw a black tailed godwit feeding distantly out on the estuary and even a redshank which were all nice to see. The chat species, or a new one, landed on the post on the fence. I was a Stone chat. I haven't ever seen one down here  before and it looked quite nice. Then, two whetears landed on the sea wall and watched us as we walked closer before flying down to the muddy rocks to feed.
The sun was shining and another three birdwatchers arrived at the scene bringing the total up to seven including us. It was fantastic and we shared our photos when we got back home. Surprisingly, his house is on the opposite side of Berkeley and on the roofs of the houses on his road I counted a total of eight pied wagtails all feeding in different places.

 What's that with the meadow pipit (infront)

 On the fence

 WRYNECK feeding extremely close

Whetear (male I think)



6/10/13 garden sightings.

Not as much as yesterday but still a very nice 31 species sighted.

Trees

• Great tit
• Blue tit
• 10+ house sparrows
• Magpie
• Corvids
• 2 robins
• 2 blackbirds- male and female but no continental birds just yet but they should be on their way with one being sighted yesterday with 6 blackbirds and even a RING OUZEL at Oldbury Power Station.
• 5 gold finches
• 1 Chiffchaff-in song for much of the morning but minimal in the afternoon and showing quite well in a few trees.

Opposite house

• Feral pigeons
• Corvids

Flying over

• 5 chaffinches
• 6 gold finches
• starling flock
• Common gulls
• Black headed gulls
• Lesser black backed gulls
• 1 cormorant
• Sparrowhawk
• Buzzard
• 2 mistle thrushes
• 1+ Canada geese- 1 sighted but calls sounded like there was more.
• 24 Pied wagtails (1,1,1,1,1 possibly same individual, 2, 8,9)
• 13 meadow pipits (1,1,2,2,2,1,1,1,1,1)
• 2 linnet
• 2 skylarks
• 2 REDWING- together

Clapton (Berkeley) south of Severn house farm. WRYNECK.

After seeing a report of a WRYNECK in Berkeley I looked on twitter and found out a local birder had sighted this bird at Clapton near the Berkeley Power Station. After about  10 minutes of the report I shot off down to the farm and started heading south. I accidentally scared a whetear which was also feeding along the sea wall and it flew down onto the mud of the River Severn. There was also a grey heron,  but he flew down river and rooks and jackdaws from the farm flew together looking for a good place to feed.
 Unfortunately, I scared the wryneck from the path about half the distance from the sighted place but didn't realise it was actually the bird as I've never seen one before so I thought it was just a meadow pipit. I walked on a little further an was pleasantly surprised that a common sandpiper flew from some of the mud and flew on a little further. This was quite unusual as in past years there have been winter records of these birds in the pill but this individual was probably a late migrant. I walked on until I found the birdwatcher who had sighted the bird but said that it flew into the hedge.
 Half an hour later, I was still there. The birdwatcher had long gone and another birdwatcher came who I recognised. "The Gloster Birder." After another quarter of an hour an oystercatcher was sighted and black headed gulls, a flock of 10 wigeon, a cormorant and 4 mallards a flew past with at least 15+ meadow pipits and 10+ linnets overhead.
 I walked back and saw the whetear again but then from the small bushes on the sea wall the WRYNECK flew up. He was very wary and after taking some awful shots, because of my batteries, he flew into the crop field and I ran back to the Gloster Birder and we walked up back to the spot where I saw this amazing bird. He phoned some other birdwatchers, took some digiscoping photos as the bird flew up onto the fence from the field. At this point I really had to go and as I walked closer to this great bird it flew up on to the post and flew back down south. I called to the gloster birder and he walked back down to where the bird had landed. Fortunately the bird was sighted on the last corner before going to the car and that had meant he'd amazingly flew unseen North to where I refound him. I passed two other birdwatchers and got in the car and went home. Two buzzards which I saw on the way up had gone and I felt quite relieved with what I had just seen.
This evening I went back down at about 17:00 but this time I cycled. On the way down herring gulls were feeding in a field but when I got there, there were only 50+ black headed gulls with a few common gulls. I cycled a little further down and a curlew flew from the mud,  a cormorant was drying his wings out and the sun was right in my eyes. I hadn't seen the wryneck but when I cycled back I passed a birdwatcher and sadly still didn't see the wryneck so I feared the worst and believed it had flown off.
On the way back I heard a chiffchaff in the bushes but as I passed a few fields I could hear meadow pipits and pied wagtails. When I went passed the Berkeley deer park a buzzard flew quite close and landed in some trees but the best bird I think was a coal tit calling in the little village of Ham near Berkeley. 
When I got home I sighted a few species of gulls flying over but the light was fading and to summarise the day it was very good with some excellent encounters.      

 Whetear

Awful record shots of the WRYNECK but showing extremely well with sightings down to 2 metres but due to my cameras batteries the photos came out awful.

Clapton- Berkeley power station brief evening walk sightings 5/10/13

I usually go down the path at high tide to see the variety of birds especially waders but today it was low tide and there weren't too many birds

Whetears

1. 5 teal
2. 2 wigeon
3. 2 WHEATEARS- one stage we had 4 but they migrated off after a few weeks, then we had another two different individuals but they only stayed for about two days and then there were these two individuals.
4. Black headed gulls
5. Common gulls
6. Lesser black backed gulls
7. Greater black backed gulls
8. 2 curlews
9. 1 grey heron
10. 15+ starlings accidently spooked from the reedbed which they started roosting in
11. 2 reed buntings
12. 4 mallards
13. 10+ meadow pipits
14. 1 cormorant
15. 1 robin 

5/10/13 Slimbridge WWT sightings

Very nice to see so much variety of birds.

Holden Tower

• 100+ feral banacle geese
• 30+ small waders
• 50+ meadow pipits in one flock
• 50+ greylag geese
• 8 WHITE FRONTED GEESE- Extremely close at one stage as they flew in together from the Zeiss hide lake/pool and joined the greylags when no other birdwatchers were about but were very wary and ended up flying out onto the estuary which was quite distant.

Knott pool

• 1 NUTHATCH- I think they are quite rare on the reserve but could be wrong

Tack piece

• 50+ greylags
• 50+ teal
• 3 shovelers- 2 male and a female
• 1 buzzard
• Black headed gulls

Zeiss hide

• 100+ black tailed godwits
• 50+ lapwings
• 1 Ruff
• 10 pintails
• Other ducks
• 10+ Canada geese
• 100+ rooks
• 1 COMMON CRANE- wild, unringed and has been here for a few weeks now.

Rushy pool

• 30+ teal
• 10+ pied wagtails
• 1 grey wagtail
• Morhens
• Coots
• Cormorants
• Corvids

Bird feeder hide

• 5 chiffchaff
• 1 female blackbird
•  5 blue tits

Photos

 Teal

 Shoveler

 White fronted geese

 Pintail female

WILD COMMON CRANE

An imprssive 36 species of birds today- 5/10/13 garden sightings including REDWING.

A very productive day for birds with an amazing 36 species sighted. Best time was in the morning but then in the afternoon a few more species were sighted.


Opposite house

• Feral pigeons
• Corvids
• Starlings
• Wood pigeons
• Collard doves

Trees

• Blue tit
• 2 robins
• 10+ house sparrows
• 10+ rooks
• 10+ jackdaws
• Carrion crow
• 11 gold finches
• 2 male chaffinches
• Male and female blackbird

Flying over

• 7 gold finches
• 30+ common gulls
• 30+ black headed gulls
• 5+ lesser black backed gulls
• 10+ herring gulls
• 20+ starlings
• 1 great spotted woodpecker
• 1 grey heron
• 1 raven
• 1 buzzard
• 1 sparrowhawk
• 10+ wood pigeons
• 8 pied wagtails (2,4,1,1)
• 1 cormorant
• 1 mistle thrush
• 13+ grey wagtail (2,1,10+) Unusually high amounts of grey wagtails all flying over and calling together.
• 2 skylarks- flew in together but 1 was getting frantically mobbed by a pied wagtail before flying north.
• 17+ meadow pipits flying over in twos but so many and at a range of heights.
• 20+ swallows- Flew very quickly over in the afternoon with the house martins.
• 10+ house martins- Flew very quickly over with the swallows but strange as they all came over in about two minutes and were only sighted in the afternoon and none in the morning.
• 2 linnets- (1,1)
• 1 REDWING- 1st of Autumn flew very quickly North East

Unidentified birds

• 1 small thrush species either a REDWING or SONG THRUSH. Most likely redwing which is very good.
• 2 birds flying like great spotted woodpeckers but looked liked mistle thrushes.
• An unidentified pipit or lark. Looked a lot like a TREE PIPIT but not sure as it didn't call.

CROSSBILLS AND "SMALL FINCHES"+ 3/10/13 garden sightings

Pretty good for Berkeley but absolutely awful for the area which I check. Redwing have been sighted along the river at Oldbury Power Station and Sharpness but none for us yet. Last years 1st of the Autumn sighting was on the 8/10/12 but hopefully I will see at least one before this date.

Garden sightings

Opposite houses

• The Lesser black backed gull in winter plumage on the same house as yesterday and whenever he flew off he was back on the same house in the same spot.
• Feral pigeons
• Collard doves
• Wood Pigeons
• Corvids
• Starlings
• 2 magpies

Trees

• 1 blue tit
• 3 magpies
• Corvids
• Collard doves
• Wood pigeons
• 11 gold finches
• House sparrows

Flying over

• 4 swallows
• 2 meadow pipits
• 100+ gulls of at least 5 species- herring, common, black headed, lesser and greater black backed gulls.
• 2 pied wagtails
• 1 buzzard
• Corvids

Berkeley interesting sightings

• A "small finch" flock of about 10 flew around and landed in some trees by the local school. They were small and stayed at the top of the trees before flying off. Didn't see any markings on the wings due to it being quite dark in the morning- probably SISKENS with LESSER REDPOLL
• 1 Meadow pipit
• 2 COMMON CROSSBILLS- juvs flew south over the Marina's (pub) together. Was bigger than a goldfinch which flew over just after and looked a little bigger than a green finch but wasn't obviously green and wasn't calling. 1st sightings in Berkeley for me.
• No sign of Ring necked parakeet although no further looks for the bird.

Other interesting birds

• 8 white fronted geese at Slimbridge WWT
• Bewick swans should reach Slimbridge WWT by the 20th and are, at the moment, in Holland  due to the Easternly  winds we had.

SPARROWHAWKS AND RING NECKED PARAKEET- 2/10/13 garden sightings

A reasonably good day although being cloudy and with a heavy rain shower. Sightings, as usual on a week day, any time after 15:40.

Trees

• 1 blue tit
• 11 gold finches
• 1 wood pigeon
• 2 collard doves
• Corvids

Flying over

• 50+ common gulls (morning) with a few more in the afternoon
• Black headed gulls
• Lesser black backed gulls
• 1 buzzard
• Corvids
• 2 female sparrowhawks
• 2 swallows
• Starlings
• 10+ wood pigeons
• 1 pied wagtail
• 1 grey wagtail- Flew over calling

Opposite house

• 1 lesser black backed gull in winter plumage
• Starlings
• Feral pigeons

Garden

• 1 SPARROWHAWK female- 1st for garden and landed on the fence. Two flew in very fast and one landed on our fence while another female landed on next doors trampoline. 
  
   Next doors female which was on their trampoline net
  
  
  
  

Our female/juv bird

Other news

• 1 RING NECKED PARAKEET- 1st I've ever seen in Berkeley but flew from, I think, a bush and flew very fast past the hall and over a charity shop before disappearing. I didn't further look for the bird but hope it'll make an appearance around our garden.

1/10/13 sightings from garden

Garden sightings

• 3 swallows (2,1)
• 1 fly over female sparrowhawk
• 1 Mistle thrush flew over- 1st of autumn
• Usual gulls flying over
• Usual birds in general

Other interesting sightings

• Yellow browed warbler at Chipping Sodbury
• Now 7 White fronted geese at Slimbridge WWT- Numbers reach 100+ in winter and so far there was 2 for about a week but on the 1/10/13 build up to 5 and then 7.
• 1 Mistle thrush- Berkeley

Swallows- Where are they coming from? 30/9/13

Over the past few weeks migration for swallows has been extremely good with 510 being our peak on Saturday 28th. Just down the road from Berkeley is Sharpness and over the same period of time they have recorded no fewer than 1000+ per day with some being lower compared to a few which have been higher. I think they are migrating over from Wales and because Sharpness docks is on our closest points where the River Severn's at it's most tightest I think they're flying over at this point. The reason I believe this is that when they come over there was a North Easterly wind .This would be pushing all the swallows more South towards Berkeley and this is why I believe we've had such high numbers of migrating swallows because the wind has pushed them a across the Severn and down a little to Berkeley where I'm seeing them. Berkeley has a by- pass for cars travelling from the docks and past Berkeley and this road is being used as a guide for most swallows as in the mornings I've seen at least 25 in about 2 minutes there where I think they're coming across and heading in a straightish line along the by- pass. Due to the wind they would be pushed closer to Berkeley and this backs up my point that the reason I've seen so many swallows is because they're being blown across the land from Sharpness to Berkeley and right over my house.

Garden sightings

• 5+ house martins feeding briefly before flying East

Other interesting sightings in the area 

• Yellow browed warbler at Chipping Sodbury in the middle of Quarry Lane in trees by the bridge.

29/9/13 Garden sightings

Much quieter than the 28th with minimal birds seen.

Opposite houses

• Normal feral pigeons
• Corvids
• Starlings
• 10+ wood pigeons
• Collard Doves

Trees

• Starling flock
• Corvids
• House sparrows
• 1 Chiffchaff- Yet again in song but only sighted in the morning and as it came out nice in the afternoon it probably continued on it's migration South.

Flying over

• Gulls
• 2 buzzards
• 1 female sparrowhawk
• 2 linnets- females

Other sightings

• 4 redwing- 1st of the year in Gloucestershire sighted at Sharpness  so hopefully they will be seen soon in a week flying over in the day and the night as they, as with many other migrants, are nocturnal migrants.
• 8 Redwing- Painswick beacon
• 1 COMMON CRANE- Unringed wild individual which has been around for a week or two now
• 1 RICHARD'S PIPIT- Lydney 1st in Gloucestershire since probably 2004 and an amazing find although frustratingly just over the river.

28/9/13 New passage- Pilning Wetlands (glos) afternoon sightings

New passage

• 30+ dunlin
• 100+ wigeon
• 50+ teal
• 5+ shovelers
• 100+ black headed gulls
• A few curlew
• 1+ CURLEW SANDPIPER- juv, 9-12 being sighted down there around the 28th.
• 1 LITTLE STINT- possible feeding alone but could be the one which was on the wetlands

Pilning Wetlands

• 11 lapwing
• 10+ ringed plover
• Little grebes
• 4 mute swans
• 20+ teal
• 10+ pintail
• 1 buzzard
• 7 magpies
• 1 raven
• 1 ruff- possible in flock of lapwings which got scared by the buzzard
• 1 LITTLE STINT- juv possibly in the lapwing flock which got scared and flew high East.
• 1 GARGANEY- juv feeding on the pool by the first box on Northwick Warth if headed from New Passage along sea wall to Aust Warth.
  
   Wigeon in multiple plumages (New Passage)
  

GARGANEY juv

Not seen exciting individuals

• 1 GREAT WHITE EGRET- 1st patch tick-  Surprisingly 1st ever for the Severnside area seen flying over Northwick Warth.Gloucestershire has had at least 20 and the Avon Area which are right next to Severnside has had about 7 Severnside should have got a great white egret years ago.Also the two breeding pairs in 2012 and again in 2013 in Somerset maybe one of the reasons why on has visited.
• 1 JACK SNIPE- 1st of year on Northwick Warth. Didn't see on visit due to the secretive habits of these birds.
• 1 LAPLAND BUNTING- 1st of the year and didn't see it as it was sighted in the morning and flew off before I got there.