16-12-19 Monday - Siberian Chiffchaff

Overcast and dull, damp after rain, rather chilly.  A light SW wind.  Big tides today and lots of WeBS counts as well as winter patch surveys.

Whooper Swan
2 Long-tailed Ducks today
Great White Egrets
Black-throated Diver, Great Northern Diver
Avocets, Jack Snipe, Golden Plover
Mediterranean Gull
Short-eared Owl
Siberian Chiffchaff, Firecrest
Black Redstart

Siberian Chiffchaff at Chew (George Stacey)

BRISTOL

Eastville Park:
Kingfisher.

Kingfisher in Eastville Park (Martin Tayler)

SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE

Oldbury Power Station:
WeBS count:  2 Mute Swan, 149 Wigeon, 48 Teal, 6 Shelduck, 3 Gadwall, 91 Mallard, 1 Water Rail,  51 Lapwing, 216 Curlew, 35 Turnstone, 55 Dunlin, 16 Snipe, 50 Redshank, 4 Stonechat, 1 Grey Wagtail.
1 Coot, 1 m. Black Redstart.

Aust Warth:
1 Short-eared Owl.

New Passage/Northwick:
Water Rail, Snipe, Kingfisher, Green Woodpecker, Blackcap, Goldcrest, Song Thrush, Grey Wagtail, Bullfinch.

Fieldfare (NSL-Birding)

Tormarton:
(WBS)  1 Pheasant, 2 Herring Gull, 1 Stock Dove, 6 Woodpigeon, 4 Jackdaw, 17 Carrion Crow, 2 Great Tit, 26 Skylark (in one field), 308 Starling, 4 Blackbird, 159 Fieldfare, 2 Redwing, 4 Robin, 55 House Sparrow, 2 Dunnock, 2 Pied Wagtail, 74 Meadow Pipit, 15 Chaffinch, 4 Goldfinch.

Stonechat female (NSL-Birding)

Old Sodbury:
(WBS)  1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Buzzard, 54 Herring Gull, 2000 Woodpigeon (a huge cloud), 2 Collared Dove, 1 Jay, 3 Magpie, 16 Jackdaw, 12 Rook, 10 Carrion Crow, 3 Blue Tit, 5 Great Tit, 3 Skylark, 2 LT Tit, 2 Wren, 37 Starling, 6 Blackbird, 67 Fieldfare, 1 Song Thrush (singing), 1 Mistle Thrush (singing), 3 Robin, 2 prs. Stonechat, 6 House Sparrow, 2 Dunnock, 2 Corn Bunting, 2 Yellowhammer.

Little Egrets in a soggy field (Mark Savage)

NORTH SOMERSET

Clevedon-Yeo:
4 Avocet, 1 Jack Snipe.

Yatton, Strawberry Line:
8 Little Egret (on very wet fields), 7 Chaffinch, 2 Bullfinch, 3 Greenfinch, 7 Linnet (unusual here - feeding on blackberry seeds).

Goblin Combe:

1 Sparrowhawk, 145 Woodpigeon, 2 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 1 Jay, 8 Goldcrest, 6 Coal Tit, 4 Nuthatch,

Worle:
1 Blackcap, 1 Firecrest.

Uphill:
WeBS count:  8 Canada Goose, 54 Mute Swan, 246 Shelduck, 35 Wigeon, 43 Mallard, 145 Teal, 2 Little Grebe, 1 Grey Heron, 2 Little Egret, 1 Cormorant, 1 Buzzard, 45 Oystercatcher, 300+ Lapwing, 24 Curlew, 180+ Dunlin, 250+ BH Gull, 2 GBB Gull, 1 LBB Gull, 20 Herring Gull (no sign of Black Redstart).


BELOW M4 & BANES

Bath - Lansdown:
ST7270:  1 Buzzard, 1 Sparrowhawk, 10 Golden Plover, 2 Stock Dove, 5 Redwing, 2 Bullfinch.

ST7169:  1 Buzzard, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Green Woodpecker, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, up to 5  Nuthatch, 1 Treecreeper, 1 Song Thrush, 1 Mistle Thrush, 2 Bullfinch, 1 Siskin.

Buzzard with attendant Magpies (NSL-Birding)

Newton St Loe:

WeBS count:  1 Whooper Swan, 6 Mute Swan, 39 Mallard, 11 Teal, 1 Tufted Duck, 1 Little Grebe, 11 Grey Heron,  3 Cormorant, 1 Moorhen, 3 Coot, 1 Kingfisher.

An excellent count of 52 species altogether, of which other highlights were:

4 Buzzard, 1 Sparrowhawk, 

190+ BH Gull, 120+ Common Gull, 2 Herring Gull, 20 LBB Gull.

12 Stock Dove, 6 Collared Dove, 1 Green Woodpecker, 3 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 1 Jay.

5 Coal Tit, 14 LT Tit,  1 Blackcap, 2 Goldcrest, 2 Nuthatch, 48 Starling.

4 Fieldfare,  45+ Redwing, 4 Mistle Thrush, 2 Stonechat,

2 Grey Wagtail, 6 Pied Wagtail, 25+ Meadow Pipit, 6 Bullfinch, 65+ Goldfinch.

Lapwing flock at Chew ('talkingtobears')

RESERVOIRS

Barrow Tanks:
ad. m. Long-tailed Duck, 1 juv. Black-throated Diver, 1 juv. Great Northern Diver , pr. Teal, 1 Little Egret.

Blagdon Lake:

WeBS count:  88 Canada Geese, 3 Mute Swan. 2 Shoveler. 11 Gadwall, 76 Wigeon, 74 Mallard, 1 ad. ♂ Pintail, 50 Teal, 157 Pochard, 419 Tufted Duck, 21 Goldeneye, 7 Little Grebe, 36 Great Crested Grebe, 3 Grey Heron, 1 Great White Egret, 13 Cormorant, 5 Buzzard, 3 Water Rail, 29 Moorhen, 1056 Coot, 4 Snipe, 1 Common Sandpiper (dam), 500 BH Gull, 250 Common Gull, 3 GBB Gull, 2 LBB Gull, 1 Green Woodpecker, 1 Chiffchaff, 2 Nuthatch, 4 Treecreeper.

Chew Valley Lake
10 Goosander, 1 ad Mediterranean Gull, 2 Green Woodpecker, 2 Nuthatch, huge Starling roost at the south end - maybe 10,000+.  Tawny Owl ringed by CVRS.

Siberian Chiffchaff at Chew (George Stacey)

Bittern Trail:
1 Siberian Chiffchaff by Bernard King hide.  4 Chiffchaff, 1 Treecreeper.

And a Common Chiffchaff at Chew, for comparison (David Hughes)

Heron's Green:
300 Lapwing, 1 Common Sandpiper, 2 Pied Wagtail

Moreton:
1 juv Long-tailed Duck, 13 Scaup, 2 Great White Egret, 1 f. Sparrowhawk, 2 Chiffchaff.

Herriott's - inc Pool:
4 Shelduck.

A Bullfinch always brightens up a dull day (Mark Savage)

Reports:  Jane Cumming, Alastair Fraser, Robert Hargreaves, Nick Hawkridge, Rod Holbrook, David Hughes, 'Lisegirl', Andy Middleton, Dean Reeves, Mark Savage, George Stacey, Howard Taffs, Brian Thompson, Keith Vinicombe, 'talkingtobears', blagdonlakebirds, CVRS, nslbirding, opsbirding, severnsidebirds, TBOSG