Monday 5 September 2011

38 mile an hour winds batter Wilstone but nothing new arrives.....



MONDAY 5 SEPTEMBER

Southwesterly winds gusting up to 38 mph crossed the Chilterns Region today sending several fully laden trees crashing to the ground. As evening progressed, the wind was accompanied by some heavy showers, with temperatures reaching 17 degrees C.

Once again I was hoping for some action today but it did not happen. There were no new arrivals at Tring Reservoirs........

THE TRING RESERVOIRS (HERTFORDSHIRE)

STARTOP'S END RESERVOIR: excellent mud in the SW corner of the reservoir with 2 Little Egrets feeding there but no waders. The reservoir rollcall consisted of Great Crested Grebe (6 birds), Mute Swan (7), Whooper Swan (pair), Greylag Geese (9), Mallard (a whopping 225), Gadwall (1 adult drake), Shoveler (2), Tufted Duck (29), Northern Pochard (1 female), RED-CRESTED POCHARD (eclipse pair), Coot (208) and Sand Martin (22).

TRINGFORD RESERVOIR: not a single Little Egret was on Wilstone because of the wind but 10 were roosting in trees at the west end on Tringford; also 1 Great Crested Grebe, 7 Grey Heron, 14 Tufted Duck (mostly juvenile) and a further 88 Coot.

WILSTONE RESERVOIR

Nothing new I am afraid with most birds concentrated in the NW corner - Great Crested Grebe (11), Atlantic Canada Geese (102), Mute Swan (34), Mallard (226), Gadwall (10), Wigeon (5), Common Teal (125), Northern Shoveler (major increase to 110) and Coot (516). Many of the duck including both Gadwall and Wigeon are now moulting out of eclipse.

Waders today involved 137 Lapwing on Drayton Lagoon, the juvenile male RUFF, just 1 COMMON GREENSHANK, 3 Common Sandpipers, the long-staying juvenile LITTLE STINT (see Jim Middleton's fabulous image above) and just 7 RINGED PLOVERS, 3 of which were clearly tundrae.

A juvenile HOBBY was scattering birds at frequent intervals, 41 Jackdaws were in trees by the car park and a juvenile Common Whitethroat was feeding in scrub in front of the hide.

There was no sign of the last remaining Common Tern today

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