Friday, January 22, 2010

Friday 22nd January

Light drizzle fell throughout the morning making conditions rather damp and uncomfortable for my walk today. The light wasn’t great but despite the damp conditions the parks wildlife was very active.

5 Goldcrests were found, 2 Treecreeper were noted, a Coal Tit sang along Laurel Walk, 2 Nuthatch were seen, 4 Great Spotted Woodpeckers were noted, Bullfinch called from within the scrub around the Waterfall, at least 8 Redwing were seen, 3 Green Woodpeckers were noted, a flock of 16 Siskin were moving through the Alders by the footbridge along the Len, and 6 Jay were seen.




Water Rail


A drake Teal, 2 Water Rails, and a Little Egret were in the Pond area opposite the Waterfall, and 3 Grey Herons, 1 Water Rail, 1 Little Grebe and 1 drake Teal were spotted along the River Len.

At least 28 Pochards remained on the Lake along with 12 Tufted Duck, 3 Great Crested Grebes were also on the Lake, 2 Mute Swan were by the boating ramps, 3 Cormorants were present and 2 Little Grebe were catching food in the sheltered bay by the Waterfall. The gull flock consisted of at least 39 Black-headed Gulls and 8 Common Gulls.



Little Grebe

A chat with a local birder revealed he had seen a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker in trees along the River Len during a lunchtime walk last week. Its a relief to know that they have been spotted recently - they have become increasingly difficult to find in the park in recent years.

2 comments:

Greenie said...

Simon ,
That is a Water Rail shot , well done , and a second seen .
Nice to hear of the LSW , few and far between these days .
Now have my 100mm macro lens , just need some weather to try it .

Phil Sharp said...

Simon
Nice to hear you have lesser spotted in the park, i've never seen one, another good reason to get along there soon.

Next Event - TBA