Month: September 2026

West end

494 Greylags,373 Canadas.

1 Pintail,11 Teal,2 Gadwall,1 Shoveler,13 Moorhens,3 Snipe,1 Lapwing,1 Mute Swan,5 Chiffchaffs.

Treecreeper in car park.

West end with Linsey this morning.

Ducks-66 Mallards,11 Teal,5 Shovelers,2 Gadwall & 2 Mandarins.

Geese-481 Greya,353 Canadas & 18 Egyptians.

Only waders on show were 3 Common Snipe & 1 Lapwing.Kingfisher showed briefly on stick in front of hide.3 Jays,11 Meadow Pipits,23 Starlings flew West,3 Mistle Thrush and 11 House Martins East.

Raptors,we had a Hobby which went south,3 Kestrels up together probably juveniles,2 Red Kites went east together and 7 Buzzards plus Sparrowhawks noted.3 Chiffchaffs.18 Long tailed Tits around car park.

Only gulls a single Great black backed gull,5 Black headed gulls,4 Herring Gull and an immature Lesser black backed gull.

Raven over Heronry,and hundreds of Jackdaws,Rooks,Stock Doves around the fields.

Whillet’s

3 Stonechats in 2 nd meadow,1 Greenfinch,1 Blackcap,1 Bullfinch,3 Song Thrushes & 2 Chiffchaffs in hedges.

Butterflies in cloudy conditions

1 Clouded Yellow,7 Small Coppers,1 Speckled Wood.

Mid afternoon with David at the west end, Juvenile female Goshawk landed in trees opposite after flying low across the reservoir.

Only other raptor was a male Sparrowhawk.

2 Snipe, 1 Lapwing, 11 Teal, 1 Tufted duck, 311 Canada Geese and 300+ Greylags.

At least 42 Stock doves flying around fields opposite hide.

WeirWood from 8:00hrs was completely shrouded in thick fog. So I decided to walk the north bank. Well worth the effort with Marsh Tit, several Chiffchaffs, Reed Bunting, 4 Jays making quite a din and Great spotted Woodpecker. A nice Lesser Whitethroat was around the picnic site plus to my delight a Lesser spotted Woodpecker seen here mid level in the trees for some 5 minutes around 8:30hrs. A nice find and my first for a while, picked up calling. A Green Woodpecker rounded off a nice trio plus a Spotted Flycatcher in the field near the Admirals Bridge Road. On my return it was still very misty but in the c/pk a Goldcrest and 2 Coal Tits were added to the tally. Much better than yesterday’s efforts.

Late morning short visit noted the following. West End: 1 GW Egret, 1 Lapwing, 9 Moorhen, 3 Buzzard, 6 Grey Heron, 250 Canada Geese, 145 Greylag + 3 Hybrids, 9 Egyptian Geese, 3 Herring Gull, many Mallards but no other ducks noted. Few Grebes, Cormorant & BH Gulls.

At Whillet’s: 2 Ravens & 40+ Jackdaw.

West End this afternoon with Alastair. Peregrine low over putting up the corvids and lapwings, 3 Shovellers, 5 Teal, Tufted Duck and 100s of geese.

West end with Linsey this morning

1 Black headed Gull,2 Buzzard,243 Canada Geese,4 Chiffchaffs,1 Clouded Yellow,7 Egyptian Geese,10 Great crested Grebes,1 Great spotted Woodpecker,13 Grey Heron,242 Greylag Geese,20 House Martins,2 House Sparrows,3 Jays,10 Lapwings,1 Little Grebe,49 Mallard,6 Moorhen,2 Mute Swan,43 Rooks flew SW,16 Meadow Pipits flew SSW,3 Swallow,1 Stonechat,2 Teal.

Whillet’s Reedbed

1 Water Rail,1 Reed Bunting,1 Reed Warbler,1 Sedge Warbler & 10 Chiffchaffs in willows plus 3 Chaffinch a Nuthatch and some Long tailed Tits,4 Buzzards.

Butterfly survey

1 Brown Hairstreak
2 Clouded Yellow
1 Comma
10 Common Blue
6 GVW
1 Peacock
21 Small Copper
1 Small Heath
6 Speckled Woods

25 Common Darters
2 Southern Hawker
12 Migrant Hawker
12 Willow Damselfly’s

West end this afternoon,2 Hobbies together,Red Kite,Raven & Buzzard.
1 Snipe,1 Common Sandpiper & 1 Lapwing, single Little Grebe was asleep drifting around.
201 Canada Geese & 167 Greylags, flock of Starlings W and a Collard Dove over.
2 Tufties noted

Dam end
Very busy, still GBB Gull,1 Herring Gull,6 Black Headed Gull,9 Egyptians,4 Swallow,10 House Martins and 10 Starlings W.

WeirWood at the west end midday was fairly quiet with 11 Lapwings, 4 Tufted Ducks and 4 Mandarins. A highlight was a female Goshawk over Pintail bank. 2 Greenshank were on the canoeist beach but that was about it other than 100’s of geese, 2 Teal and a Common Sandpiper.

At Whillett’s 2 Sedge Warblers, Reed Warbler, 3 Greenfinches and a male Reed Bunting.