Author: Linsey Gooding

West End:- Common Tern, Red Kite, 6 Mandarins, the Great Crested Grebe was still sitting in the narrows. Dam End:- 2 Red Kites, 2 Ravens, an adult Great Black-backed Gull dwarfed the Black-headed Gulls that numbered 172, 2 adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 3 Common Sandpipers, Redshank on the freshly cleared dam. The pair of Common Terns still look like they are nesting on the aerator. In the car park 3 Blackcaps, a couple of Goldcrests and a small number of Chiffchaffs, some Swifts with House Martins and a Sand Martin, a Hobby along the north bank, male Kestrel and male Sparrowhawk.

Dam End:-65 Black-haded Gulls, 1 Blackcap heard, 5 Common Buzzards, 38 Canada Geese, 2 Canada x Greylag hybrids, 4 Chiffchaffs, 1 Common Sandpiper, 2 Common Terns nesting on pontoon plus family of 5 dropped in to feed including 3 juveniles, 8 Egyptian Geese, 2 feral Pigeons, 1 Garden Warbler, 3 Goldfinch, 1 Great Black-backed Gull, 21 Great Crested Grebes, 3 Grey Heron, 12 Greylag Geese, 2 Herring Gull, 2 House Martin, 1 Kestrel, 7 Lapwings, 6 Long-tailed Tits, 5 Magpie, 14 Mallard, 1 Mandarin, 1 Marbled White butterfly, 19 Pied Wagtail, 1 Purple Hairstreak butterfly, 4 Ravens, 1 Red Admiral butterfly, 1 Red Kite, 2 Sparrowhawks, 2 Stock dove, 7 Swallows, 11 Swifts.

West End:- from dawn flock of 11 Swifts, several Mandarins, Little Egret and a Great-crested Grebe was still sitting in the narrows.
Dam End:- 3 Common Sandpipers, 115 Black-headed Gulls including a few juveniles and 2 Grey Wagtails. On the north bank 7 Lapwings and 2 Gadwall with the Mallards. 3 Common Terns, Great Egret flew from the bushes along the north bank and headed north at 6:30, a male Peregrine flew south, more Swifts, some House Martins.

West End:- 14 Great Crested Grebe (4 nests), 1 Mandarin, 19 Greylag, 39 Canada Geese, 3 Canada/Greylag hybrids, 1 hybrid Goose (seen with Canada Geese but only half their size with a white neck, black cap, and small bar similar to a Bar-headed Goose; also some similarities with a dark phased Snow Goose ),4 Black-headed Gull,  1 Common Tern, 1 Pied Wagtail.
Whillet’s:- 1 Buzzard, 1 Stock Dove, 2 Reed Warbler, 2 Whitethroat, 1 Blackcap, 3 Chiffchaff (warblers mostly heard), 1 Raven flyover.  1 Brown Hawker Dragonfly.
Butterflies:   1 Red Admiral, 45 Meadow Brown, 18 Ringlet, 1 Comma, 2 Small White, 3 Marbled White, 2 Large Skipper, 5 Small Skipper, 2 Gatekeeper, 1 Holly Blue.  Also, 1 Six-spot Burnet Moth, 10+ Cinnabar Moth caterpillars on Ragwort.

Whillet’s:-12 Small Skipper,16 Large Skipper,1 Large White, 1 Small Copper, 1 Comma, 4 Marbled White, 1 Gatekeeper, 62 Meadow Brown, 31 Ringlets, 1 Six Spot Burnet, 6 Grass Snake, 1 Common Toad, 2 Common Frog, 1 Water Shrew, 2 Brown Hawker, 1 Southern Hawker, 1 female Black-tailed Skimmer, 1 Blue-tailed Damselfly, 2 White-legged Damselfly, 40+ Azure Damselfly. 1 Longhorn Beetle.

West End:- at dawn, Little Egret on Pintail Bank, a few Mandarin.
Dam Rnd:- 57 Black-headed Gulls including the first juveniles of the summer, 4 Common Sandpipers on the dam, pair of Common Terns on the aerator with a few more around. An adult Great Black-backed Gull, Red Kite early on, 5 Jays including 3 juveniles, Blackcap, 4 Swifts, male Green Woodpecker on the dam, Sand Martin and a Marsh Tit in the car park.

West End:- 13 Greylag Goose, 2 Mallard, 15 Great Crested Grebe, 1 Stock Dove, 4 Common Woodpigeon, 32 Black-headed Gull, 1 Great Black-backed Gull, 26 Great Cormorant, 11 Grey Heron, 2 Common Reed Warbler, 13 Barn Swallow, 2 Common Chiffchaff, 1 Eurasian Blackcap, 1 Eurasian Wren, 1 European Robin, 1 Dunnock

Dam End:- 3 Common Sandpipers, 2 Common Terns still nesting on pontoon, 27 Black-headed Gulls, 2 Herring Gulls, 1 Kingfisher, 4 Mandarin, 9 Mallard, 1 Moorhen, 2 Sand Martin, 5 Swallow, flock of 42 Starlings flew east, 2 Mute Swans flew west, 27 Canada Geese, 6 Egyptian Geese now fully fledged and flying, 37 Greylag Geese + 1 Blue morph type snow goose hybrid with something else? 2 Green Woodpeckers feeding on grass slope behind dam.

West End:- Osprey at 13:05 briefly, a few Swallows, House Martins, Sand Martin, a few Common Terns.
Dam End:- Common Sandpiper, 12 Swifts, a few Common Terns and the Osprey again, 39 Black-headed Gulls, Great Black-backed Gull, female Sparrowhawk.