Thursday 22 July 2010

WOOD SAND and GARGANEY still present - Thursday

WEDNESDAY 21 JULY

Another very hot day with temperatures soon rising to 23 degrees C; it was also dry and bright. I arranged to meet JT and Allan Stewart at Chorleywood and together we made our way to a few Hertfordshire locations in search of passage waders and then later much further afield, primarily with the intention of seeing the summer-plumaged adult FRANKLIN'S GULL in Staffordshire.......

TYTTENHANGER GP (HERTS)

Our first port of call was Tyttenhanger, where I was hoping yesterday evening's 3 Common Greenshank were still present. They weren't and I still haven't seen one in Herts this year... Undoubted highlight was the finding of an active TREE SPARROW nest.....

After almost breaking my leg in a hole, I recovered sufficiently to carry out a full census of the main birding pit......results

Great Crested Grebe (successful breeding with a total of 8 adults accompanied by two well grown juveniles, two smaller juveniles and a further single being attended to by a parent)
Grey Heron (7)
Mute Swan (pair with 5 cygnets and a further single cygnet)
Coot (39)
Oystercatcher (3 present, with 2 on the Fishing Pit)
Lapwing (43)
Common Redshank (1 juvenile on spit)
Black-headed Gull (105)
Common Gull (1 adult)
Lesser Black-backed Gull (1 adult)
Common Terns (7 roosting on spit, including 2 juveniles)
Green Woodpecker (2)
Sand Martin (13)
Pied Wagtail (adult and juvenile in horse paddock)
Song Thrush (1)
Western Reed Warbler (4)
Sedge Warbler (2 singing males)
Common Chiffchaff (1)
Rook (25 over)
**TREE SPARROW (successful breeding; a pair was feeding young in the hole of a tall Oak)

RYE MEADS RSPB RESERVE (HERTS)
(we joined Simon Knott in the Draper Hide)

The juvenile WOOD SANDPIPER was present for its third day and showing well on the mud of the scrape at the Draper Hide. There were also 5 GREEN SANDPIPERS present. We did not see the Garganey though, rather frustratingly.

Birds seemed to be everywhere on the scrape and pool with a superb array of breeding wildfowl - at least 63 Gadwalls, including 14 ducklings, 3 juvenile Northern Pochards and large numbers of Mallards. Little Grebes had done well with at least 3 fledged juveniles, whilst the gull roost held 97 Black-headed Gulls (including 17 juveniles) and 5 adult Common Terns. A pair of Coot was feeding 3 small young

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