randombirder

Precious little to stoke up the excitement for the autumn season.  A group of 36 Lapwing flew through with two deciding to take a break on the pits. A count of 28 Wigeon were present along with two Little Egret .  A walk round Broom East saw groups of Skylark with around 25 counted.  Five Yellowhamer and five Reed Bunting were flighty on a mild breeze. Four Swallow flew through.

Two trips today to the local - with a walk around the west side of Gypsy Lane that produced a Nuthatch and Treecreeper in the woodland. On the pits, the Garganey was still present along with a further increase of 30 Wigeon .  The Common Sandpiper , four Common Snipe and two Lapwing were predictably the only waders present. The evening saw a Kingfisher skimming low over the water, and a brief Water Rail on the far side from the watchpoint made an appearance before dashing nervously into cover.

Very little of note with only the remaining Garganey providing the only semblance of interest.  A high-count of 37 Teal and 11 Wigeon were increases on previous visits.  Two Shoveler were also present. A total of 11 Lapwing were grounded on the exposed mud, and a high count of four Little Egret were resting on the island.  Two Common Snipe were the only other waders present.

Another pleasant early autumn morning with the warm sun warming things up nicely. The long-staying Garganey was still present along with the small group of Wigeon (7). Two Common Snipe and the continuing Common Sandpiper were the only waders of interest. 

More interest this morning at Broom East when a juvenile Marsh Harrier appeared from the south and flew over the reserve heading off north.  It was seen again around 90 minutes later when a group of agitated corvids alerted me to its presence suggesting that it may have been feeding around the nearby fields. There was plenty of interest on the pits with my first Wigeon of the autumn, a group of eight feeding beyond the spit.  Wildfowl numbers were up with a count of 35 Teal counted across the reserve.  Two Egyptian Goose were new in presumably commuting across from Peacocks.   Four Common Snipe were feeding in the shallows, the water levels are particularly low at the moment, with a mobile Common Sandpiper there.   Late migrants included a Sedge Warbler flushed out of the long grass on the west side, two flyover Yellow Wagtail , a Swallow , single Willow Warbler , and around 30 Meadow Pipit . Around midday a surprise juvenile Ho...

After completing the Baldock 5km Rat Run, I headed over for an interesting morning at Broom that kicked off nicely with a dozy one-legged juvenile Spotted Redshank asleep in the bay.  A good local record and indeed a first in the county this year.  It was pretty dormant for a while, before waking from its slumber and hopping inelegantly around the muddy fringes.  I don't believe in miracles but one happened today when after around 5 mins, its second leg appeared and all was well in the world. A crowd of local birders assembled to enjoy this dashing and of course elegant wader, a first year bird en route to warmer climes. The wader interest didn't end there when shortly after connecting with the Spotshank, a juvenile Ruff appeared on the bund.  A double-take to make sure it wasn't the returning Pec.  It too is a scarce visitor to these parts. It was pretty lively out there.  Small groups of Lapwing flew into the pits numbering 42 in total accompanied ...

Dropped into Broom after a survey and the Pectoral Sandpiper was still present and slightly closer to the viewpoint then previous visits. There was a good selection for the hour spent there with the highlight being a Kingfisher that successfully fished from the pool, devouring its catch while sat on the muddy margins.  Not something I had seen before. Other highlights were a juvenile Little Ringed Plover scuttling around the muddy fringes, two Common Snipe , Common Sandpiper , four Lapwing , the Garganey , an increase to three Wigeon , and four Shoveler .

The day started with a wander through the local countryside.  It was incredibly relaxing, there was hardly a soul around, but equally not much in the way of wildlife.  Just two Whinchat held station along a hedgerow off the Wallington Road and six Yellow Wagtail over. Later at Broom, the Pec had relocated elsewhere, but the Garganey remained with a single Common Sandpiper , Common Snipe , and two Green Sandpiper .