Record number of COOT at Shardeloes

TUESDAY 27 NOVEMBER


Lots of rain again today and then, after it had moved through, an increasing and very cold Northerly wind set in

SHARDELOES LAKE (BUCKS)

What I believe was a record number of Coot present on the lake - no less than 202 birds

Not much else to speak of though - the resident pair of Mute Swans, 8 Mallard, 8 Gadwall, 3 Tufted Duck, 6 Little Grebes and 2 Grey Heron.

GATEHOUSE WAY INDUSTRIAL ESTATE, AYLESBURY (BUCKS)

I was present from 1055 to 1134 when 27 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS repeatedly flew in and out of the tall tree. Now comprising at least 5 first-winters but berries disappearing fast - concentration is now on the third tree and more precarious to view; also several Fieldfares today and a lone Redwing, sadly the latter getting run over.

WATERMEAD LAKE, AYLESBURY (BUCKS)

All around Watermead was sodden and flooded - never seen it like that before - the Fitness Centre was completely surrounded by water. I did a count of the birds present, comprising 8 Great Crested Grebes, 6 Mute Swans, 218 Atlantic Canada Geese, 1 Greylag Goose and 74 Mallard. One of the adult Mute Swans was ringed - orange '277'.

Nearby, on flooded fields, 8 Common Magpies and 5 Meadow Pipits noted

On the WENDOVER BYPASS (BUCKS), a female Bullfinch flew across the road

Just 1 Little Egret

Just 1 Little Egret around at the moment in the Chess Valley, feeding in the stream adjacent to Bois Mill

At Bois Mill Pond today, 3 Mute Swans in attendance - two adults and a first-winter

BULLFINCH in gardens and mobile WAXWINGS still in area

At Chaffinch House this morning, female BULLFINCH and 2 Coal Tits at the feeders, the former the first record since July.....

Those wonderful trilling WAXWINGS now starting to invade our area......


Following Steve Thompson's flock of 16 at John O'Gaunt's Golf Course, near Potton, present for much of the week, Jim Gurney discovered 5 today in nearby Sandy. These happened to be showing well and performed all afternoon, allowing at least MJP, Mark Thomas & family, Martin Stevens and I to obtain excellent views and photographs. They were frequenting the few berry bushes just inside the perimeter fence of Marshalls Building Merchants in Sunderland Road Industrial Estate and were easily viewable from the car. Apart from feeding on the berries, they were also flycatching and drinking in the puddles, The flock consisted of four adults and one first-winter. Mark Thomas also bumped into another flock of at least 14 as they flew over Sainsbury's supermarket car park in Biggleswade.

In BUCKINGHAMSHIRE today, WAXWINGS reached Aylesbury (10 near Jewson's on Gatehouse Lane), Great Missenden (fire station area) and Chesham (still 7 in Bellingdon Road), whilst 3 were still being seen in Old Amersham (along Mill Lane still)

Just to put these sightings into context though, an astonishing 1,300 Waxwings remain in the Kyle of Lochalshe area in Highland Region, including a single flock of at least 550 birds. So, in essence, many more hundreds to come this winter when the berries are exhausted further north,,,,,

Garden NUTHATCH

First NUTHATCH in my garden this year, stealing Sunflower Hearts on a quick visit

Voting day

THURSDAY 15 NOVEMBER


It was pretty dense fog here in the Chilterns until mid morning but then skies cleared and a pleasant day followed. No sign of any precipitation and temperatures climbed to 7 degrees C.

On a sad note, I lost one of my local Badgers overnight, the animal killed by car along Flaunden Bottom at TQ 005 000

As soon as the fog cleared, I drove down to my local polling station in CHORLEYWOOD and lodged my vote for Tim Starkey. On the cricket ground there, no less than 228 Black-headed Gulls and 1 first-year Common Gull were feeding - the largest number I have ever seen congregated there (see images below). I also saw this beauty.......

Unprecedented numbers of Black-headed Gulls on the cricket pitch - 228 in total

I followed up the sighting of 5 WAXWINGS at Cassiobury Park but failed to find them and then drove northeast to AMWELL........

,,,,,,where I was greeted by a smug-looking Bill Last asking me for my permit. He and his partner-in-crime had seen both juvenile BEARDED TITS two hours hence but they had flown off from by the Watchpoint to the much denser and extensive area of reedbed further north. As to be expected, I failed to see them.

It did give me an opportunity though to finally see the GREATER SCAUP - a first-winter drake that had been present for three weeks or more. As Bill acknowledged, it was now growing up and starting to look like a Scaup - with neat grey/black vermiculating on the scapulars and shoulders, some darkness to the head, a bright yellow eye and black nail restricted to the tip of the bluish-grey bill. A nice bird and showing well in Tumbling Bay (from the Watchpoint, walk north for 700 yards to just beyond the lock gates and then cut in to the right on a well-trodden track and view to your right).

I also noted 26 Greylag Geese, 8 Mute Swans, just 66 Shoveler, 3 Wigeon (1 drake), just 8 Teal, 6 Shoveler, 4 WATER RAILS, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Cetti's Warbler and 2 Reed Buntings. A flock of at least 82 SISKINS was encountered, with 8 LESSER REDPOLLS mixed in, for a while the flock visiting the track to drink on the puddles; 4 BULLFINCHES too

Alan Reynolds and I stood chatting for some time at the Watchpoint and I was very pleased to see the hard work that Alan and others had put in to managing the NW corner of the main lake - superb work - hopefully to pay off with some nice waders.

BLUEBILLS survive

For 3 days, the Valley was blessed by the appearance of two juvenile BLUEBILLS (7-9 November), mingling with the wintering flock of Tufted Ducks in the Chess Valley. They were part of an influx of birds into the area

WAXWINGS - some lovely shots from Tony Davison