TUESDAY 8 OCTOBER
With temperatures still high at around 18
degrees C, it was another pleasant day out in the field. Although largely
overcast, it remained dry throughout, with a moderate SW breeze.
No sooner had I got out of bed than Mike
Campbell had discovered a GREAT WHITE EGRET at WILSTONE RESERVOIR (TRING) -
either the Tyttenhanger GP bird relocating or that from Otmoor. Battling my way
through the Chesham morning rush-hour, I eventually arrived on site at 0830
hours - Mike informing me that the bird had disappeared! Just he and Stuart
Wilson had seen it. He had last seen it disappear into the NE corner of the SW
sector so I wandered down to the jetty and Cemetery Corner to check from there.
There was a much smaller number of wildfowl present than from yesterday,
although 16 NORTHERN PINTAIL was still a good number. Little Egrets numbered 14
and many were stalking together in the shallows - no GWE with them though. A
single SCANDINAVIAN ROCK PIPIT was in the bay thereabouts but flew quickly
towards the hide whilst 8 Meadow Pipits and a SISKIN flew overhead.
The Orchard area produced a feeding flock of
small birds including the 2 MARSH TITS that had so far eluded me all year, 12
Long-tailed Tits and 2 Common Treecreepers, whilst Great Spotted Woodpecker and
a pair of BULLFINCH were also added - but still no sign of the
egret.
I started to walk back along the East Bank
and just as I was about to reach the car park steps, I espied the GREAT WHITE
EGRET flying in from the east landing out of view in the same area as Mike
Campbell had earlier described. I rushed around to the Drayton Bank Hide and
after a while, Rose Collard picked it up walking out from the south side of the
spit. It afforded some excellent views for a short while before it was
repeatedly flushed by a Grey Heron. This behaviour continued all morning and
almost every time the GWE landed and proceeded to fish, it was hounded out of
town by the Grey Herons. They really didn't like it. Over the next hour, the
Great White touchdowned in almost every corner of the reservoir and had a
particular penchant for the isolated lagoon in the NW sector. I was able to take
a lot of images over this time but at 1145 hours, a Grey Heron suddenly hastened
its departure, chasing it from the old outfall all the way to over Stuart's
house in Drayton Beauchamp (Bucks airspace). We thought it had gone but just
over 15 minutes later, John Edwards phoned to say that it had returned to
Cemetery Corner. As expected, it was quickly moved on from here, and was forced
to return to by the hide - eventually walking the entire distance of the Drayton
Bank into the middle of the reservoir. It remained on show until 1448 hours, at
which time it was chased and forced to retreat to the channel to the right and
behind the hide. It was seen by about 20 observers before it disappeared, the
bird not reappearing before dusk (per Francis Buckle & Chris
Rockell).
Otherwise, little different from yesterday's
visit - the 2 juvenile RUFF, the 4 BLACK-TAILED GODWITS. the juvenile RINGED
PLOVER and the 28 EUROPEAN GOLDEN PLOVERS, a COMMON KINGFISHER, GARGANEY, a
female Sparrowhawk and a migrant juvenile Common Buzzard; Mute Swan '4AFC' was
espied again too.
Heading back home through CHESHAM, I checked
LOWNDES PARK LAKE again, where Atlantic Canada Geese have reached pest
proportions. No less than 540 of them are grazing daily, roosting each evening
at Stockers Lake (Rickmansworth). Muscovites numbered 7 whilst
foraging/scavenging Black-headed Gulls included a ringed adult from FINLAND
(3727833) and another from the UK (ST229111).
