EGYPTIAN GEESE breed literally yards from local Recording Area

WEDNESDAY 27 JULY

There were a few light rain showers this morning but generally it was dry and warm. The heavy cloud cover eventually dissipated later in the afternoon. Wind was mainly light.

There was some minor wader passage during the morning, with a Eurasian Curlew and 2 Icelandic Black-tailed Godwits briefly at Tyttenhanger GP and an arrival of 3 Common Greenshanks at Wilstone. Steve Rodwell also had a very early migrant juvenile MARSH HARRIER fly south through Wilstone early afternoon

BEACONSFIELD M40 SERVICES (SOUTH BUCKS)

Thanks to a call from Dave Cleal, I discovered a new birding site this afternoon. There is a landscaped lake just south of the services that I had been previously unaware of and I was amazed to find a flock of 14 EGYPTIAN GEESE on there - an adult pair with 12 youngsters - literally just yards outside of my local Recording Area. One of the juveniles was a pale-headed variant. There was also a single Moorhen and a single female Tufted Duck on the lake, as well as a juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker, Common Magpie and 8 juvenile Great Tits in the vicinity. No fewer than 13 Pied Wagtails were in the area (mostly juveniles), whilst a superb area of weeds and scrub held a large mixed flock of Greenfinches (45) and Goldfinches (18).

SHARDELOES LAKE (BUCKS)
(with Kevin Holt)

This was my first visit to Shardeloes in nearly two months - and most satisfying was seeing a family of SPOTTED FLYCATCHERS at the west end of the lake (two adults feeding three juveniles).

Great Crested Grebe (3 adults still present, with one of the adults still tending this year's sole surviving youngster - now well grown)
Little Grebe (pair at west end)
Grey Heron (3 juveniles)
Mute Swan (just the male present - and no sign of the female and 6 cygnets)
Atlantic Canada Geese (8)
MANDARIN (female present; KH had seen her accompanying two ducklings on 6 June)
Mallard (39 present, plus two females with tiny ducklings - 2 and 5 respectively)
GADWALL (female with 5 out of 8 surviving young)
Tufted Duck (female with 4 ducklings)
Coot (55 counted; two active nests still of second broods)
Common Kestrel (female on the cricket ground)
COMMON KINGFISHER (1 by the island)
Great Spotted Woodpecker (1)
Green Woodpecker (2)
Barn Swallow (22 hawking for insects over trees)
Common Treecreeper (family party)
Common Chiffchaff (5)
Great Tit (4 juveniles)
Long-tailed Tit (8)
SPOTTED FLYCATCHER* (pair feeding 3 juveniles in Willows)
Nuthatch (1)
Goldfinch (adults feeding young)

LITTLE CHALFONT (BUCKS)

Still 8 noisy Common Swifts in the vicinity of my house