GREAT WHITE EGRET still - and more duck counting

TUESDAY 18 DECEMBER


Another dry day with temperatures reaching just over 6 degrees C

LITTLE CHALFONT (BUCKS)

A first-winter Pied Wagtail was a new arrival to the garden today but nothing much else of note

CHENIES BOTTOM AREA (BUCKS)

Joined Steve Blake and Stuart Wilson in the Chess Valley and checked several sites for the GREAT WHITE EGRET but to no avail. Adam Bassett then phoned to say that he had relocated it closer to Chenies village, feeding on the kink in the Chess 50 yards east of Chenies Place. It remained here with up to 6 Little Egrets for most of the day, wading in deep water on occasions. Only once did it stray to the brook, when a Grey Heron flushed it.

Two WATER RAILS, Common Kestrel, 2 LITTLE OWLS, 2 COMMON KINGFISHERS, 2 Grey Wagtails, 3 LESSER REDPOLL and 10 SISKINS were all noted in the vicinity, whilst SB saw and heard the 2 resident MARSH TITS in Baldwin's Wood.

PLEASE PARK SENSIBLY IN CHENIES VILLAGE AND WALK THE SHORT DISTANCE TO THE VALLEY - YOUR ASSISTANCE IN THIS IS WELL APPRECIATED BY THE LOCAL RESIDENTS.

On to duck counting, with the COLNE VALLEY in mind.....

TILEHOUSE PITS NORTH AND SOUTH (BUCKS) (TQ 037 900 and 029 899 respectively)

Tilehouse North held 1 Great Crested Grebe, 32 Tufted Duck and 36 Coot whilst Tilehouse South had 2 Great Crested Grebes, drake Mallard, 8 Tufted Duck and 5 Coot.

DENHAM PLACE (BUCKS) (TQ 039 871)

A single Little Egret, 2 Egyptian Geese, 11 Mallard, 1 pair of Gadwall, 1 Coot and 6 Moorhens counted, whilst across the road, on the Misbourne (TQ 035 872), a Little Grebe, a Moorhen, 6 Common Teal and a COMMON KINGFISHER

LEA QUARRY PIT, DENHAM COURT DRIVE (BUCKS) (TQ 048 862)

A sizeable new gravel working yielding 15 Coot, 23 Tufted Duck, 2 Moorhen and a single female Northern Pochard, whilst on the neighbouring GOLF COURSE POND (TQ 048 865), Grey Heron, single Sinensis, 1 Mallard, 4 Gadwall, 5 Tufted Duck, 4 Coot and 4 Moorhens.

The grassy fields to the north of the Misbourne Valley and north of Old Rectory Lane held 45 Atlantic Canada Geese, whilst GERRARDS CROSS NORTH POND today held 23 Mallards.

CASTLEMAN'S FARM CHICKEN FIELDS (BUCKS) (SU 927 880)

I finished off SW of Beaconsfield where Graham Smith had counted 106 Egyptian Geese a couple of afternoons ago. Large numbers were still present in the fields NE of the farm - 85 being my best count; also no less than 45 Red Kites lingering in the area, attracted to the chickens.