NEW YEARS EVE 2014
The last three days have seen heavy
overnight frosts, with temperatures dropping down to as low as minus 8 degrees.
As a result, many of the local waters have largely frozen over, certainly in
part...
Yesterday afternoon, David Bilcock
photographed a GREAT GREY SHRIKE in bushes adjacent to the Grand Union Canal,
half way between Slapton and Grove Locks, near Whaddon Farm. There was no sign
of it today unfortunately.
DB also had a flock of 5 GOOSANDERS on
Marsworth Reservoir first thing this morning - all 5 spooking readily and
quickly moving to Wilstone, before flying off south.
I did a full inventory later in the morning,
the freezing conditions seeing a marked arrival of wildfowl, as well as an
exceptional 85 Great Crested Grebes.....
On WILSTONE, 54 Great Crested Grebe, 5
Little Egret, 71 Sinensis Cormorant, 1 Little Egret, 8 Grey Heron, 3
Mute Swan, just 1 Canada Goose, 36 Gadwall, 140 Shoveler (a year high), 340
Common Teal, 320 Wigeon, 170 Pochard, 377 Coot and 3 Common
Goldeneye
At STARTOP'S END, 1 Mute Swan (4BED), 21
Canada Geese, 26 Great Crested Grebe, 5 Little Grebe, 5 Wigeon, 3 Teal, 31
Pochard, 3 Shoveler and 198 Coot, with a few Redwing and Fieldfares feeding on
the berries on the north bank and 12 House Sparrows in conifers by the Angler's
Retreat and an additional 8 by the Wood Carving Studio.
Very little on MARSWORTH, other than the
drake Gadwall, 5 Mute Swans (including pair 4ABK and 4ABL), 1 Pochard, 3 Great
Crested Grebe, 2 Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, 2 Teal, Water Rail and an adult
Lesser Black-backed Gull.
A flock of 83 Woodpigeon was roosting in
trees at the back of TRING SEWAGE WORKS, with TRINGFORD adding 2 Great Crested
Grebe, 2 Little Egret, 9 Grey Heron, the family party of 8 Mute Swans, 24 Teal,
18 Tufted Duck, 10 Pochard, 180 Coot, 84 Black-headed Gull, an adult Common
Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Song Thrush, 5 Redwing, Goldfinch and several
Common Blackbirds.
At least 124 Common Teal remained in
PITSTONE QUARRY, but little else of note in there, while SHARDELOES LAKE was 90%
frozen - 59 Coot, 8 Little Grebe, 19 Common Gull and Green Woodpecker being the
highlights.
A few images from recent days.......drake Teal, Pied Wagtail in the garden, Robin, Redwing (lots around at moment) and Fieldfare...
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