Recording Area Annual Totals

97 Species in 2013, 99 in 2012, 94 in 2011, 108 species were recorded in 2010;



Friday, 20 September 2013

Another WHINCHAT


Don Stone and I saw this WHINCHAT in Chenies today, in the paddocks behind the Red Lion public house.

Monday, 16 September 2013

Shardeloes Lake on Saturday

My first visit in a while but 56 NORTHERN POCHARD on the lake was a surprise - the largest number I have seen this early in the autumn. Other duck present included a single TEAL, 26 GADWALL and 8 Tufted Duck, whilst the 3 Mute Swans, 2 Great Crested Grebes, 13 Little Grebes and 97 Coot were also noted. Otherwise, 40 Barn Swallows, 6 House Martins, Wren, 2 Common Chiffchaff, Jay, 3 Red Kite and an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull were seen.

Pictures to be added

Now a COMMON STONECHAT at Heronsgate


Male Common Stonechat (Alan Reynolds)

In exactly the same fields as last week at Heronsgate, Paul Lewis and I had a first-year male COMMON STONECHAT - the first in my Recording Area this year. Paul also had 4 NORTHERN WHEATEARS on the plough

Thursday, 12 September 2013

Chats still present at Heronsgate

Paul Lewis confirmed the continuing presence of the 3 NORTHERN WHEATEARS and 2 juvenile WHINCHATS at Heronsgate fields today...

Tuesday, 10 September 2013

WHINCHATS

TUESDAY 10 SEPTEMBER
The unsettled nature of the weather continued today with long spells of rain at times and a lot of heavy cloud. Temperatures struggled to reach 13 degrees C whilst the wind direction was a brisk Northwesterly. The theme today was of more passage waders...........
The pair of BULLFINCH visited one of the birdtables in my LITTLE CHALFONT garden early morning, the first visit in a while.
My first visit to WILSTONE RESERVOIR (TRING) today was from 0930-1230 hours - the highlight being the arrival of 3 'new' juvenile BLACK-TAILED GODWITS and a splendid performance by up to 5 HOBBIES. Despite a long vigil, there was no confirmed sightings of the Spotted Crake all day - just 4 WATER RAILS causing identification problems, particularly the juveniles.
The roll call was thus -:
Great Crested Grebe (16 counted, including an adult feeding two stripy juveniles)
Little Grebe (first-winter still present by hide)
Sinensis Cormorant (37, including 1-2 juveniles in a late Drayton Bank nest)
Grey Heron (8 including one with a small Pike - see images below)


Little Egret (10)
Mute Swan (41)
Greylag Goose (68+)
Mallard (116)
Gadwall (increase to 21)
Shoveler (75)
Eurasian Wigeon (58)
Common Teal (370) (but no sign of 2 Garganey nor of any Pintail yet)
Northern Pochard (38)
Tufted Duck (121)
Red Kite (1)
Common Buzzard (4)
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (1)
HOBBY (5 mobbing a Common Buzzard at one instance, with a lot of practising from the two juveniles)


WATER RAIL (4 - 3 juveniles - all along SE shoreline)
Moorhen (51)
Coot (772)
LITTLE RINGED PLOVER (juvenile still present)
Lapwing (215)
GREEN SANDPIPER (2)
COMMON GREENSHANK (still present and favouring 'crake' shore)
Common Snipe (5)
Black-headed Gull (300)
Common Tern (7)
Woodpigeon (75)
Stock Dove (1)
COMMON KINGFISHER (3)
House Martin (15)
Pied Wagtail (13)
Wren (1)
Robin (1)
Goldcrest (1 behind hide)
Great Tit (2)
Having still not seen a Whinchat in Hertfordshire this year, I then set off for BEECH FARM/ELLENBROOK FIELDS, where I carried out a thorough search. Acres of suitable habitat but just no birds to be found - no redstarts, warblers or chats. All that was of note were 3 Green Woodpeckers, Common Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, Nuthatch and 2 Common Chiffchaffs.
After just conversing with Alan Reynolds re: King's Mead Whinchats, Steve Blake came up with a better option - Paul Lewis had just found 2 near HERONSGATE - just within my immediate Recording Area. A quick call to Paul revealed their exact location and after a swift walk, I eventually located both birds (juveniles) along the fenceline at TQ 026 947, just under a mile NW of Junction 17 of the M25. On the opposite side of the footpath (at TQ 031 946), 3 NORTHERN WHEATEARS were together in the ploughed field. I successfully photographed all 5 birds (see below). Three Meadow Pipits were also in one of the meadows.



















A picture of the area

I then returned to WILSTONE RESERVOIR from 1800-1930 hours where just 2 of the 4 juvenile RUFF discovered by JT and Jeff Bailey mid afternoon were still present left of the Drayton Bank Hide. This makes this autumn's total 9 individuals - the largest influx in over 20 years. I photographed both birds (below). A 5th juvenile BLACK-TAILED GODWIT had also arrived, all 5 birds wading in shallow water in the NW corner. A YELLOW WAGTAIL was to the right of the hide, with 3 GREY WAGTAILS along the North Shore, whilst 30 Lesser Black-backed Gulls flew east at dusk.









 Exciting times currently at the reservoirs. What will tomorrow bring?

Tuesday, 3 September 2013

First WHINCHAT of autumn

Two hours spent in Pednor on Sunday proved rewarding, with the Whinchat still at Herbert's Hole. While along the top road a Hobby spooked a mixed flock of Finches and Starlings at the horse paddocks, where four Yellow and ten Pied Wagtails were present with a Spotted Flycatcher in the hedgerow. Short clip here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIZKuI-ip2A&list=UUCQm4GYvT4HTAfbmU_k7mKQ 
 
 Don Stone

Friday, 23 August 2013

Yesterday's LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL



A very quick response on my adult Lesser Black-backed Gull at Shardeloes Lake...

Ringing Details below _;

Heringsmöwe                      Larus fuscus
Ring-Nr. :     Helgoland     4305061                    Farbring:      H851
Beringungsdaten:  12.07.2009    Helgoland / Düne                                         54  o 11  ' N     7  o 55 ' E
                            nicht flügge              Gruppengröße :
         bisherige Wiederfunde
  Datum       Beobachtungsort              Koordinaten (in Grad u. Min.)                           Finder
        23.07.2009  Helgoland / Düne                   54 11  N  7 55  E Farbring abgelesen             Wischniewski
        01.08.2009  Helgoland / Düne                   54 11  N  7 55  E Farbring abgelesen             Wischniewski
        07.08.2009  Helgoland / Düne                   54 11  N  7 55  E Farbring abgelesen             Dierschke, J.
        22.11.2009  ESP - Madrid, Colmenar Viejo     40 39  N -3 43  E Farbring abgelesen             Gonzalez
        16.12.2009  ESP - Madrid, Pinto                 40 15  N -3 42  E Farbring abgelesen             Marchamalo
        05.01.2010  ESP - Madrid, Colmenar Viejo     40 39  N -3 43  E Farbring abgelesen             Juan
        02.05.2010  ESP - Madrid, Pinto                 40 15  N -3 42  E Farbring abgelesen             Gonzalez
        08.05.2010  ESP - Madrid, Pinto                 40 15  N -3 42  E Farbring abgelesen             Ruiz
        27.09.2010  GB - Surrey, Badshot Lea          51 14  N  0 45  E Farbring abgelesen             Duncan
        07.10.2010  GB - Gloucester, Bishop`s Cleeve 51 56  N -2  5  E Farbring abgelesen             Sanders
        11.10.2010  ESP - Coruna-Provinz, Valdovino 43 38  N -8  7  E Farbring abgelesen             Gutierrez
        03.06.2011  Helgoland / Düne                   54 11  N  7 55  E Farbring abgelesen             Jachmann
        11.07.2011  Helgoland / Düne                   54 11  N  7 55  E Farbring abgelesen             Dierschke, V.
        20.01.2012  ESP - Madrid, Pinto                 40 15  N -3 42  E Farbring abgelesen             Marchamalo
        25.01.2012  ESP - Madrid, Manzanares River 40 24  N -3 43  E Farbring abgelesen             Fernandez
        03.05.2012  Helgoland / Düne                   54 11  N  7 55  E Farbring abgelesen             Krug
        03.05.2013  GB - Buckinghamshire, Marlow    51 34  N  0 47  E Farbring abgelesen             Rose

        22.08.2013  GB - Buckinghamshire, Amersham 51 40  N  0 37  E Farbring abgelesen             Evans