Draycote Water this Morning - Wood Sandpiper & Whinchat - 27th August 2014

Wood Sandpiper

At the end of Toft Bank, I stopped to try and get some images of the Dabchicks and young. I failed as they refused to come out of the reeds! However, I briefly spotted a wader and reeled off some images as a fishing boat was baring down intent on getting as close to this area as possible! The bird was flushed and flew into Toft and I could not relocate it. Initially unsure of what it was, not getting a side view and noticing a white rump with barring of tail. It was a Wood Sandpiper and observed for less than a minute!

Wood Sandpiper

Below Farborough Bank, activity was intense with many small birds flitting in and out of the hedgerow. One caught my eye, perched high on the branches, but very mobile - a Whinchat!

Whinchat

Mute Swan - Power in the Wings - 27th August 2014

 

Draycote Water - 27th August 2014

Arrived at Draycote Water this morning before the gate had (officially) opened, meaning a wait until someone came along with the gate code, enabling me to sneak through before it closed again. I decided to walk to Toft and back with my 500mm. It was a pleasant sunny morning and some good birds gave themselves up!

A list of birds seen can be found at the end of this post but of note were: four Yellow Legged Gulls near the sailing boats; at least eight Yellow Wagtails along Farborough Bank; six Common Terns were on the fishing pontoons; six Little Egrets were in Toft Shallows; a Whinchat was below Farborough Bank, with two Tree Sparrows and two Meadow Pipits; a Lesser Whitethroat was in Toft; four Common Sandpipers flew into Toft and a Wood Sandpiper was at the end of Toft Bank before being flushed by a fishing boat.

Corvid v Kestrel

Coot

Yellow Wagtail

Tufted Duck

Great Crested Grebe

Todays Sightings:

Starling; Wood Pigeon; Rook; Blue Tit; Magpie; Robin; Carrion Crow; House Martin; Tufted Duck; Great Tit; Tufted Duck; Great Tit: Sand Martin; Green Woodpecker; Swallow; Mute Swan; Black Headed Gull; Coot; Pied Wagtail; Mallard; Greylag Goose; Cormorant; Moorhen; Yellow Legged Gull; Great Crested Grebe; Yellow Wagtail; Herring Gull; Common Tern; LBB Gull; Grey Heron; Little Egret; Pheasant; Canada Goose; Whinchat; Buzzard; Meadow Pipit; Swift; Dabchick; Wren; Chiffchaff; Lesser Whitethroat; Chaffinch; Tree Sparrow; Kestrel; Common Sandpiper; Whitethroat; Wood Sandpiper; Jackdaw.

Brandon Marsh - 20th August 2014

Kingfisher

The title of this post was going to be "Boring Brandon!" Arriving about 0630 it was so quiet with very little in the hedges or on the pools. To coin a phrase from Max Silverman, there was "nothing to point the camera at!". Things did however improve from mid-morning. Of note, Water Rail, three Common Terns, five Snipe on East Marsh, with one female Shoveler, and an Egyptian Goose dosing on the main island. Teal pool held Teal and two Green Sandpipers with West Marsh producing five Jays over, Nuthatch in the trees and after an hours wait, a Kingfisher. A list of sightings can be found at the end of this post.

Kingfisher

Green Sandpiper

Grey Heron

Willow Warbler

Red Fox

Tufted Duck

Mallard

Todays Sightings:

Magpie; Carrion Crow; Wood Pigeon; Jackdaw; Wren; Blackbird; Dunnock; Blue Tit; Water Rail; Black Headed Gull; Grey Heron; Common Tern; Great Spotted Woodpecker; Robin; Mute Swan; Lapwing; Coot; Moorhen; Mallard; Gadwall; Tufted Duck; Greylag Goose; Teal; Canada Goose; Shoveler; LBB Gull; Green Woodpecker; Snipe; Reed Warbler; Chiffchaff; Whitethroat; Nuthatch; Jay; Cormorant; Kingfisher; Green Sandpiper; Egyptian Goose; Starling; House Martin; Swallow; Great Tit; Greenfinch; Pheasant; Coal Tit; Swift; Willow Warbler.