MONDAY 5 JANUARY 2009
SHARDELOES LAKE
Virtually all frozen but in the one remaining open patch at the west end were gathered 1 Little Grebe, the family group of 6 Mute Swans, a pair of Gadwall and 46 Coots. A pair of MANDARIN DUCKS was standing on the ice.
AYLESBURY
On the outskirts of the town, two RED KITES were flying together just NE of the A413 opposite Hideaway Farm at SP 854 097
WHITCHURCH
Just north of the town and west of the A413, one field held 45 Skylarks - my first of the year
FOXCOTE RESERVOIR
(1200-1300 hours; with John & Ruth Ward)
The redhead SMEW (discovered earlier by Rob Hill) was still present, keeping to the overhanging vegetation and trees on the North bank at SP 713 365. It was EXTREMELY elusive, rarely straying away from the edge and feeding in one area of unfrozen water.
With so much ice everywhere, it gave me an ideal opportunity to get an accurate wildfowl count, yielding -:
Great Crested Grebe (8)
Mute Swan (11 adults)
Common Teal (212 - my highest count there this winter)
Eurasian Wigeon (204)
Shoveler (5)
Gadwall (6)
Pochard (22)
Tufted Duck (52)
*RING-NECKED DUCK (adult drake showing well)
COMMON GOLDENEYE (10, including 3 drakes)
*GOOSANDER (adult drake)
*WATER RAIL (showing well on the edge of the ice)
LECKHAMPSTEAD: pair of BULLFINCH by junction at SP 730 372
GAYHURST MOTORWAY PIT/MILL FARM AREA
(No sign of drake Pintail)
Just one patch of the Motorway Pit was ice-free with wildfowl 'crammed' on it, including 93 Mute Swans, 7 Greylag Geese (my first of the year), 11 Canada Geese, 200+ Eurasian Wigeon, 11 Common Teal, 4 Gadwall and 20 Pochard.
At least 36 Red-legged Partridges were commuting between the three strips of maize 'game-cover', with passerines including 23 TREE SPARROWS (at SP 842 435) east of Mill Farm, 21 Yellowhammers and 32 Chaffinches. A single Mistle Thrush and 5 Fieldfares were just NW of Mill Farm.
OLNEY WATER MEADOWS (SP 894 507)
Once again, thanks to Simon Nichols superb directions, I located the non-naturalised goose flock feeding on the grass immediately SE of the River Great Ouse, SE of Olney Church. It contained 58 BARNACLE GEESE (all unringed), 18 Atlantic Canada Geese and an adult SMALL CANADA GOOSE, almost certainly a 'Cackling-type' (has anyone any images of this bird I can use to identify it?)
MARSWORTH RESERVOIR
Despite being almost completely frozen (2 Great Crested Grebes surviving on a very tiny open patch), one EURASIAN BITTERN was still present, roosting in one of the cut-strips of reeds. It then moved out of view into the reedbed. One WATER RAIL was squealing.