To say the pond has been windy today would be the understatement of the year with prolonged spells of over 30mph and a number of gusts in the excess of 40mph and by god don’t my little legs no it. Me and Trog are buggered fighting the elements all day.
I was just leaving for the pond when the eclipse male Lesser Scaup was relocated near the valve tower. When I arrived there were very few duck in toft bay and not much to see until 2 Rock Pipit flitted along the shoreline near the toilet and as I checked out the pipits along toft bank there was at least one Yellow Wagtail still present and 6 House Martin and a lone Swallow over Thurlaston village with another 3 Swallows seen by the visitors centre later.
From the vantage point of farborough spit I spotted a distant male Common Scoter and watched a wind surfer who was having the time of his life flush all the Tufted Duck that were off draycote bank.
After coffee I was just starting to get grips with the Lesser Scaup that had returned to grays barn when a couple of walkers flushed the duck as they ambled down to the shoreline – luckily it went in to toft bay where it spent most of the afternoon. After a prolonged lunch in the Dun Cow at Dunchurch I decided to return but missed the probable Manx Shearwater seen distantly by Steve Valentine so hopefully other visiting birders had better views and report it. Because of the conditions decided to stay for the roost hoping that a Sab’s Gull might appear and struggled to get decent views as the gulls were tossed about and not helped by the arrival of a Great Skua which took great delight in beating them up looking for scraps.
Other birds seen were 2 Green Woodpecker, 2 Great-spotted Woodpecker, 4 Long-tailed Tit, Raven, Buzzard, Grey Wagtail, 6 Gadwall and 56 Teal. Also a Weasel.
Leaches Petrels off the north west coast today so keep an eye out tomorrow – me and Dave will.
Richard
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