Yesterday morning birds of note Inc 8 x Shelduck (Inc 6 X fledglings), 1 x Yellowhammer, 2 x Snipe, 4 x Oystercatcher, 1 x Little Egret, 1 x Sedge Warbler

Very brief visit to the Eastern screen today to find... a very horizontal screen!

Not a great view over the Flash (the foliage seems to have grown about 6 feet since my last visit) but I did manage to see lapwing, a couple of shelduck, some coot and mallards, as well as house martin, chiffchaff, willow warbler and reed bunting. On my walk to/from the Rothwells Farm development, there was a buzzard overhead, a few lapwings about the second/third field, around 30 wood pigeon on the fourth field, 2 lesser black-backed gulls overhead and a kestrel sitting on the roof of Lightshaw Hall.

Yesterday, 2+ Redshank, adult Mediterranean Gull flew west, drake Teal, 3 Shoveler.

Info thanks to Phil Rhodes

Hepatic female Cuckoo at Dover Lock yesterday, also a brood on Dover Basin and of Shelduck in Lightshaw Hall Flash.

Info thanks to Phil Rhodes

Visit to eastern screen from Rothwells Farm housing development yesterday afternoon, approx 3.45-5pm.

Fields to the Flash:

1 yellowhammer, 1 kestrel, 4 skylark, many lapwings incl. juvs on fields

Lightshaw Flash:

2 coot, 13 mallard, 5 shoveler (2m 3f), 2 shelduck, 3 Canada goose, 1 feral domestic goose, 3 black-headed gulls, 1 redshank. 1 oystercatcher, 3 lapwing, 2 sedge warbler, 1 willow warbler, 1 chiffchaff.

Late news for yesterday mid-morning:

Greenshank

2+ Redshank

7 Shoveler

4 Sedge Warbler

6 Reed Warbler

7 Whitethroat

Male Yellowhammer

2 Blackcap

Info thanks to Phil Rhodes

3.45pm - 6.30pm, beautiful sunny late afternoon/early evening.

Abram Flash:

A few pairs and individuals each of mallard, shoveler, tufted duck; approx. 10 Canada geese, 2 mute swan, great crested grebe pair, 6 lapwing, 2 coot, 1 moorhen, 1 male reed bunting, 1 grey heron. 

2 Sedge warbler, 1 blackcap and 2+ chiffchaff heard on path to Lightshaw Flash; in the field to the south of the side-path, approx 100+ wood pigeon, approx 20+ lapwings, a few collared dove, mallards, Canada geese and pheasant, 2 oystercatcher, 1 carrion crow

Lightshaw Flash: a few reed bunting, 1 magpie, approx 5 greylag geese with a feral domestic goose, a few shoveler, lapwings (flying to and from the field), 2+ mallard, 1 stock dove, 1 cormorant, 2 black headed gull, 2 commic terns, 2 greenshank, 1 redshank, 1 moorhen, 1 buzzard over, 1 little egret, 1 kestrel on grassland by the east screen.

Lightshaw Lane had 1 yellowhammer, and fields to the south of Lightshaw Lane were being ploughed, with a few lapwings flying about.

55 species seen today inc

2 x Shelduck

1 x Shoveler

1 x Pochard

1 x Goldeneye (f)

54 x Lapwing

1 x Redshank

1 x Little Egret

1 x Raven

46 x Redwing

31 x Fieldfare

1 x Yellowhammer 

At Lightshaw Hall Flash this late morning, first summer Hobby present again, singing Yellowhammer and 9 juvenile Grey Partridges.

Info thanks to Phil Rhodes 

Today a 1st summer Hobby was hunting around midday then perched up. Red Kite drifting slowly west at 12:35, Yellowhammer, 5 Skylark and a Shelduck.

Info thanks to Phil Rhodes

Late news for yesterday afternoon:

Yellow Wagtail

Hobby flew in from the west

Yellowhammer

Pair of Shelduck with a brood of five

Redshank

16 Lapwing 

Info thanks to Phil Rhodes

Lesser whitethroat singing just east of the track to hide along canal at Lightship, also a single Willow Tit and Gadwall with 11 chicks on the canal.

Info thanks to Andy Makin  

A single Dunlin present and a Little Egret flew north this evening. Also 4 adult Redshank and one chick, 4 Teal and two Shoveler broods.

Info thanks to Phil Rhodes

13:45 to 16:00 - From Plank Lane Lift Bridge to both Lightshaw Flash viewing points & back along canal to Lift Bridge.

Apart from a few Canada Geese & Mallards Lightshaw Flash was devoid of anything significant, but the surrounding fields & farmland made up for it with :-

Jay x 6;  Kestrel;  Buzzard;  Grey Heron & 2 Cormorant over,  Bullfinch x 3 ~ 2F & 1M,  Goldfinch;  Linnet;  Greenfinch x 2,  Fieldfare x 2;

             Pied Wagtail;  Pheasant x 10 ~ 7F & 3M.

Also a field at the side of Lightshaw Flash had a nice covey of 12 Red-Legged Partridge but they were very distant so pics very poor.

No sign of the Mandarin Duck at Pennington Wharf Marina. 

13:30 to 15:45 - Dover basin to Lightshaw Flashes & back.

4 Pochard, 10 Teal over, 2 Cormorant over, Grey Heron, 4 Jay, 5 Pheasant, Long-Tailed Tits, Female Reed Bunting, Female Bullfinch,

20 Redwing with a single Fieldfare in tow, Cetti's Warbler seen & heard, Sparrowhawk chasing a Robin, Buzzard, Kestrel, 40 Pink-Footed Geese

over & a white Goose with a grey & white Goose which I was informed by a local birder was a Farmyard Goose/Canada Goose hybrid.

This morning:

Dover Basin: 34 Shoveler, 2 Wigeon, 2 singing male Cetti’s Warblers (one a young male), 2 Willow Tit, 5 Chiffchaff, 2 Willow Warbler and a single Restart along the western end.

Lightshaw Flash: 18 Shoveler, 2 Wigeon, one singing male Cetti’s Warbler, 6 Chiffchaff, 2 Blackcap

Drake garganey on Lightshaw Flash this morning.

Willow warbler 1 singing in birch along canal above the flash

Pintail 2 (pair)

Shoveler 9

Two pintail and nine black-tailed godwits this morning.

4 Pintail this morning, 2 drakes & 2 females. Also 8 shoveler, 2 shelduck, 21 tufted ducks and 8 goosander. 

14.30 walk from Plank Lane swing bridge to Dover Lock, then back to Pennington Flash via Lightshaw Lane and Byrom Hall Wood arriving back at canal bridge 17.30 ,was very quiet only things of note were
2 Drake Pintail, 5 Goosander - Dover Lock
4 Shelduck - Lightshaw Flash
1 Buzzard over Lightshaw Flash
2 Willow Tit on path heading towards road, near fenced shooting warnings and 30+ Redwing as you approach the house.

Re Wryneck, - any sighting updates for today/ Sunday morning would be greatly appreciated please.

Regards,

Mike P.

Wryneck showing in fields and hedgerows just west of the Dover Lock pub this morning.

Use the small wooden bridge to cross the brook by the pub to view the area.

Info thanks to Rob Thorpe

Great White Egret at Lightshaw flew low west at 08:15, possibly towards Dover Basin.

Info thanks to Rob Thorpe

Great White Egret on Lightshaw Hall Flash this morning.

Info thanks to Rob Thorpe

This morning, 2 wheatears in the ploughed field off Lightshaw Lane.

This morning,

Grasshopper warbler 1 reeling from the footpath that drops down from the canal

Wheatear 3, two in the ploughed field off Lightshaw lane and a third in the horse paddock nearest to the eastern viewing screen.

Redshank 1 

This morning, 4 black-tailed godwits and three redshanks on Lightshaw Hall flash, and a whitethroat in subsong next to the eastern viewing screen.

2 Avocets still present on Lightshaw Hall Flash this evening, also 3 Black-tailed Godwits.

Info thanks to Phil Rhodes

Gadwall,snipe,black tailed godwit, wigeon ,shelduck,shoveller,mallard, grey heron ,swallow, sand Martin, buzzard, woodpigeon, greylag goose canada goose, cormorant, mute swan, teal ,pheasant, lapwing,chiffchaff singing, willow warbler singing 1 seen,pied wagtail coot ,moorhen, redshank, and a pair of plovers little ringed/ ringed too far away to see eye ring.

Circuit around both viewing screens: 0700-10.30

Highlights:

Male redstart (from eastern viewing screen), black-tailed godwit x 3, redshank x 3, goosander, shelduck x 2, oystercatcher,  sand Martin, sparrowhawk,  yellowhammer,  linnet flock, blackcap,  teal, Greenwich

12 till 2pm,6 /4/21, pochard, gadwall, shoveler,redshank, kestrel, buzzard ,lapwing, starling, pheasant, snipe,black tailed godwit,greylag goose,Canada goose,black headed gull,lesser black backed gull ,sand martin,  wren ,robin,swallow ,garganey pair,coot ,moorhen, mallard,blackbird, woodpigeon.magpie.tufted duck ,pied wagtail.

Two garganey (male and female), 4 black-tailed godwits (thanks to another regular) and a redshank this morning.

1 Black-tailed godwit this morning. 

This morning:

Garganey 2 male and female

Redshank 1

Goosander 5

Willow warbler 1 singing