A huge 223 Lesser Black-Backed Gulls & 23 Herring Gulls at the back of the horse fields next to Douglas Park at the moment, probably from the tip nearby. Hard to scan for anything rarer due to trees blocking the way.

Did a full survey of the whole area today to count the numbers of each bird:

01) 2 Collared Doves
02) 1 Male Chaffinch
03) 8 Blackbirds (5m/3f)
04) 1 Magpie
05) 5 Woodpigeon
06) 6 Starlings
07) 5 Feral Pigeons
08) 1 Kestrel
09) 1 Song Thrush
10) 2 Greenfinch
11) 1 Pied Wagtail
12) 2 Robins
13) 1 Black-Headed Gull
14) 1 Lesser Black-Backed Gull
15) 2 Swallow
16) 3 Swift
17) 3 House Martin
18) 5 Jackdaw
19) 2 Carrion Crows
20) 3 House Sparrows
21) 2 Wrens
22) 1 Blue Tit
23) 1 Great Tit
24) 1 Coal Tit

Not bad for such a small site (takes less than 10 minutes to get round it all)

-- Edited by Kristian Wade on Tuesday 26th of May 2015 04:23:48 PM

Currently well over 20 species here at Douglas Park.

Regular sightings of Greenfinch and Chaffinch
Kestrels in the fields
Swallows and House Martins over fields
Occasional Chiffchaff or Willow Warbler
Large colony of House Sparrows (3 Nests)
Starlings (3 Nests)

Plus lots of usuals

Lots of signs of summer today including the following:

1 Chiffchaff
1 Willow Warbler
2 Swallows
2 Song Thrush one singing
8 Blackbirds
First chicks this year are robins
Blue tits and carrion crows on nests

A full tour inspecting possible breeding birds produced lots of the usuals but nothing unexpected.

8 Starlings are all breeding birds.
11 House Sparrows with two nests already being made.
A pair of Chaffinches are still round.
A pair of Goldfinches were collecting twigs.
A pair of Woodpigeons were together in a tree.
The Carrion Crows have moved nests to the largest tree after last years nest was chopped down and they seem to be sitting on eggs at the moment.
A single Collared Dove was in an Ivy covered bush, but the pair have not been seen together recently.
2 Robins are present but at other ends of the park.
Only 1 Blue Tit, 1 Dunnock and 1 Wren - all singing
A total of 9 Blackbirds - 7 Males (3 Singing) and 2 Females.

Plus the other usuals.

6 Canada Geese, 2 Mallards and a Grey Heron all flew over this morning. Also 150+ Black Headed Gulls, 20+ Jackdaws and all of the usuals.

With the fields mostly flooded, most of the action was on the park today.

2 Collared Doves
6 Woodpigeons
5 Goldfinch
2 Chaffinch
2 Blue Tits
1 Great Tit
2 Dunnocks
1 Wren
3 Robins
4 Blackbirds
8 Starlings
4 Feral Pigeons

The only remaining birds on the fields were:
42 Starlings
12 Black-Headed Gulls
1 Herring Gull
4 Jackdaws

Late news from yesterday when a large mixed Gull flock landed on the field for most of the afternoon. They must have arrived from the nearby tip. The flock consisted of:
37 Black-Headed Gulls
32 Herring Gulls
16 Lesser Black-Backed Gulls
3 Common Gulls
plus 40+ Starlings and 25 Jackdaws mixed in with them.

A new record of 52 Jackdaws on the main field.
Also, 18 Woodpigeons, 3 Pied Wagtails, 1 Lesser Black-Backed Gull, 23 Black-Headed Gulls, 4 Carrion Crows and the stars 2 Mallards (male and female) on a small patch of flooded grass.
On the park, the male Chaffinch is still singing with 2 Robins, 7 Blackbirds, 20+ Starlings, a few Woodpigeons, 1 Dunnock and a Collared Dove for company.

Late news from yesterday evening but at 5:30pm 98 Starlings performed their aerobatic display before roosting in a tree next to the field. I thought the roost would have stopped by now but there are still over 40 birds each night.

Thought I should give this site its own topic as the area is quite busy at the moment. It is basically a large area of fields used for horse grazing with a small area of parkland with about twenty mature trees and bushes.

A visit from 3:15pm - 3:40pm produced the following:

42 Jackdaws (possibly more, its hard to count them unless their in the air - all were on the main front field)
13 Woodpigeons (feeding with the latter, very well camouflaged)
3 Pied Wagtails (the winter flock of about twenty has dwindled as they disperse to breed)
12 Feral Pigeons (on the houses that surround the park)
1 Male Chaffinch (on the park)
28 Black-Headed Gulls (also on the field)
1 Lesser Black-Backed Gull (ordering the previous about)
Blackbirds, Robins and Dunnocks all singing from the park