30/6/08 Evening

Common Sand 1
LRP 2
Oyks 7
Tufteds 14
G C Grebe attempting to re build its flooded out nest
Common Terns have 2 chicks.

Good ridance to June.

Disasterous water levels following the deluge on Thursday, with no exposed mud whatsoever now. Not looking good, little ringed plovers completely washed out with none present today, just 1 Common Sand

Adult s/p MED GULL present this lunchtime till 1.45pm at least along with 7 Little Ringed Plovers.

evening with Simon and Melanie, nice to have met you Melanie.

7 Lr Plover
1 R Plover
4 Common Terns
1 Common Sandpiper

No Green Sandpiper, did you find it Simon?

Plus usual.

Dean.

23/6/08 Mid Evening, lots of decent shoreline and little islands emerging now.

Green Sand - still showing well in back corner (4th day)
1 s/p Dunlin still present
Ringed Plover 3
LRP 5+ all adults
Oystercatcher 8+
Tufted Duck 12 males
Little Grebe 1
Common Tern 3

-- Edited by Simon Warford at 22:03, 2008-06-23

5.30 ish with Warfy

green sandpiper
oystercatcher with 2 small young also 2 well grown young from 1st brood not far away.
3 common tern
lots of immature bh gulls (thank's Simon for sorting me out on them)
several pied wagtail
lr plover
5 heron
plus usual

1.30-2.30pm

mallard still with 7 ducklings
another mallard with 1
pair of GCGrebes with 2 well grown young. (1st time I've seen them)

oystercatchers just lazing about, recently they have been backwards and forwards with food for their 2 chicks. maybe the chicks have took off as they were almost fully grown a couple of days ago. or maybe they were just asleep in the warm sunshine!!

2 LRPlover
14 tufted (10 males)
2 pied wagtail
2 heron

plus usual

Pete Lane wrote:

---

Went fishing on Rumworth yesterday and watched a crow for a good 15 minutes as it picked up an object (I think it was a swan mussel but can't be sure) in it's claws, flew to a height of about 20 feet and dropped it. It did this at least 12 times until finally I heard a crack as the object hit a stone, (the bank is mainly dried mud with stones scattered about) this must have done the trick as it then landed, and (I assume) ate whatever it was and flew away.
Is this common behaviour?

---

Hi Pete,

Have only just seen this post - this brought to mind one of my field observations regarding Carrion Crows at Piethorne in 2005 - "On 29th September 2 birds were observed collecting freshwater bivalve molluscs from the shoreline of Ogden Reservoir and dropping them from a height onto exposed rocks at the side of the reservoir". I would guess that this type of behaviour is probably not too common locally but also that it might tend to go unnoticed anyway - as birders generally don't spend that much time watching such an unloved species!

Cheers,

Bill.

-- Edited by Bill Myerscough at 21:56, 2008-06-03

7.30-8.30pm

10 tufted (8 males)
8 GC grebe
3 heron
3 LR plover
oystercatcher feeding 1 well grown chick
flock of 150+ starlings
kestrel
plus usual

Thank's Melanie.

Went fishing on Rumworth yesterday and watched a crow for a good 15 minutes as it picked up an object (I think it was a swan mussel but can't be sure) in it's claws, flew to a height of about 20 feet and dropped it. It did this at least 12 times until finally I heard a crack as the object hit a stone, (the bank is mainly dried mud with stones scattered about) this must have done the trick as it then landed, and (I assume) ate whatever it was and flew away.
Is this common behaviour?

2.30-4.00pm

2 LRP and 1 RP feeding together on the newly exposed mud as the water level is falling fast.
oystercatcher wading out to locate swan mussels then bringing them on land and opening them.
pied wagtail.
common tern
mallard still with 7 young
moorhen now seems to be down to 2 chicks but they are well grown.
plenty house martins, swifts and swallows.

5.00-6.00pm

2 LRP
mallard with 7 well grown young
4 tufted
moorhen with young but keeping them well hidden, I only spotted one.
2 heron
oystercatchers but didn't spot any young ones although did see one yesterday.
remains of one canada which was sitting, but seems to have been eaten by a fox.
plenty swifts, swallows and house martins
kestrel

16/5/08 pm

Little Ringed Plover 3
Common Sand 1
Common Tern 1 - they dont seem to be settling here at all this spring.
Grasshopper Warbler 1 reeling in the marsh
Tufted Duck 3 pair.
Stock Dove 2
Otherwise v quiet

Late pm, water level dropping.

1 Common Tern
Whitethroat
2 L r Plover
Kestrel

plus usual.

9/5/08 1.30- 3.30pm

Lesser Whitethroat, crackin view in hedgerow leading down to water, before it flew off over the lodge.
Whitethroat
Reed Warbler
Sedge Warbler
Raven
2 L R Plover
3 Heron
6 at least Gt Ctd Grebe
2 Little Grebe
4 oystercatcher


Dean.

Steve Arnold or Steve Almond? If you mean one of Rummies regular watchers then it'll be Almond

5/5/2008 late pm

2 Female Whinchats showing well 5pm on top of bullrushes in marsh. Twitched by Pete Lane just after finishing his round of golf.
plus usual.

This evening 7-8.30pm

3 Dunlin
1 Common Sandpiper
4 Oystercatchers
2 Common Tern, they didn't come in till about 8.15
2 Cormorant
4 Lapwing

Dean.

Thanks Pete. I'd only been there about 10 mins when the heavens opened. Spent the next hour sheltering in the trees

Cheers Dean.

Pete/Steve Where abouts were the Dunlin? I went yesterday afternoon and didn't find any. Although it did chuck it down while i was there so visibility wasn't great.

Cheers Dean.

Today with Pete Lane 09.45 to 11.00

3 Dunlin
1 Common sandpiper
4 Oystercatcher
2 Common tern
7 Swift
50 Swallow
20 Sand martin
10 House martin
1 Wheatear

10.30-11.00am

Be warned!!! The farmer has been muck spredding the last couple of days, you need a strong stomach to go near!

only one cormorant (probably driven away by the smell!)
4 oystercatchers (a fishing friend told me he found one dead this week)
plus all the usual.

20/4/2008 late pm

Common Tern 2
Common Sand 1
Oystercatcher 4
Cormorant 11
Stock Dove 4 with woodpigeons
plenty of hirrundines incl 3 House Martins.

Me and warfy senior

-- Edited by Simon Warford at 20:44, 2008-04-20