thanks for posting ian, quite a good hour or so round reserve yesterday. the 2 redpoll flew into area around viewing screen with 6 goldfinch just before 3pm there were plenty of birds feeding in this area, including 3 tree sparrow a chiffchaff, several goldcrest, 4 willow tit, 3 bullfinch, 18+ chaffinch and plenty of greenfinch and house sparrow. the redpolls stayed for c.15 mins(when flew towards car park area,again with goldfinch, but were not seen there later) giving very good views at times (one is a very pale male bird other a duller imm) Also present 13 cormorant and 3 goosander on glaze 1 prob 2 water rail on ice on main lake and 4 jay around car park.
Cheers
Andy

24th December 2009

Meadow Pipit- 106. Having been quietly (secretly ) watching these pipits for the past couple of weeks as they feed on the actual filtration beds within the sewage works itself, my high hopes and expectations for a Water Pipit have not materialised yet! Their numbers have fluctuated day to day (they are very difficult to count at best!) but today was my highest count yet.

Also present on the filter beds:

Up to 16 Grey Wagtails recently
Around 250 Pied Wagtails daily
Single Green Sandpiper (present today also)

6 Green Sandpiper present today.

Today, up to and around 7pm

2 Green Sandpiper still
Water Rail
Willow Tit

Info thanks to Phil Rhodes

This afternoon:

3 Dunlin down and 8 flew through east at 3:30pm

on or around the fields to the south of the main lake:

Lesser Whitethroat
Whinchat
Yellow Wagtail
Swift over

Info thanks to Andy Isherwood

Apologies for the late post (been very busy at work tonight!) but;

12 Green Sandpipers present on the late evening of the 30th, the highest count anywhere in the county so far this year.

It appears that they are currently roosting at Hope Carr and using Teal Scrape at Pennington during the day. Of course Teal Scrape affords the best views in the county at present and too many birders visiting Hope Carr in the evening will only disturb their attempts to roost so please aviod disturbing them here if possible. Cheers.

Info thanks to Andy Isherwood

-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Monday 31st of August 2009 01:23:50 AM

Yesterday evening (15th) at 7:40pm.

Ringed Plover
5 Green Sandpiper

Info thanks to Phil Rhodes

Approx. 5pm this evening.

3 Green Sandpipers
Peregrine
Hobby (same as the earlier Pennington bird ?)
Treecreeper (a very rare bird at this site)

Info thanks to Andy Isherwood

7 Green Sandpiper and 2 Common Sandpiper on 16a at 17:00 today.

Wednesday 29 July 2009
morning

16a:
8 Green Sandpiper
1 Common Sandpiper

7b:
1 Common Sandpiper
3 Lapwing

Willow pool:
1 Green Sandpiper

Posted this morning, 26th July by Dave Ousey

Was in the area,so, thought I`d have a good look around in wet conditions,2 hours later I had seen:- 4 Little Grebe,1 Cormorant,2 Grey Heron, 4 Teal, 20 Mallard, 2 Shoveller, 30 Tufted Duck(incl ducklings),6 Pheasant, 20 Moorhen,6 Coot, 4 Lapwing, 1 Ruff(flushed off sludge lagoon and flew off north) 5 Green Sandpiper,1 Common Sandpiper, Lots BH Gulls(WTWorks), 3 LBB Gull, 18 Wood Pigeon, 12 Swift, Large mixed flock of hirundines over WTWorks, 3 Pied Wagtail, 2 Wren,6 Dunnock, 5 Blackbird, 2 Sedge Warbler, 2 Blackcap, 1 Jay,10 Magpie,Lots Jackdaw(WTW)60 Starling,2 Chaffinch,6 Goldfinch,8 Linnet,7 Reed Bunting. 35 Species seen between 7-30-9-30am.
Regards,
Dave Ousey.

5 Green Sandpipers this evening - male Bullfinch and Jay also present, otherwise quiet

20th July, up to 1:20pm

3 Green Sandpiper
5 Oystercatcher
204 Lapwing

Info thanks to Phil Rhodes

Today, 13th July

5 Green Sand
9 Little Ringed Plover
1 male Ruff (1st site record for a good few years)
84 Lapwing

all info thanks to Andy Isherwood

Hobby over the business Park as I approached Hope Carr this am. No sign of garganey as I didn't even get to see open water before I got a soaking!

A sandwich Tern overflew here at 5:25 today, heading fairly low east calling, not surprisingly a site first.

Info thanks to Andy Isherwood

Unfortunately it never made it over the air space above my garden despite a very prompt text from Andy, much frenetic scaning with bins and my house being only a couple of miles due east of the site

Oddly, Tree Sparrows are regular in the fields immediately south of Hope Carr, around the rugby pitch there (and also the pitches at the actual club at the bottom of Hand Lane, you can see why my defense is so poor ) but they rather rarely stray across the Glaze and onto the reserve

4 broods of Gadwall here on the main lake today - 9,9,1 all new, and 2 well grown. Also 2 Common Terns with fish, flying off towards Pennington Flash. Reed Warblers, Sedge Warbler, Whitethroat family, the whole place developing into impenetrable scrub, keeps the yobs out. Also an assembly of at least 60 Jackdaws including juvs.

definately negative from 3.30-5.00pm but brilliant all be it brief views of a hunting hobby chasing a swift which made up for not finding the pec sand such is birding .Nice to meet you Paul hope Vernon didnt get on your nerves too much im used to him now
LOTS OF HIRUNDINES ABOUT AND PLENTY MIDGES

No sign this morning between 0640-0710

Good views about 7.15.
With Paul Wilson and Toni.

Took my daughter Toni, she's really getting into these trips out, even though was a challenge to get the scope low enough down for her to see the bird. She was very good even carrying the tripod.

My first twitch and not a bad one either! Thanks to whoever it was who let me look through their scope!!!

Showing very well at 7.30am this morning and thanks to John and Mike for taking the trouble to literally point me in the right direction and for the other tips! I got some record shots with 300mm plus 2x extender but they wont be winning any competitions...

Also apologies I didn't properly say hello to some other watchers who I presume were Judith and two other chaps from here - I was uncharacteristically shy due to feeling daft using a camera lens to view and not a scope...

Fantastic bird at another great spot and friendly birders to boot! Cheers, Peter

Pectoral Sand still present with 2 Dunlin (which apparently had gone by 2:30pm) on number 7 lagoon by 2:45 atleast.

Also present single Common Sand.

John, it's too far for anything other than a record shot with DSLR's I'm afraid.

Please keep to the path when visiting. If it is out of view it always come back to that lagoon sooner or later and often is simply hidden in vegetation (it really doesn't take much to hide it either).