Prob male from size. The hawk appeared from the NE, flew lazily over the field to the south of the pool for a minute or so and then spiralled off high to the south.
sat-pm b.n.grebe still present,23 little grebe,9 g.c.grebe,1 buzzard,and 1 hobby over fields opposite(are these are becoming more common than kestrels locally ,or is it only me)
Probable Ring-necked Parakeet this evening. The bird was flushed from the south bank by a dog walker and was well described. Despite being only the other side of the pool I could not relocate the bird by the time I walked round - will have another look tomorrow.
5-6.20pm-b n grebe-1 adult moulting into winter,21 little grebes-these seem to come and go daily,124 coot(building up)72 tufted,15 sand martins,50 goldfinch east side.7 great crested grebe,9 moorhen,61 mallard,2 linnet,2 willow warbler,female sparrowhawk,5 pochard.1 kestrel
Thanks John - sounds a good theory. Never thought about it like that. I had a theory that the Tufties & Pochard etc used the pool as a safe place to moult and thus were unlikely to fly off any distance - maybe quick flits to somewhere local and then back again.
3 BNG's this evening. The usual juvenile, the adult which is half way moulted into winter plumage and a new adult which is still largely in breeding plumage. I estimate that at least 8 different birds have been on since the end of June.
HI MIKE I LEARNED OVER MANY YEARS THAT THE POOL WAS A STOP OVER PLACE FOR MOST BIRDS,TUFTED FLUCTUATE SO MUCH,I RECON INSTEAD OF THE SAME 60 OR 70 THERES PROBABLY SEVERAL HUNDRED PASSES THROUGH OVER A PERIOD OF WEEKS,POCHARD THE SAME IN FACT,STUFF LIKE GREAT CRESTED YOU CAN HAVE 7 IN THE MORNING,ONLY 3 IN THE AFTERNOON,AND 8 THE SAME EVENING,I THINK BIRDS FOLLOW THE MOTORWAY,FOR DIRECTION,AND STOP BY THE POOL LIKE WE WOULD STOP AT SERVICES. I THINK THE POOL IS UNIQUE LOCALLY IN THIS WITH ITS MOTORWAY PROCIMITY..WHY DOAS THE POOL GET 200 WIGEON IN WINTER ,WHEN PENNY GETS 1-WE'LL NEVER KNOW.KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK ON THE POOL!SHAME IVE LOST A BIT OF HEART WITH IT WITH ALL THE DOGWALKERS
Got closer views in good light of the aythya hybrid yesterday evening. Looks more like a Pochard x Tufty now than anything else. Doesn't help that the coating has gone on my Leica scope.
Last year there was a Tufty x Scaup hybrid hanging around during the Spring & early Summer.
Both BNG's still present this morning - plus 1 Common Sandpiper and a Chiffchaff singing away.
Numbers of other species have been fluctuating widely over the last few days - for example last night the Tufty numbers had dropped to 51 and were back up at 64 this morning. Also a large number of Little Grebes have gone walkabout.
One thing I notice about HGF is that although when monitored over time (e.g. weeks) numbers appear to be stable, there is often a significant daily fluctuation in most waterfowl, grebes etc. Which begs the question - where do they go when they leave HGF?
I have checked most places in the surrounding area and although odd birds do turn up at places like Penny and Rixton, I can't help thinking they are generally going somewhere else.
I seem to remember there was one hanging around last year fr a few months. It is wierd that they turn up so frequently at HGF. Perhaps one day the real thing will!
Anyway I bagged a drake Fudge at Chew Valley Lake in Somerset early this morning - 2 rare aythyas in the same day would be pushing it!!!
hi mike-had quite a few of these weard hybrid tufted/pochard/scaup in my time when i was regular at the pool,it doas seem to atract these hybrids more than anywere else,even penny.
Interesting aythya present this evening. Saw it while scanning the Tufty flock and immediately thought Scaup. I then noticed the bird was Tufty size, definitely smaller than a Pochard and had a slightly peaked rear crown. Got very interested at this point and dashed off to the far side of the pool. By the time I got there the bird was back out in the middle and asleep. After 30 mins or so it woke up and began swimming straight towards me - and I noticed the broad black band at the end of its bill and that the upper parts appeared to be solid grey rather than vermiculated - though it was raining by then and the light was cr*p. Have now labelled it as a poss Scaup x Tufty - will have another look in the morning if it stays.
Also present:
2 Black-necked Grebes (1 adult, 1 juvenile) 9 Great Crested Grebes 16 Little Grebes 65 Coot 69 Tufties 13 Pochard 2 Common Sandpipers 58 Swifts flew through heading east - if they are migrating to sunnier climes I might just join them!
Thanks for the reply, Mike. After reading it I realised you had posted some info in February further down the thread. I always wondered why people ask the same questions again and again on forums when they could read previous posts and now I've done exactly that.
Best way is to proceed down Delph Lane with the pool on your left and go past it - approx 300 - 400 yds. Park up by the gate (carefully) with the field on your left - you will see a big old box trailer abandoned in the field. Follow the footpath - this takes you to the south bank - the best point to view the whole pool from.
Virtually everything has been on the east side the last few days (including 29 hawking LBBG's last night) - probably a big insect hatch.
Warblers etc behind east hedge. Common Sandpiper normally favours east side too.
Is it possible to view the Flash from Delph Lane? I was thinking of visiting this weekend to see the BNGs but have not been able to find much info on the site.
I watched a female Sparrowhawk flying lazily over the field adjacent to the pool. She was flying approx 20 feet above the field - all the birds around went up but half heartedly as though they knew she wasn't hunting.
One Linnet flew up out of the field near her - the Sparrowhawk suddenly switched gears and pulled off an amazing manoeuvre dropping and twisting behind her and plucked the finch out of the air. Wonderful sight though not for the finch!
The B-n G's still present and quite confiding late afternoon - and had them all to myself bar the odd dog walker (inc one lady who was hurrying home- she'd heard the thunder so wanted to get back before there was any lightning?!)
Male Blue-headed Wagtail present on the south bank this morning. Superb views of the bird preening and feeding. Eventually it flew off into the ploughed field immediately south of the pool where I lost it - due to work (***?#%cks) I didn't have time to search for the bird.