Winter Ducks.

On Monday I drove over the county boundary to Wraysbury Gravel Pits in the hope of seeking out a few of the migrant species that often frequent the various large lakes formed after the extraction of gravel to build the M25 motorway.

As I climbed over the style to access the footpath that would take me alongside the New Hythe Pit I was initially greeted with a flurry of activity as various species including Blue Tit, Great Tit, Chaffinch,  Blackbird and Redwing dived for cover while overhead I could hear the distinctive chattering 'shack-shack-shack' calls from a number of Fieldfare. Both the Redwing and Fieldfare are winter visiting Thrushes and typically vary wary of any intruders so I had to wait patiently for them to settle high above me in order to snap a cropped record shot of both in the frame together.

Moving on I scanned the open water only to find that most of the ducks were typically too far away for the lens on the farthest side of he pit but I was delighted to spot that my quarry including 3 drake Smew and 8 Goosanders plus a number of Goldeneye were in fact on site together with the usual Mallard, Coot, Tufted Duck, Pochard, Grey Heron, Cormorants, Mute Swans, and Great Crested Grebes.  

I eventually managed to capture a male Goosander (Mergus merganser) which had been drifting close to the bank but out of my sight and promptly decided to swim away to join its distant companions. The next two species, Goldeneye and Pochard were fortunately a little more obliging.

Male Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula)

Male Common Pochard (Aythya ferina)

A few other species kept me company during my stroll including a small flock of Long-tailed Tits, Great Tits (constantly uttering their scolding call as I walked by) and the very noisy Rose-ringed Parakeets whose piercing screams nearly drowned out the constant background sounds from the nearby motorway!

My final quarry was the extremely shy and one of the smallest sawbills, the Smew. The males are often referred to as the 'White Nun' due to their distinctive white and black streaked plumage.

Male Smew (Mergellus albellus).

Every winter this dainty species migrates southwards from its northern boreal breeding grounds in Finland, Sweden and Russia. Small numbers can usually be found at regular overwintering sites from December until March throughout the southern counties of the UK. Unfortunately I couldn't get any decent views so had to dig out an image taken during a visit to this site from just a year ago.  FAB.

Click here to link to WORLD BIRD WEDNESDAY for more images from around the globe.

Lakeside Colours.

Earlier this week I paid a visit to Wraysbury Gravel Pits which comprises a mosaic of open water, islands, grassland scrub and woodland within an area of former gravel extraction.

This was my initial view over Hythe Lagoon. Initially very little to be seen on the water but as I know from previous visits first impressions can always be deceptive. As I slowly walked along the pathway some wildlife came into view using the bins. Cormorants resting in the distant trees, a Grey Heron hidden in the reeds plus at least 50 Tufted Ducks, a few Mallard, Coot, Pochard and Shovellers resting way over on the far side. 

A little closer were Mute Swan, Black-headed Gulls and numerous Great Crested Grebes but contantly swimming well away from my side of the lagoon so distant shots only on this occasion.

When the sun broke through the waterside foliage showed its true colours by spreading its tints across the still waters.

There were plenty of autumnal colours lining my route to provide some interest plus sightings of Wren, Blue and Great Tits, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Blackbird, Jay, Magpie, the usual noisy Parakeets, Jackdaw, Crows, Dunnock and Kestrel.
In any event I will probably return later this year as this location regularly supports good numbers of Wigeon, Pochard, Goldeneye plus a few Goosanders and the Smew, one of my favorite wintering ducks.    FAB.

A Mixed Week.

I'm not sure where the first part of the week went but on Wednesday I decided it was time to get out and stretch my legs. First stop was a very brief walk at Epsom Great Pond. A pair of Mistle Thrushes were having a verbal argument above me in the car park. The only inhabitants on the water were Moorhen and Cormorants. The light was poor but I tried a few shots of this individual perched on a wooded sculpture of a dragonfly. It twisted its head in all directions following my movements. A Grey Heron, Blue Tits and a Goldcrest elluded the camera.

Main location for the next few hours, after a sprint around the M25 (in the car!) , was to Wraysbury Gravel Pits. As often happens as soon as I turn up everthing moves to the far side of the water.

Even this immature Mute Swan decided to move away but the crafty 'Early Birder' waited patiently and got some more pics that I will share with you in a forthcoming post.

Scanning the water with bins and then the scope produced masses of Coot, Great Crested Grebes, Tufted Ducks, Mallard, Wigeon, Pochard, and Shovellers hiding way away under the far bank. Then this beauty popped up way out in the middle of the pit.....a male Goldeneye.  Sorry for the poor quality but digiscoped in poor light and shaking hands...yes it was cold!

Scanned around but no sign of any Smew yet but did find the resident Cormorants perched on the bare branches between the pits.

As I continued my stroll along the waterside, with the read heads waving in the increasing breeze, I disturbed a hidden Grey Heron who promptly flew away. A flock of 20 plus Long-tailed Tits signalled their presence as they foraged through the trees together with Blue and Great Tits. Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Blackbird, Jay and Crow plus a single over-wintering Chiffchaff were also present.

Further along the path I could hear the unmistakeable calls  from both Redwing and Fieldfare high in the tree tops as they constantly moved from perch to perch.

Above are two long distance shots of Fieldfare. The Redwing didn't hang around for a photo call!

In addition to the constant skwarking calls from Rose-ringed Parakeets flying around this location has a number of other noisy interuptions....the passing trains plus the planes taking off from the nearby Heathrow Airport ..... that bombard the eardrums just at the very moment I am trying to latch onto the calls of Goldfinch.

My walk takes me over a bridge where I stop to listen and look for Kingfisher and Water Rail without any luck on this visit.

As it is well past lunch time I parked myself overlooking this view across another pit and while enjoying some much needed refreshments I continued to scan around but nothing new showed itself.

The return walk back to the car produced Dunnock, Black-headed Gulls and of course it wouldn't be a birding day without a Robin Redbreast, would it!

The remainder of my week centred around dealing with A's car failing to start again on Thursday morning! Battery totally dead, so jump start, ring 'Muz' our friendly mechanic who says bring it over now and I'll fix it. True to his word we picked the car up a few hours later with a new battery plus the brakes adjusted and another minor dent in the plastic card but at least A could now safely drive to meet her friends for a pleasant evening meal.

Today has been another lazy day; foggy and overcast; so decided to refresh all the bird feeders, tidy up the patio and wrap up a few pots to protect the contents from any forthcoming frosts. The House Sparrows are continuing to use the trough planter as a dust bath, creating deeper craters each visit. I've also seen two individuals picking up feathers and dead foliage to line a roosting nest somewhere? A Blue Tit was also seen disappearing into one of the nest boxes...early nest prospecting or just looking for somewhere to roost through the winter maybe. Other visitors were Blackbird, Greenfinches, Dunnocks, Robin Great Tits and Magpie plus fly overs by Starling, Black-headed Gulls and Parakeets.    FAB

Frozen water ...........and few birds!

Well wrapped up against the cold & a blue sky it was off to Staines Reservoir which is a bleak location particularly in winter but does usually hold a varied selection of grebes, waders and the occassional diver. I unexpectedly met a very old friend, Alan, who said there was very little to see as most of the water was frozen. Movement of the water had created these large slabs of ice.
A scan of the 2 basins produced Great Crested Grebes(7), Little Grebe, a mixture of Gulls way out on the frozen water, a few Wigeon, Gadwall, Coot, Mallard, Northern Shovellers (50+)hugging the distant shoreline, a single Cormorant, 12 Ruddy Ducks (who obviously survived the culling process!), plus Pochard and Tufted Ducks.

Common Pochard

Male Tufties

A Kestrel was hunting the causeway margins and eventually dropped onto the pathway with a kill and enabled me to get this distant digi-snap through the scope.

A Meadow Pipit called as it flew overhead. As I returned to my car Tony & Hugh turned up with other members of the Surrey Bird Club. I updated them on the lack of species and headed off to Wraysbury Gravel Pits. Once again all the pits were frozen ..... apart from a small patch of clear water where most of the ducks & gulls were gathered.
As I wandered around the various pits species seen were Great-spotted Woodpeckers, Wren, Blackbird, Robin, Blue, Great & Long-tailed Tits, Grey Herons (2), Jackdaw, Starlings, Magpie, Wood Pigeon, Kestrel, Cormorants, Mute Swan, Parakeets, Coot, Moorhen, Gadwall, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Shovellers, Teal & Goldeneye (3).

Despite the abundance of seed heads there was a distinct lack of finches....I guess most of them are still in Tricia's garden!

Whilst searching to locate winter thrushes I disturbed a Water Rail (heard it call as it flew into cover) but failed to get my bins onto it and also flushed 2 Snipe alongside the stream .....one of them might have been a 'Jack' but again I was too slow to react. I eventually caught up with the thrushes - Fieldfare, Redwing and a Song Thrush and just managed to get some half decent photos. Fieldfare

Redwing
Song Thrush

This final shot was taken to remind me of the best location for Kingfisher and Water Rail sightings in the past.....But not today. Never mind it was a pleasant stroll in much improved weather conditions.