Lesser

As with yesterday's rooks (only two seen today) this morning was about contenting oneself with locally scarce species in the absence of any tasty migrants.

Ringed plovers are hardly mindblowing but occur only rarely on our patch, so a party of 7 on the near riverbank by the pylons was a bonus of sorts.

Green sandpiper is a wader far more regularly encountered here, but none were on show today.

Around 800 lapwings were on Gull Bank, when not being scattered by peregrines, and a great crested grebe floated past on the incoming tide.

Best passerine was a lesser redpoll near Stodday, which later flew South with goldfinches and chaffinches. Indeed, there seemed to be a fair bit of finch passage mid-morning, more usual in late October.

Warblers comprised five chiffchaffs and a lesser whitethroat.

Three shovelers and a tufted duck were by the Wildfowler's Pools.

Dan.

The Rook of Rove.

Conditions were mild and mellow down the patch today. By midday warm sun broke through and dozens of black headed gulls began insect- feeding over Freeman's Wood and up to 10 migrant hawkers were hunting and pairing.

Rooks are not easy to come by at Aldcliffe, so a noisy roving party of 40 mainly 1st-winter birds are worth a mention.

I arrived late morning, seemingly at the tail end of an OK morning for visible migration. Meadow pipits were airborne and Southbound and a party of seven skylarks went over too.

A little later a common buzzard drifted over to the South.

Passerine-wise I couldn't find anything better than two tree sparrows, six chiffchaffs, a blackcap and a goldcrest.

And in terms of waders the highlights were a lone bar-tailed godwit, 4 greenshanks and two green sandpiper.

Dan.

Pishing in the wind

Amazed at what a week of westerlies does to the patch. I spent a good half hour pishing the  bushes round the abandoned football pitch. The only "quality" was a female blackcap and 2 coal tits.
The juvenile little grebes are still with their parents on Freemans pools.
A mystery wader flew off the flood and over the cycle track. It looked slightly rakish but a bit too small for a greenshank. I'll check it out again tommorrow. The blackberries make the place worth a visit even if the birding is a disappointment..

Guy

Wind stops play......

Wild week weather wise has slowed things down. Had a wander through the patch, Tuesday, and not a great deal to be seen. The flock of Wigeon on Freeman's Pool is steadily growing, 12, a couple of Gadwall and Tufted Ducks also present. The woods were particularly quiet compared with the weekend, I did notice about 40 Swallow flying about. The Flood had a single Green Sandpiper. There were plenty of gulls anchored down at various spots. A Raven flew over the empty main Wildfowler' Pool. There was also a couple of what I think were Common Hawkers on the track, near Darter Pool.
Steve 

A good spot

I set off from the car park near the flood at about 8 this morning.
2 green sandpipers were on the Flood.
1 juvenile lesser whitethroat was associating with a tit flock near wildfowlers where a kingfisher was sat over the pool. This is a good spot for breeding lesser whitethroat so I can't be sure if this was a local bird or a migrant.
1 chiffchaff and 1-2 willow warblers were with a seperate flock in the same area.
The little grebe pair were each feeding a chick on Freemans pool.
c. 20 snipe were about the area.
The area round the abandoned football pitch in Freemans had 6-8 blackcap, 5 chiffchaff, 2 goldcrest and a spotted flycatcher. With it's combination of elderberry, hawthorn and blackberry bushes and 2 apple trees and high sycamore which keep their leaves well in to November, this is the place to be on an autumn morning.
A coal tit was on the path down to Marsh point.
Raptor interest was provided by a kestrel over the maize fields, a sparrowhawk in Freemans and 2 peregrines down by the pylons.
Guy

Also, a few Wigeon on Frog Pond and a Raven over marsh.
Sunday.........................
Freeman's Pool 6 or so Wigeon and 3 Tufted Duck new in. There was also 3 Greenshank. A Merlin did a quick flyby before off over the Marsh, along with the Greenshank and the 45 Lapwing that were on the island!
Steve