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November
2009 Bird Report
 November
was relatively mild with a couple of cold spells and 23 wet days amounting
to 6 inches of rain in the month.
Up to 26 Cormorants
present in the Grove Island roost. One is a bird ringed as a chick at
Abberton Reservoir, in Essex, on the 26th April this year. More than 40
Mute Swans on site, including one ringed at Hurley, in Berkshire, on the
5th March 1999 as an immature bird (hatched in 1998). Up to 2 Little
Egrets are now appearing daily.
Waterfowl counts on the
20th:- 15 Great crested Grebe, 25 Greylag Geese, 106 Egyptian
Geese, 181 Canada Geese, 121 Wigeon, 43
Gadwall, 24 Teal, 95 Mallard, 22 Shoveler, 30
Pochard, 216 Tufted Ducks, 1 male Goldeneye, 7 Goosander,
34 Moorhen and 295 Coot. Also, good numbers of Mandarin
Ducks with 15 on the 15th. There are still 17 Barnacle Geese
remaining in the area. By the 27th the Goosander roost contained 8
male and 3 red-heads.
Kestrels,
Sparrowhawks and Buzzards are to be seen regularly. At least
one Barn Owl present on Manor Farm and Little Owls around the
paddock by the car park and elsewhere.
 Common
Snipe seen throughout
the month. I’m not aware of any reports of Water Rail, but probably a
few present. Lapwing numbers seem to have reduced from the 175 at the
beginning of the month. The first Golden Plover of the year was seen
on 11th, along with a Dunlin. Up to 2 Green Sandpipers were
resident all month.
Over 600 Lesser
Black-backed Gulls in the evening roost on the 15th with 30 Herring
and a Yellow-legged Gull. Black-headed and Common Gulls
seem to roost elsewhere, but respective counts of 122 and 25 were present on
the afternoon of the 25th.
Thrush numbers increased
throughout the month with up to 100 Fieldfares, 30 Redwings;
and increased numbers of Song Thrushes, Mistle Thrushes
and Blackbirds. There are loads of berries this year. The Linnet
flock has reached 25 and Siskin and Lesser
Redpoll numbers increased through the month with flocks approaching 50
birds feeding on the Birch and Alder seeds.
The bird feeders are
attracting good number of Blue Tits and Great Tits, and a
Coal Tit on the 21st – a site rarity. Chaffinches and
Greenfinches are also common on the feeders, with occasional
Goldfinches and Reed Buntings. And, apparently, Roe Deer
are using the feeder at night!
My unofficial count of
species recorded so far in 2009 is 136, including the escaped Snow and
Barnacle Geese.
As always, please report your own sightings on the record
sheets in Colebrook Hide or send them to Ian Brown, the
Moor Green Bird Recorder.
Bruce
Archer
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