Today's sightings-interesting Wigeon
Ferruginous Duck- female seen from c0940-1030am in the Asian Pen. It flew off shortly after a female Tufted Duck spooked and left the pen, it headed east toward South Lake. A brief search of South Lake subsequently never re-located it but it may have gone into the willows to roost.
Holden Tower
Large flocks of waders building again, 600 Golden Plover, 1400 Lapwing and 700 Dunlin were kept in flight by 2 patrolling and actively hunting Marsh Harriers this morning.
Peregrine 1
Curlew 30 at high tide
Great Black-backed Gull 53 at high tide
Barnacle Goose 170
Tack Piece
Little Stint 2 feeding on the central flood mud among the Dunlin
Ruff 3
Redshank 12
Pintail, Teal and Wigeon flock feeding on the edge of the scrape
Shoveler and Tufted Duck roosting or feeding in the scrape
Crane 3 GCP birds
Skylark 2
Meadow Pipit 2
The Rushy Pen
Bewick's Swan 170+ birds present at 0800 but the Whooper Swan had departed already. Check from Sloane Tower looking NE over car park for the latter bird.
Pintail 60
Sheduck 90
Pochard 140
Tufted Duck 200
Zeiss Hide
A couple of snatched digi-scoped shots of what appears to be an American Wigeon x Eurasian Wigeon hybrid among the Eurasian Wigeon flock. The birds were flushed many time by the hunting Marsh Harrier and never settled for long.
Wigeon 500+
Apparent American Wigeon x Eurasian Wigeon hybrid, 1 first winter male
Teal 1000
Black-tailed Godwit 20
Marsh Harrier juv female hunting here mid morning.
Kingfisher Hide
Chiffchaff 1 (headed into the South Finger reedbed calling)
Bullfinch 3
Reed Bunting
Water Rail 2 heard
Gadwall
Shoveler
Willow Hide
Water Rail 1
