Monday 30 December 2013

Willington GP Starling Roost - Latest

The Starling roost at Willington GP is getting quite popular, especially during the Christmas holidays. Numbers of birds remain high at 10-15 thousand. The displays have been quite subdued to date with no predators around to stir things up but on Saturday the 28th December we were treated to quite a spectacle with virtually all the birds remaining in the sky together and a couple of Sparrowhawks trying to catch their dinner. It was a shame the sunset didn't live up to the display but I guess you can't have it all.

Here are some photo's from recent weeks:









 

Box End Park WeBS: 15/12/2013

Nothing exciting to report for the December WeBS coutn at Box End Park:

Black-headed Gull 52  
Buzzard 1  
Cormorant 2  
Grey Heron 1  
Grey Wagtail 1  
Kingfisher 1  
Little Grebe 2  
Mallard 46 Also 16 over north and 3 over west.
Meadow Pipit 3 Also 1 over west.
Moorhen 3  
Mute Swan 10  
Sparrowhawk 1  

Total number of species: 12, Individuals: 123

Also of note were:

Redwing 6 over south
Fieldfare 4 over west
Lapwing 24 over south east
Skylark 5 over west

The survey at Putnoe Wood was a bit better this month with a few more species recorded. Highlight was the Mistle Thrushes:

Blackbird 2 Blue Tit 19 Bullfinch 1 Carrion Crow 7 Chaffinch 1 Coal Tit 2 Great Spotted Woodpecker 1 Great Tit 18 Green Woodpecker 1 Jackdaw 10 Magpie 3 Mistle Thrush 2 Nuthatch 1 Redwing 1 Robin 7 Song Thrush 1 Stock Dove 1 Treecreeper 2 Woodpigeon 2 Wren 3



Monday 9 December 2013

Willington GP Starling Roost

Another couple of visits to the Willington GP Starling Roost this weekend finally paid off Sunday night with a super display backed by a gorgeous sunset. Overall so far this year the Starling displays have been a bit disappointing. Numbers of birds are impressive but the swirling displays have been very limited to date.

Sunday evening was better with the birds remaining in the sky for a decent amount of time, building up to several thousand individuals. Although there were few of the spectacular shapes the display did peak with a nice swirl before all of the birds funnelled down into the reed bed.

Early on a distant mixed flock of Golden Plovers and Lapwings added to the spectacle.

If you are in the area this is well worth a visit.

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