This is my first autumn in the UK for a while therefore I am
taking every opportunity I can to get out in the field. I am still banding
(ringing) at Queen Mary’s Reservoir with Tony Beasley on a Tuesday and
Saturdays that fall on away days with Sutton Utd! The current home form is very
shaky and recent results have seen a nose dive to seventeenth in the National
League table!
I have spent evenings watching the geese roost in the fields
at Epsom and Walton Downs. There has not been any interesting developments so far within the growing numbers that are feeding and roosting in the fields.
This morning I decided to take a trip to The London Wetland
Centre where a Pied Flycatcher has spent a couple of days in the Wildside area
of the reserve. There were only a handful of observers including Matt Palmer who
I teamed up with for the day. The bird was elusive but was located by one of
the regulars and the camera was put into quick fire mode as the bird flitted
between the foliage on the trees. It seemed a few moments later and the bird
had continued on with its circuit of this area. This was my second Pied Flycatcher in SVC17!
There were reports of several other migrants on site
including a juvenile Garganey which was best viewed late afternoon from the WWF hide.
A Ringed Plover was the best of the shorebirds on the main
lake. A Little Ringed Plover took exception to its presence taking flight and
chasing it between islands. The WWF hide again provided the best photo
opportunities. 2006 was the only time I have seen this species at LWC.
A Green Sandpiper was seen on the grazing marsh moving
between small pools of water and muddy channels.
There were three Common Sandpipers on the main lake each
bird was mobile with two resting together at one point.
Not a bad day by any standards!
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