The Slurry Lagoon was very quiet this morning, mainly covered with Black-headed Gulls, there are few ducks around. A female Goosander did fly over but, otherwise, it was just a male Shoveler and a pair of Gadwall, plus the swans. Across the river the very pale Buzzard was sitting in a tree near the viaduct. From this distance its front looked completely white. (As the very poor photo shows.) There were still plenty of winter thrushes about, Redwings, Fieldfares and Blackbirds. PS.
There were plenty of winter thrushes about today but the frozen Slurry Lagoon had only about 30 Teal and a large flock of Black-headed and Herring Gulls to show. A Water Rail did slip on the ice as it crossed the space in front of the Causeway benches. In the Deep Pit the very pale Buzzard was sat in a willow, hoping to catch some unwary prey. PS.
Buzzard – PS
The Marsh Harrier left the roost quite early this morning, setting off to hunt further down the Trent Valley. There were no ducks on the Slurry Lagoon other than fifteen Shoveler and nine Teal. There were plenty of Black-headed, Common and Herring Gulls and one Lesser Black-backed Gull. A Carrion Crow noticed a dead Perch floating in the water and nearly landed on the water, but thought better of it. Eventually some Black-headed Gulls showed an interest but seemed afraid of the fish. Only one bird plucked up the courage to investigate it. PS.
Black-headed Gull and Perch. PS.
Half of the Slurry Lagoon was under ice this morning. There were a few Teal, Wigeon and Shoveler but mostly there were Black-headed Gulls with a few Herring and Common Gulls. The Marsh Harrier showed several times as it hunted over the reed-beds but it and a Buzzard were mobbed by crows as they looked for a meal. Two Egyptian Geese flew into the Deep Pit and a confiding Green Woodpecker was seen digging for ants. PS.
Marsh Harrier PS.
Green Woodpecker PS.
This morning the Red-crested Pochard was still on the Slurry Lagoon and some small groups of Skylarks were flying over. There were at least five hundred birds on the Slurry Lagoon, consisting mainly of Wigeon, Black-headed Gulls and Coots, but with smaller numbers of other species mixed in. About mid-day a female Marsh Harrier lifted all of the gulls off the Slurry Lagoon and drifted off into the trees in the reed bed. About six Water Rail were heard calling and some Redpoll flew over. PS.
This morning it was noticeable that a lot of warblers have stopped singing. The three Black-headed Gull chicks have left the floating platform that was their nursery. A Curlew flew west, high over the site. PS.
On 1st July, five Lunar Hornet Moths were lured by pheromones. RW.
This afternoon a male Mandarin was on the Trent, near the Poulter Brook, and a pair of Goosanders were nearby. There was a large aggregation of at least 500 Black-headed Gulls on the Deep Pit. JDn.
This morning there were seven species of duck on the Slurry Lagoon, including good numbers of Wigeon, Shoveler and Gadwall. On the wheat field across the river a Great White Egret was stood amongst a flock of Black-headed Gulls. There were still plenty of winter thrushes and Lesser Redpoll about. PS.
This morning there were two male Cuckoos on the reserve. In the afternoon another male was in the Slurry Lagoon reed-bed. In the late afternoon a Bittern was driven by Black-headed Gulls into the Slurry Lagoon reed-bed. Later it was seen again in the Deep Pit, but the gulls again drove it into the Slurry Lagoon reed-bed. There were also several Hairy Dragonflies and Emperor Dragonflies on the Slurry Lagoon. PS.
During this morning’s Bird Count, a lone Arctic Tern flew through and a Little Gull flew through with a Black-headed Gull flock. A Whitethroat was singing near the river and 33 Blackcaps, 19 Chiffchaffs, 16 Willow Warblers and 2 Sedge Warblers were heard singing. PS.