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.
Tag Archives: Black-headed Gull
Curlew – July 4th
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.
Mandarin – 20th March
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.
Great White Egret – 9th November
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.
Bittern – 9th June
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.
Arctic Tern – 14th April
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.
Yellow-legged Gull – 1st February
This morning the three water bodies were all mostly frozen over. There were a lot of gulls resting on the ice, including Great Black-backed, Lesser Black-backed, Herring, Common and Black-headed. Amongst one group of Black-headed Gulls on the Deep Pit was a Yellow-legged Gull. Also a pair of Black Swans have arrived from somewhere and are on the Deep Pit. At the dry end of the Slurry Lagoon a flock of about thirty Lesser Redpolls were feeding in the Birch trees. PS.
Pintail – 27th June
This morning the female Pintail was still on the Slurry Lagoon as were the Shoveler pair and a Little Egret. There were also broods of Mallard and Gadwall. The first fledged Black-headed Gulls had also flown across from the Deep Pit. PS.
Stonechat – 19th February
This morning there was a massive movement of gulls through the lagoons, especially Black-headed Gulls, mostly going between north and west. There were also lots of Snipe flying in in small groups which added up to about 34 whilst watching, dropping into the Slurry Lagoon reed beds. The male Stonechat was still visible in front of the sub-station but the female did not show. PS.
Peregrine – 12th March
This morning there was a strong passage of Black-headed Gulls to the east. A Peregrine was on a pylon and later spiralled over the site. Also seen were a pair of Kestrels and of Buzzards, six Water Rail were heard plus five Cetti’s Warblers. Four Little Egrets were on the Wader Scrape. PS.