October Sightings

Sightings can be Emailed to:

      Martyn Wilson - martynwilson@talktalk.net

   Marc Heath - Heathym007@aol.com   

Grove Ferry river trips visit here.

31st October

Another (almost) birdless day with Sue Morton, Mark Chidwick and I taking a 6 hour wander around the circuit that eventually turned out to be not abad day with a good list of birds overall, nothing much out of the ordinary though. There were a large number of shooters gathered at the Blue Bridge as I arrived this morning at 5.30ish plus a few more at the pull-in near the Boat house. The Wildfowl killers banging away with thier guns as soon as the first Geese started leaving, suprisingly though out of 636 Greylags that flew out we only saw one fall from the sky. The shooting also put paid to any Teal counts as they scattered over the reserve, just 372 from the ramp as we left in the rain at midday. Back to the birding and noted today were, 7 Cetti's Warblers, 1741 Lapwings, 7 Marsh harriers, 2000 Starlings, 7 Ruff, 3 Curlews, 1 Spotted Redshank and 2 Little Egrets. There were 75 Cormorants, 3 Grey Herons, 2 Kingfishers, 2 Black-tailed Godwits, 3 Water Rails, 26 Golden Plovers, 1 Sparrowhawk and 3 Stonechats. Not as many Bearded Tits were seen today but many were heard at different locations around the reserve but there was still at least 20 birds along Harrison's Drove also, 2 Water Pipits from HD hide and still 12 Skylarks in the fields behind the hide. A dozen snipe were seen and we noted 4 Green Woodpeckers, 1 kestrel, 30 Redwings, 1 Dunlin, 10 Tufted Ducks, 71 Shovelers, 7 Great-crested Grebes and 227 Black-headed Gulls. There were several Blue Tits, 8 Long-tailed Tits and 5 Great Tits and while the Alder Wood was quiet except 1 Treecreeper the Alders on the corner leading to Reedbed hide held 1 Siskin and 4 Lesser Redpolls. There were 75 Fieldfares by Undertrees Farm and one 2/w Common Gull from the ramp.

(Martyn Wilson)

30th October

Arriving at Grove at 6.20 this morning I was suprised to find Pete Solly already there setting up. A nice still morning but with little of note on the birding front, some of the Greylags were leaving in the darkness so counting was impossible with just 258 left for the lighter hours, 5 Cetti's Warblers, 2 Redshank, 7 Snipe, 2 Water Rail,  1700+ Teal and 1200+ Lapwing all noted plus 5 Ruff and 7 Marsh Harriers. Only one Curlew today heard calling on several occasions and seen flying around a couple of times. There was a single Tufted duck, 2 Little Egrets, 3 Grey Herons, 1 Kestrel, 1 Green Woodpecker and 1 Little Grebe. Bearded Tits could be heard from the ramp and the David Feast hide. Joined by Tim Gutsel we made our way to Harrison's drove where Tim had been photographing these gems of the reedbed yesterday. Along Harrison's drove there was a feeding flock of at least 38 birds with total number seen between the viewing ramp and Harrison's drove hide being in excess of 100 individuals. While attempting to grab some shots of these birds we wre joined by Mark Chidwick and Steve Ashton. Tim, Steve and I then spent a fair bit of time training our lenses down the drove clicking away at as many Bearded Tits as we could. There were 5 Stonechats in the area and a dozen Skylarks were in the field behind Harrison's hide and having a look of the ramp as we left there were 26 Golden Plovers with the Lapwings.

(Martyn Wilson)

28th October

With the wind not howling this morning, I took advantage of this and arrived in the valley at 5.45am where I drove around the valley listening for Owls. I managed to see 1 Tawny Owl in my car headlights in Trenley Woods and heard 3 Little Owls near Collards. After a nice coffee in the car, I then made my way to Grove in the dark and birded the area until 9.30am. I managed to see or hear 55 species this morning. Birds noted were 3 Grey Heron, c350 Greylag Geese out of roost, 3 Water Rail, 6 Cetti's Warbler, 17 Redwing, c500 Lapwing, 3 Skylark, 7 Snipe, 6 Shoveler, c700 Teal, 19 Golden Plover, 4 Curlew, 1 Sparrowhawk, 52 Cormorant, 9 Marsh Harrier and 1 male Hen Harrier performing well over Stodmarsh. There were 3 Pied Wagtail, 4 Wigeon, c1500 Starling out of roost, 2 Green Woodpecker, 2 Ruff, 1 Kestrel, 10 Meadow Pipit, 1 Little Egret, a few small flocks of Bearded Tits seen, some flying very high over the reserve calling, 4 Black tailed Godwit, 7 Reed Bunting, 1 Redpoll, 3 Stonechat, 9 Mute Swan and 4 Linnet. Other bits today were 1 Little Grebe, 3 Water Pipit, 1 from Harrisons, 3 Goldcrest and 1 Jay.

(Marc Heath)

27th October

I had not planned to go out today but a call from my dad last night had us meeting at Grove Ferry at 7am this morning. I had been out from 6am listening for Owls but with the strong southerly winds and the sound of Chidders tank engine next to me, I drew a blank on the Owl front. We made our way to the ramp in the company of Chidders as well and saw the following until 9.30am when we departed for breakfast. 4 Curlew again from the main pool, 7 Marsh Harrier, 5 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Water Rail, 2 Water Pipit, 1 Dunlin, 2 Ruff, 2 Grey Heron, 3 Pochard, 2 Tufted Duck, 1 Little Grebe, 1 Green Woodpecker, 11 Mute Swan, 2 Stonechat and 4 Meadow Pipit. There were 4 Snipe, 1 Redpoll, 18 Golden Plover, 2 Skylark, 1 Little Egret, 4 Fieldfare, c120 Black headed Gull, 2 Black tailed Godwit, 4 Bearded Tit, c500 Lapwing and c150 Teal. I made another visit to Grove late morning in the hope of some Waxwings dropping in. No luck with them and most of what I saw earlier was still present but I did see 1 Common Buzzard, 15 Fieldfare, 1 Kestrel, 2 Snipe, 1 Green Sandpiper and c300 Black headed Gull.

(Marc Heath)

26th October

There were 16 Waxwings on the bushes around th ramp this morning.

(Mark Chidwick)

24th October

I was on the ramp early this morning, 6.40, while it was still dark. It was a crystal clear sky with stars glistening all round and a bright full moon. A Barn Owl flew across the reedbed hunting at 6,52 and Mark Chidwick and Sue Morton joined me between 7.00 and 7.30. Greylags, mallards, Shoveller and  at least 1900 Teal all present and 11 Marsh Harriers left roost, only two staying on the reserve most heading out to the Ash levels. Two Sparrowhawks seen with one taking a small bird out for breakfast and there was a movement of Fieldfares with 443 all heading west in different size flocks but , only  a 100 or so Redwings around the reserve. There were 3 Curlews today from the ramp and a fourth was seen flying over the marsh hide area. A single dunlin, 5 Pied Wagtails, 1 female Stonechat, 4 Kestrels and 5 Grey Herons all noted. Pochard and Tufted Duck numbers were half yesterdays number with just one of each at the Feast hide but there was a single female Wigeon there today. We thought it may be worth walking the whole circuit just in case the Alder Wood held some Siskin and Redpolls, noting  7 Snipe, 22 Bearded Tit, 1 Little Grebe,  2 Little Egrets and a Kingfisher  enroute. The Alder Wood held just 2 Siskins and that was it. There were a few Black-headed Gulls on the main lake plus a juvenile Common Gull plus 111 Shovellers, 10 Great-crested Grebes and 8 Gadwall there too. As we approached Paddy's bench at the Water Meadows Steve Ashton called to inform us that he had just found 3 Waxwings in a bush at the base of the ramp so, we left the water Meadows post haste and thankfully 20 mins later we were get stunning views and grabbing a few photos.

I had another look at Collard's on the way out joined by Rick Smith were all was much as yesterday, the 375 Wigeon still pesent and a lot of Gulls that often kept taking to the air circling around as if spooked by a raptor. There were 2 Marsh Harriers present but we did manage to locate 3 Common Buzzards over the industrial estate, one of wich was a smart pale phase that had us thinking maybe it was a Rough-leg but sadly after a few minutes and better viewsit was just a pale Common.

(Martyn Wilson)

23rd October

Mark Chidwick and I braved the rain this morning and spent a few hours birding the Grove end, birds noted today were, 7 marsh Harriers, 4 Curlew, 3 Black-tailed Godwits, 5 Ruff and 786 Lapwings. A female/ringtail Hen Harrier flew east low over the reedbed at 7.30am and there was a single Pied Wagtail on the spit. There were 2 Tufted Ducks, 2 Pochards, 2 Sparrowhawks, 60 Redwings, 8 Snipe and 2 Little Egrets. Several Blackbirds were in the Paddock and there were 8 Bearded Tits, 1 Kestel and a male Stonechat. At Collard's lake at midday there was 1 Marsh Harrier, 375 Wigeon , 12 great-crested Grebes, 2 Sparrowhawks and a single Swallow.

(Martyn Wilson)

20th October

I was at Grove Ferry this morning and had a fairly uneventful trip until I returned to the car park at around 12.30. I heard a tuee call that I was familiar with from previous Yellow-browed Warbler sightings and then spotted a small warbler flying towards me from a sycamore next to a tall conifer near the car park. The bird landed near the top of a sycamore and I managed to get a good sighting through my bins, noting the broad wing bar and a slighter secondary wing bar, and clear creamy eyestripe. The bird disappeared from view and sadly there were no other birders in the car park at the time, but given the number of sycamores there I guess it might hang around for a day or too?
(Danny Chesterman)
    

10th - 20th October update

Recent additions to the Stour Valley sightings list include Great-grey Shrike, Ring Ouzel and Kittiwate (2 juveniles) as well as the return of the Wilson's Phalarope. Where has it been? Has it been away or just on unviewable pools? Is it a different individual, has it come from Norfolk, did our one go to Norfolk then come back, I guess we'll never know. Also although there was a single Brambling on the 5th Jan, there have been  good numbers in rcent days with a group of 4 feeding in the Hawthorns along the entrance track, a single on the ramp and a  couple of flyover flocks numbering 20(ish) birds plus a female/ringail Hen Harrier is also roosting.

10th October

I was out early this morning at 5.45am taking a brief drive around the valley outskirts but despite a few stops, I could not hear any Owls. I met up with Martyn, Mark and Pete at the entrance and as we made our way to the ramp, Thrushes could be heard calling in the darkness, mainly Song Thrushes. I stayed until 8.30am on the ramp with a quick look at the paddocks noting 29 Cormorant, 3 Cetti's Warbler, 272 Greylag Geese, 5 Snipe, 6 Wigeon, 5 Marsh Harrier, 2 Pintail, 2 Grey Heron, 4 Curlew calling early on and then flew high east, 3 Ruff, 12 Reed Bunting, 5 Linnet, 1 Brambling feeding at the base of the ramp with Chaffinches and Reed Buntings, also 1 Kingfisher. There were 5 Mute Swan, 1 Water Rail, 1 Corn Bunting, 4 Redwing, 2 Pied Wagtail, 13 Skylark west, 1 Stonechat, 1 Jay, 2 Green Woodpecker, 2 Blackcap, 1 Siskin, 4 Swallow, c500 Lapwing with good numbers of Mallard, Teal with a few Shoveler also noted.

(Marc Heath)

2nd October

A Short eared Owl was at Grove Ferry this morning, first seen flying past the ramp early on before it was seen again between Harrisons and middle Drove.