An adult winter male Ruff was a new bird today. Also present were 380 Lapwing, 1 Green Sandpiper, 35 Snipe, 46 Black-tailed Godwits and 1 Cetti’s Warbler. Yesterday a Raven flew southwest over the bed.

Three Ruff were still present today, two of which fed in front of the JM hide briefly.

Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus)from The John Morgan Hide

Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea)from the John Morgan Hide

A late Green-veined White along the south bank this morning.

The Kingfisher has been seen regularly this week from the John Morgan hide.

Yesterday a Great White Egret was seen from the tower hide before flying off west at 9:00 a.m. Other recent sightings have included 86 Black-tailed Godwit (per Brian Martin), 4 Ruff (per Les Jones), 1 Green Sandpiper, 1 Common Sandpiper and 41 Snipe. A Cetti’s Warbler is singing frequently in the centre of the bed, best heard from the tower hide. A flock of 30+ Siskin was near the footbridge yesterday evening and smaller numbers are regularly being seen/heard overflying the bed.

In spite of earlier forecasts of wet weather it turned out to be a lovely autumn day for my weekly walk around the reserve. Speckled Woods were still plentiful and a reserve-wide count of 50 was excellent so late in the year. There were also a few Small Tortoiseshells, Peacocks, Red Admirals and a Comma on No.4 bed. A couple of late flying Small Whites were also seen. A pair of Grey Wagtails was at the locks and a flock of 125 Canada Geese on the canal at the eastern end of the reserve. A further 70 were on No.3 bed together with 18 Greylags. Also on No.3 bed were about 400 Lapwing, 80+ Black-tailed Godwits, 2 Green Sandpipers and a Ruff. Photo; Comma on no.4 bed

Nine species of waders were recorded on No.3 bed today. 370 Lapwing were roosting in the centre of the bed. Amongst these were 14 Snipe and 1 Dunlin. Spread more widely across the bed were 79 Black-tailed Godwits, 5 Ruff, 3 Green Sandpipers, 1 Common Sandpiper. The heavy rain brought in a Greenshank and 1 Curlew was heard calling from the south bank. Other highlights included 2 Kingfisher from the John Morgan hide and a Cetti’s Warbler singing briefly from the tower hide. (Les Jones, Dave Steel, Al Warford, Helen Allan, Paul Hazelhurst Diane Shepherd, George Dunbar & David Spencer)

A mid-morning jaunt to No.3 bed produced a good variety of birds this morning. A Hobby had several unsuccessful goes at the hirundines feeding over the bed, while 3 Ruff, 1 Dunlin, 1 Common Sandpiper, 23 Snipe, 72 Black-tailed Godwits and 240 Lapwings were feeding voraciously on the ever-increasing mud. Other good sightings included Willow Tit, Water Rail and Kingfisher. Early on, David Spencer also had a Cetti’s Warbler near the Morgan Hide. Interestingly, there was a large shoal of small fish under the footbridge, which some kind soul might ID for me from the photo I’ve posted.

Photo of a Kingfisher in front of the Morgan Hide today.

Cheers David

Re: the photo of David’s on 10th September below, Dave Peate sent a contact note to the website to report the fish are Perch. Posted by John Blundell 13/09/2015

Photo of a Brown Hawker from No.3 bed today.

Cheers David

Photo of a shoal of small fish from under the No.3 bed footbridge today.

Cheers David

Dave Peate sent a contact note into the website to report these fish are Perch. Posted by John Blundell 13/09/2015

Photo of a Migrant Hawker from No.3 bed today.

Cheers David

A lazy afternoon on No.3 bed, with wader numbers were still good. Totals were: 3 Ruff, 1 Green Sandpiper, 24 Snipe, 54 Black-tailed Godwits and 186 Lapwings. Small numbers of Migrant Hawkers and Brown Hawkers were hunting actively while, after Saturday’s Painted Lady, it was good to finish the afternoon with a Brimstone on the south bank.

Photo of today’s Brimstone

Cheers David

Photo of a Black-tailed Godwit from today.

Cheers David

Photo of a Grey Heron from No.3 bed today.

Cheers David

A walk around the eastern end of the reserve and No.3 bed produced a total of 35 Speckled Woods, now the most plentiful species of butterfly as we move into autumn. There were a few Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell and Red Admirals but the most noteworthy sighting was of a late Gatekeeper on No.2 bed which equals the latest ever record at Woolston. Photo; Speckled Wood

Photo of a Common Darter from Butchersfield Tip this morning.

Cheers David

Photo of a Common Darter from Butchersfield Tip this morning.

Cheers David

Photo of a Brown Hawker from No.3 bed this morning.

Cheers David

Photo of A Kestrel from Butchersfield Tip this morning.

Cheers David

A very productive morning started at 6.30 am with a Visible Migration Watch from the top of Butchersfield Tip, till mid-day. Highlights were: 3 Tree Pipits, 51 Siskins, 2 Redpolls, 607 Swallows and 176 House Martins. We then moved on to No.3 bed, where plenty of waders were present. Counts included: 4 Ruff, 1 Dunlin, 1 Green Sandpiper, 62 Black-tailed Godwits and 1 Snipe, plus 4 Wigeon. Kieran Foster and Jason Atkinson also reported a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, a Pintail, a Common Sandpiper and a Lesser Whitethroat (trapped and ringed) from No.3 bed, making it a great day for species variety..

Photo of a Common Darter

Cheers David (with Dave Steel, David Spencer, Alan Warford, Paul Hazlehurst, Brian Baird, Helen Allan and George Dunbar)

A fine morning and I managed to cover No.1 bed and Butchersfield Tip before cutting short my walk as a result of a thunderstorm just before noon. Two Grey Partridge and a Hobby were on the tip and butterflies were still fairly numerous with 38 Speckled Wood, 31 Meadow Brown, 7 Common Blue and 4 Gatekeeper. Just before the rain arreived I found a Small Copper on No.1 bed - see photo

Pintail from the Rotary Hide

A nice sunny morning, with a short thunderstorm adding some variety along the way. The wader variety from the Morgan Hide remains the main attraction, with 1 Greenshank, 2 Ruffs, 3 Green Sandpipers, 2 Common Sandpipers, 48 Black-tailed Godwits, 16 Snipe and 210 Lapwings visible.

Cheers David (with David Spencer)