December 2002 Ogston Bird News – 78 Species – 31 Days Covered.

December was quite wet overall, with snow showers on 12th. Towards the end of the first week the wind changed to a NE direction and it became bitterly cold with frost on several occasions; this continued until the end of the third week. Milder conditions prevailed for the rest of the month with the wind coming from a Westerly or Southerly direction. By the month end the rainfall had filled the reservoir to capacity and Plover Island had become a true Island (to the relief of certain parties).

Little Grebe were seen on six dates during the month and Great Crested Grebes peaked at fourteen on 19th. A mute Swan was present most of the month and several skeins of Pink-Feet totalling four hundred and eighty birds were noted heading East on 5th. Shelduck were noted on three dates and Goldeneye on two occasions. Goosanders were present virtually every day from 17th with seven birds present on 7th. Shoveler were also noted on many dates particularly during the third week. Tufted Duck numbers peaked at ninety-eight and Pochard reached near record levels the highest actual count being two hundred and ninety-eight. It is probably due to the excellent feeding conditions that we have seen the high numbers of Ducks.

Raptors did not feature highly but sightings of Common Buzzard were noted on three dates on one occasion the bird being perched near the entrance to Carr Wood. Sparrowhawks and Kestrels were seen on many days as would be expected.

Lapwings were present on six days with a maximum of two hundred and fifteen on the 6th. Redshank were noted several times during the month with three seen flying over near Milltown inlet on 10th and on 20th a single bird was feeding in the top scrape. Snipe numbers were at their highest on 1st with eleven birds being seen. On 29th the highlight for some was when a Water Rail showed itself in the Kingfisher Pond just before dark.

The Gull roost started to build from the end of the first week with Black-headed and Herring Gulls being the most numerous. Caspian Gulls were identified on 11th & 12th (1st winter), 13th (adult) and 16th & 20th (1st winter). Iceland Gulls (1st winter) were seen on the 12th, 13th and 16th and a 1st winter Mediterranean Gull was observed on 16th. Yellow Legged Gulls were found in the roost on 17th and 28th.

Other birds recorded during the month included Kingfisher, Green Woodpecker, Goldcrest, Treecreeper and Nuthatch. Flocks of Redwing and Fieldfare were around as were Siskin and Lesser Redpoll. The Stonechat, which had frequented the West Bank was not seen after 21st. Although Linnets were recorded they were not as common as last year. A new bird for the year was recorded on 18th when a Twite was heard calling as it circled around Milltown inlet.

Bryan Hartley