Linacre WeBS - 14th December 2024

 Last weekend, I carried out the last Linacre WeBS count of 2024. It was, again, a very quiet affair with lower than average numbers of birds.

Birds seen were: Mallard (75), Mandarin Duck (21), Tufted Duck (6), Coot (1), Moorhen (10), Grey Heron (1), Cormorant (1), Great-crested Grebe (1), Little Grebe (1) and Black-headed Gull (9).

There were a few other birds in and around the woods: Nuthatch, Siskin (heard), Buzzard, Jay, Blackbird, Dunnock and a nice flock of c15 Long-tailed Tits, around the top reservoir.

Donna Nook - 1st December 2024

 It's been five years, since Jayne and I were last at the Atlantic Grey Seal breeding reserve at Donna Nook, in Lincolnshire (see post here). Today, we drove across, and had amazing views of bulls, cows and pups (1,400 at the moment!).

Pups

Cow and Pup feeding

Bull

Seal's flipper

There were a few birds flying about, the most numerous being Great Black-backed Gull, with several adults and juveniles feeding around the colony. Other birds seen were: Shelduck, Herring and Black-headed Gulls, Skylark (over) and Curlew.

Great Black-backed Gull (and cow seal)

Lithuanian Black-headed Gull - Holmebrook Valley CP

 This afternoon, I popped down to Holmebrook Valley CP to have a look at the Black-headed Gulls down there. There were about 60 on the water, including a new Lithuanian-ringed bird HA51.792.

HA51.972

I'll update the blog, when I received ringing details.

Rufford Gulls - 24th November 2024

Storm Bert put pay to any ringing this weekend, so instead, I headed over to Rufford to check up on the gulls. I was there for just under two hours, and saw 16 ringed Black-headed Gulls.

Birds seen were: 273A , 293A, 280B (ringed by me, as an adult, in November 2022, and my first sighting since 20th January 2024), 207C, 264C, 270C, 273C, 298C (ringed in February 2024, as a 5, i.e. born in 2023, and my first siting this winter), 207F, 220F, 221F, 223F, 230F, 234F, 239F (a new bird) and 244F (a new bird).

239F (age 3, born this year)

244F (age 3)

Clumber and Rufford - 16th November 2024

 On Saturday, I was out at Clumber Park, with the family. Whilst there, I had a quick check of the Black-headed Gulls and Mute Swans, finding a couple of ringed birds.

The first bird I saw was a Polish-ringed Black-headed Gull, TV02. I checked the number, and realised it was a bird I had first seen, at Clumber, back in February 2023. See the post here, for details, and a picture of this bird, as a 2nd year bird.

TV02

The second bird I saw was a ringed Mute Swan, Y404. This is a new bird for me. I'll update, when I find out where it was ringed. A single Great (White) Egret was also seen on the main lake.

Y404

After Clumber, Jayne and I had a very quick, half an hour, visit to Rufford, where I managed to spot 14 of "our" darvic-ringed Black-headed Gulls: 273A, 277A, 293A, 293B, 207C, 264C, 273C, 207F, 217F, 221F (new), 223F,  229F (new), 230F (new) and 234F (new).

221F

229F

230F

234F

Linacre WeBS and Ringing- October and November 2024

 I carried out this month's WeBS count at Linacre this morning. It was 12 degrees, grey and overcast, and, not for the first time this year, very quiet!!. I also realised that I hadn't posted last month's totals either, so here they are too.

October 2024 - Mallard (57), Moorhen (9; 8 adults and 1 juvenile), Coot (3), Cormorant (5 juveniles), Grey Heron (2), Tufted Duck (17), Mandarin (80), Great-crested Grebe (1), Grey Wagtail (2) and Black-headed Gull (2).

November 2024 - Mallard (53), Moorhen (9; 7 adults and 2 juveniles), Coot (1), Cormorant (1), Grey Heron (2), Tufted Duck (0!), Mandarin (16!!), Little Grebe (1), Pied Wagtail (1) and Black-headed Gull (1).

Last weekend, we were ringing at Linacre and managed to catch 25 birds: Redwing (6/0), Blue Tit 7/0, Great Tit 1/2, Coal Tit 1/0, Long-tailed Tit 6/0 and Wren 1/1.

Linacre Gadwall - 3rd November 2024

 Jayne and I had a quick walk around Linacre this morning. It was pretty quiet, until we arrived at the middle reservoir, where we disturbed a pair of Gadwalls.

This sighting is my first at Linacre since 2022, and only the fifth record since I started watching the site on a regular basis!. The other sightings were: 2 in February 2012, 2 in October 2013, 2 in December 2022 and 2 in March 2023. I managed to grab a quick photograph, before the battery on my camera ran out of juice!!

Gadwall