Mid-afternoon up to dusk today:

14 Goldeneye

20 Little Egrets, nearly all on the edge of Ramsdales Scrape at one brief point before heading off one or two at a time to roost

6 Great White Egrets

Bittern flew across Ramsdales into the reedbed at around 3:30pm (from the direction of the ‘nature reserve’), for one brief second with three other ’herons’ in the same field of view

2860 Herring Gulls in the roost

Late afternoon,

All egrets apart from one great white were in the trees on the ruck next to the mini spit. The odd one out was once again at the western end.

Great white egret 5

Little egret 20 (a new record count at the flash for me)

Goldeneye 10

Goosander 12

9.45am - 10.30am and again 2pm - 4pm,

High disturbance levels as usual on a Saturday but at least the yachts have the advantage of herding the ducks into the bays making counting easier.

Great white egret 6, four in Ramdales, one on the south side, one at the western end.

Little egret 8

Goldeneye 16 two males and 14 females / immatures.

Pochard 4 three males

Goosander 12 five males

Siskin 1 in alders near canal footbridge.

Late afternoon today:

2 Wigeon

1 drake Pochard

1 drake Mandarin

14 Goldeneye

16 Goosander

3 Great White Egrets

6 Little Egrets

2860 Herring Gulls in the roost

2 Kingfishers around Sorrow Cow Pond and shore

1 Cetti’s Warbler very vocal around Sorrow Cow Pond and shore

1 Goldcrest singing at Sorrow Cow Farm

This morning, including a watch from Ramsdales Ruck until 9am:

19 Whooper Swans SE, with a flock of 13 which also included 6 Pink-footed Geese at 07:50 and another 6 at 08:07 (photos below)

534 Pink-footed Geese over, with 423 E/SE in 9 skeins up to 08:26 and 111 W in 2 skeins between 08:41 and 08:48

23 Goosanders, all flew in from the north early morning

The usual comings and going of egrets, with at least two Great Whites

1 Snipe on Ramsdales Scrape

97 Great Black-backed Gulls flew over NE in small flocks throughout the morning

860 Woodpigeons SE in only 4 flocks, all very high and tightly formed

646 Redwings SW in 24 flocks

1 Fieldfare in trees by Ramsdales Lagoon

2 Blackbirds over high SW together

11 Chaffinches over S/SW in ones and twos

This morning from first light to just after 9am:

31 Pink-footed Geese flew east just south of the flash at 08:55 but then veered north and finally back around NW, perhaps not liking the look of the murk to the east over Manchester

2 Goldeneye

6 Goosanders

Still plenty of egret action but the too and fro of them across the flash makes counting very difficult, at least three Great White Egrets and maybe half a dozen Little Egrets

1 Dunlin flew through east at 08:51

19 Great Black-backed Gulls were on the spit first thing, left over from the evening’s roost and through the early morning a further 42 also flew over NE in small continuous flocks

11 Meadow Pipits down on the ruck

131 Redwings flew east in 8 flocks

90 Fieldfares flew east in 4 flocks

2 Ravens flew north together at 07:44

This morning, 9am - 11.30am,

Common scoter 1 drake

Goosander 21

Goldeneye 2

Pochard 2

Great white egret 2

Little egret 2

Fieldfare 200 over south easy

Pink-footed geese 70 over the ruck at 11am south east

Late news for yesterday, yellow-browed warbler calling near the footbridge over the canal at 15.30. Seen briefly. 

Today 13.30 - 15.00

An amazing sight of 3 great white egrets and 10 little egrets all in view at the same time. Seven little and a great white at the western end, 3 little and 2 great white in Ramsdales. 

Goldeneye 3

Goosander 16

Late afternoon today:

2 Wigeon (a pair)

9 Goosanders

2 Great White Egrets (west end and Ramsdales as usual)

9 Little Egrets visible at the same time at dusk, with six together at the western end and three together in Ramsdales. Two also flew east together an hour before dusk towards East Bay but could well have flown back to make up part of the nine.

176 Great Black-backed Gulls, though the majority flew off SW before dusk

1930 Herring Gulls

Mid morning to lunchtime 4 x Wigeon., 2 x Dunlin, 2 x Goosander, 2 x Fieldfare, 2 x Goldeneye and a complete absence of Wood Pigeon not a single bird seen in 3.5 hours

Late news for yesterday late afternoon, Great White Egret plus Little Egret at west end. Two adult Yellow-legged Gulls roosted and also 11 Goosanders

Info thanks to Phil Rhodes

This morning:

1 Great White Egret at the western end along with two Little Egrets

21 Great Black-backed Gulls around the flash, remnants from the night’s roost 

A flock of 14 Meadow Pipits feeding on the ruck

1 Chiffchaff along the shore of the ruck

This late afternoon:

230 Pink-footed Geese flew over west at 16:49 which veered off SW as they passed over the flash

12 female/immature Goosanders at the western end

1 Great White Egret around the western inflow as usual

3 Little Egrets, one at the western end and two on Ramsdales Scrape

Excellent sized gull roost, though I couldn’t pick out anything scarcer (though I was counting much of the time!)

71 Great Black-backed Gull (many leaving SW towards dusk as usual)

2920 Herring Gulls

6 Redwings west over Sorrow Cow Pond at 15:45

Late news forgotten about for yesterday afternoon when a Tawny Owl was singing around Sorrow Cow Pond prior to dusk

Late evening today saw the juvenile Garganey still present, Great White Egret at the western end, Little Egret by the spit and the adult Mediterranean Gull roosted again. 

Info thanks to Phil Rhodes 

This late afternoon/evening:

1 Great White Egret

3 Little Egrets

Adult Mediterranean Gull roosted

4 Wigeon still present

Info thanks to Phil Rhodes

This late afternoon and early evening:

83 Great Black-backed Gulls (75 of which were adults)

Adult Yellow-legged Gull (same individual as the 22nd)

1850 Herring Gulls

402 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

130+ Starlings in their own ‘mini murmuration’ around Ramsdales eventually roosted in the reedbed there.

Also late afternoon today:

2 Little Egrets at the eastern end and 7 Goosanders on the spit.

Info thanks to Phil Rhodes

First light this morning to just after 10am:

4 Whooper Swans (at least one an immature) flew SE at 08:16

744 Pink-footed Geese over, with 524 SE in six skeins and 220 W in two skeins

2 Greylag Geese over W

2 drake Pochards off the car park

3 Goosanders, including a drake, off the car park

1 Little Egret flew in from the west early morning

6+ Snipe on the spit

11 adult Great Black-backed Gulls remaining from the gull roost at first light

6819 Woodpigeons over SE in 123 flocks from 08:10 to 09:50

4 individual Skylarks over south and two still down on the ruck

8+ Meadow Pipits down on the ruck and a small handful over south

77 Redwings over S/SW in 9 flocks

1 Chiffchaff on the ruck

33 Goldfinches over south in small flocks

17 Chaffinches over south in ones and twos mainly

4 individual Greenfinches over south

Many more finches in small flocks over south, probably into three figures and many with the bulk of the Woodpigeon movement/flocks but all way too distant to identify!

1 male Linnet down on the ruck

1 Lesser Redpoll north over the ruck

A morning of high disturbance with ducks flying everywhere. Virtually no usable shore anywhere for waders due to water levels, swimmers and sailing club. One particular member of the sailing club seems determined to flush everything, constantly taking her canoe right into every nook and cranny and seemingly only happy when everything flies off. This is despite reassurances from the person in question and the sailing club that it will not happen again, it just doesn't seem to sink in. Oh well, despite the best efforts of people to disturb everything, I managed to see the following at this "National Nature Reserve" between 8:00 - 11:00;

Pochard 5 inc. 4 males

Wigeon 2 females / 1st winter off the remnants of the spit

Mandarin 1 female on what's left of Ramsdales scrape

Egyptian goose 1 adult at the sailing club

Teal 20 Ramsdales scrape

The birds I just reported as black-necked grebes are being put out on the birding apps as Slavonian, which I must admit I thought they might be when I first saw them. In the photos, the right hand bird especially seems to have the head shape.

Please excuse the quality of the photos. I was battling with pouring rain, mist and soaked optics.

Highlights from this morning:

Female/immature Pintail with Wigeon flock

4 Wigeon, including two males

Drake Mandarin circled the ruck before flying off back towards the canal basin. Judging by the amount of Mallards flying around at that point too it would seem they'd all been disturbed off there.

2 Great White Egrets

4 Little Egrets

53 Snipe circled the ruck at 08:25 before flying off NW. There were a few Snipe visible on the mini spit earlier but it is unknown if this flock was disturbed off the Ramsdales area or came in from elsewhere

24 (all adult) Great Black-backed Gulls, with 14 down on the water and the rest flying over NE

22 Meadow Pipits down on the ruck

748 Redwings over east in 24 flocks up to 09:30 (record shot of one of the flocks attached)

1 Linnet NE over the ruck at 08:12

Bittern flew out of Ramsdales reedbed and over the trees along the edge of the ruck at 13:35, before doubling back towards the same reedbed.

Info thanks to John Dixon

This morning's highlights:

2 Greylag Geese over east

Juvenile Garganey still on Ramsdales Scrape

Drake Pochard in Ramsdales

202 Tufted Ducks

2 Great White Egrets (one of which perched on the very top of the tallest tree by the lagoon on the eastern side of the ruck for some time)

2 Little Egrets

1 Chiffchaff on the ruck

5 Bullfinch in a flock feeding on western end of the ruck