CWP floods....and Egrets

30 Dec - A total of 27 Little Egrets on the extensive floods at Ashton Keynes, either side of the B4696, this afternoon. By far my highest ever Wiltshire count.

Soggy Otmoor.....

26 Dec - The highest water levels I have ever seen at Otmoor, and impressive aerobatics from the wader flocks - c2000 Golden Plover and c3000 Lapwing, also 9 Snipe flew over. Good numbers of dabbling ducks included 3+ drake Pintail among the Teal and Wigeon. A Chiffchaff was calling in the hedgerow, and a couple of Reed Buntings present.

Wildfowl.....

23 Dec - finally, a dry interlude with a bit of sun, and a quick lunchtime walk.....5 smart redhead Smew were together on pit 28 at CWP, with 13 Goosander (9 drakes, 4 redheads) on the adjacent pit 30. Also 5 redhead Goosanders on pit 56 at Neigh Bridge. Pit 74 from twitcher's gate showed amazingly high water levels, 12 Pintail (8 drakes, 4 females) were the highlight, but only c25 Shoveler seen, with good numbers of Teal and Wigeon.

Waxwings.....

16 Dec - this excellent photo of some of the Cheltenham Waxwings was taken by, copyright, Mark Dowie.

Bittern.....Waxwings.....Long-tailed Duck!

15 Dec - The best views I have ever had of a Bittern, watched in the open from Zeiss hide at Slimbridge in the morning (1-3). Also at Slimbridge - Bewick's Swans (4), White-fronted Geese (along the entrance road), c900 Dunlin, c150 Lapwings, c20 Golden Plover, 3 Black-tailed Godwits, Curlew, Snipe and Redshank - together with hundreds of Wigeon, Teal, Shoveler and Pintail. c50 Waxwings were flying around Princess Elizabeth Way, Cheltenham, but were very mobile. Then, a visit to Baulking gravel pit, not far from home, and a stunning male Long-tailed Duck seen at an unlikely location (5-6). All in all, a good morning! Photos JM.

Great White Egret at Coate

13 Dec - A quick visit to a frozen Coate Water before work, and good views of the Great White Egret close to the second hide - A photo on my iphone shows it very distantly (!), and the other photo is copyright Tony Martin. Also seen - a Kingfisher, 10 Siskins, 2 Redpolls and 2 drakes and a female Goosander very close to the dam.

Waxwings..... and Smew

8 Dec - I finally caught up with some Swindon Waxwings, arriving in Oakhurst just as the flock was perching on aerials after feeding - approximately 30 birds in total - I just had time to grab 2 or 3 photos before they flew off, and I just had one further view of the flock distantly in flight. Photo JM. In the late afternoon, 2 redhead Smew were on pit 29 in the CWP, and 7 Goosanders on the adjacent pit 30. Unfortunately some wildfowlers arrived, and disturbed all the birds, but happily appeared to be very poor shots. I didn't know the shooting rights were private here, which seems strange next to a busy road. A very quick look at pit 74 produced a pair of Pintail, 9 Curlew and a Little Egret in flight.

CWP

2 Dec - A frosty fine day, a quick look at the Water Park produced 9 Goosander (5 drakes and 4 redheads) on pit 30. Redhead Smews had been reported earlier on pit 28/29. Pit 74 from twitcher's gate was very productive - with high water levels thronged with wildfowl - 109 Shoveler was my highest ever count in the CWP - also 3 Pintail (2m,1f) c150 Teal, c300 Wigeon, drake Goldeneye, drake Pochard, 30 Tufted Duck, 6 Curlew, 10 Lapwings, a Little Egret, a flyover Redpoll, and Water Rail and Great Spotted Woodpecker heard.

Oxford and Farmoor.....

1 Dec - A cold sunny morning, first stop St Giles in central Oxford, where 28 Waxwings were feeding around the churchyard and perching in the treetops (1-3). Excellent views in the low sun. Also Mistle Thrush and Redwing looking for berries. Then Farmoor on the way home was excellent - a single Waxwing was with the thrush flock behind F1, also a male Brambling with the finches in the hedge there - and 3 female Scaup (4) and a Slavonian Grebe (5,6) on F1, also a pair of Goldeneye. Photos JM.