Lesser Spotted Woodpecker - April 2022

 This female Lesser Spotted Woodpecker was picked up by the pecking sounds.  No drumming or calls were heard.  It was interesting to see it moving backwards down the branch while feeding.

A Pair of Garganey at Little Marlow GP

 With a few number of Garganey being reported around the country, we were hoping that one might turn up at Little Marlow.  We were not disappointed when a pair arrived at the site on 2nd April having been found by local birder Mike Mayall.  

The pair were initially rather distant and at one point flew around the lake as though they might depart. However they eventually moved to a shallow part of the lake in the NW corner where most of the short video clip below was taken.

Kittiwake at Little Marlow

There was a small movement of Kittiwake on 1st April and one was found by Adam Bassett on the east side of the gravel pit at Little Marlow.  Two more were seen in Milton Keynes.

The species is an annual visitor to the county but sometimes only one or two sightings.  However it is not annual at Little Marlow, so many of the local birders were keen to see this bird which stayed on site for a few hours.

There is a short video clip of this bird below.

Blue-winged Teal - A County First!

 This Blue-winged Teal was found by local birder David Bevan mid afternoon.  I was the second person on the scene and soon followed by Adam Bassett.  The bird was feeding on it's own in the smaller of the two pools that are part of the flood alleviation scheme.  It stayed until dusk allowing many county birders to contact with it.

The species has never been recorded in the county before, so if accepted it will be a county first!

The video turned out better than my still photos!

Green-winged Teal at Wilstone Res

 Green-winged Teal is a species that I have seen several times in the USA and Canada but not in the UK.  So when one turned up at Wilstone Reservoir, it was too good an opportunity to miss.  I couldn't get there for a couple of days but decided on a mid-afternoon visit.  The bird was feeding reasonably close to the hide on Draycote Bank so I managed a short video and a few still photos.

A Surprise Iceland Gull

 This Iceland Gull was seen at Little Marlow GP and Springfield Quarry in November and December 2021, so it was a big surprise when local birder David Bevan found it again on 10th Mar!  A number of other birders managed to see the bird before dusk and we thought that was it.  But on 19th March it turned up again.  It was not seen again despite several people trying for it.

Flackwell Heath Finches

In early December the number of Finches feeding in a set-a-side field at Flackwell Heath dramatically increased.  The biggest flock was of Linnets with 500 or so frequently seen into mid-January and an estimated maximum of 1000 on 5th January.  Also present were up to 400 Chaffinches and 250 Brambling during January.  The latter species attracted quite a few birders from around the area an typically about 200 were present.

The Linnets would flock together and typically fly in a tight flock while the Chaffinches and Bramblings would often fly in and out of the crops in a long straggly line and they would freely mix together.

Brambling - A nice male

Linnets - A small part of the flock waiting to go back to feed.

Linnets - alarmed birds heading for the bushes.

Bramblings and Chaffinches - A small part of the flock

A short video clip showing some of the Finches.