Siskins are In

A couple of Meadow Pipit were all that was to be seen on the Pit Tip Top at dawn. Arriving at the Mill Lakes I headed down to the Vehicle Bridge just behind Norman, who helpfully pointed out several singles, twos, and threes of Siskin feeding in the alders along the path to the Peninsula. Three Cormorant were on and around Tern Island, and a single Little Grebe was just south of the Peninsula. Good numbers of Teal were all around the lake, and three or more Shoveler were also present near the Greylag Island.

We met up with Ralph, and a single Mistle Thrush was in a tree by main entrance. There was another thrush too - a smaller one - possibly a Redwing, but too distant to clinch an ID. We headed out onto the Peninsula to look for Common Snipe; a couple were on the far bank and one on Mud Island, but Norman got us onto the Water Rail walking along the water's edge of the north west bank. Julie arrived and we examined the gulls. Two Common Gull were on the water amongst sixty plus Black-headed Gull, and a flock of fifteen Goldfinch went over to the far side of the lake.

As we walked around clockwise, a male Kestrel was perched in the trees backing on to the Dipping Ponds, and two Grey Heron were together in trees on one of the islands. There were still no geese to be seen. A distant Sparrowhawk was being mobbed by a crow over the lake, and the Pochard group at the south west side numbered seventeen - a personal highest count.

Heading up to the Leen Pastures a single Lesser Black-backed Gull went over, as did a Grey Wagtail. We'd heard a Willow Tit near the Peninsula earlier, but had good views of one on the feeding station.

There were good numbers of Blackbird, feeding on the ground around the edges of Broad Valley Stables' Horse Paddock, and another male Kestrel was on a fence post by the entrance to Bestwood Quarry. I chatted to the rangers for a bit, who'd been seeing off some rouge paintballers from the quarry, and got a nice male Bullfinch there too. On my way out of the park, a single Goldcrest was in a yew at back of Warren Hill. In all, a good morning that produced a respectable total of 41 species, and added a relatively easy patch tick in the form of the Siskin.

A Quick Autumn Walk

A quick walk around the Pit Tip and adjacent woodland before work didn't produce any of the scarcer finches, but was enjoyable, all the same. I started out by looking for a gull roost in Big Wood School's Paying Field, but nothing to be seen. Heading down into the woods below Ted Heath produced an obvious Nuthatch feeding in a bare tree, but this was my first record in this specific area. A group of seven or more Goldcrest were feeding around yews in Ted Heath, and they were joined by a mixed tit flock.

On the Pit Tip Top two Skylark were flushed by dog walker, and seven Meadow Pipit flushed from the main ride. A Cormorant was seen in the distance flying east from the direction of the Mill Lakes, and a Green Woodpecker flew from the Pit Tip Grassland into a tree on western edge of woodland.

Stoatally Different

Getting to the Mill Lakes before first light produced a personal highest count of three Little Grebe together at the very north end of lake where Leen enters. Also on the water were twelve Teal (ten were males), two female Pochard at the southern end, and two Cormorant were over as singles, then together on Tern Island in the late morning. A single Fieldfare was over to the west.

Just one day short of a year since my weasel sighting, I came across my first Stoat. Walking from the Mill Lakes to the Leen Pastures where the inlet pipe runs under the path, a rabbit was running straight down the path towards me being chased by what I first thought was a squirrel. As they got nearer it became obvious that it was either a stoat or a weasel, and the size and black tail tip confirmed the former.

Three Bullfinch were at the Leen Pastures gate, at least two were males. A single Grey Heron went over heading south. Along the Railway Line a single Goldcrest was in a large group of Long-tailed Tit and gave me some half-decent footage. Several large gulls went over to the west as I headed back towards the lake including an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull and a Great Black-backed Gull (probably 2nd winter).

Another male Bullfinch was on the back ride, and yet another one was on the Reedbed Boardwalk. The Black-headed Gull count was relatively low at around 35, but five Common Snipe had appeared on the far bank clearing by Mud Island, and another one on the southern side of Mud Island. Interestingly, there were no geese on the lake at all.

The walk home via the Horse Paddock of Broad Valley Stables produced another group of four Pied Wagtail, this time three adults and one 1st winter. A Sparrowhawk was over Parkside Pasture, and a Coal Tit was in Khalsa Wood.