The End of 2008

For my last visit of the year, I walked much of my usual route: Pit Tip, Dawson's Corner, Sustrans and Mill Lakes, but headed back the same route and walked around the bottom of the Pit Tip behind the Winding House and back up on to the Pit Tip Top via the horsetrail from the Sidings. This morning's Magpie roost at Dawson's Corner showed at least twelve birds leaving at dawn, but I suspect there to be a lot more. At the Mill Lakes, the single Greylag Goose was joined by a flock of 57 others that flew in just after sunrise. The flock contained a few pale hybrid-type birds. Just a few pairs of Canada Goose were present, including one bird with pale plumage onits face/upper neck (where plumage is usually black). A male and female Pochard were amongst the flotilla of Tufted Duck at the southern end of the lake. A Little Grebe was fishing off shore of Tern Island, a single Cormorant was on the island, and two more were over to the north. A Grey Heron was fishing from the mud bank near the Dipping Ponds Viewpoint. At least four Common Snipe could be seen in the undergrowth on Mud Island, and there was large Siskin flockof about sixty birds in alders around the Peninsula. There were about thirty Black-headed Gull on the water, with a single 1st-winter Common Gull amongst them.

It was a better than average day for gulls: ten Lesser Black-backed Gull were heading north-east over the Pit Tip and Sidings - roughly half were adult birds; and at least one adult Herring Gull was flying about over the Pit Tip Top. On the horsetrail up to the Pit Tip Top, a party of Bullfinch consisted of a male, a female and one other bird in the hedgerow alongside the cow field. I flushed a Green Woodpecker from the bottom of this field up to the Pit Tip Top were it was later seen by the main Plantation fence, and a Skylark also flushed from the Pit Tip Top.