7-1-12, Whitemoor Haye.

Another morning around Whitemoor Haye and I started looking around the area of the quarry entrance which included the pool, the lane on the otherside of the road to the pool and also the small wood along the lane. Birds noted around here were Dunnock, Magpie, Black Headed Gull, Woodpigeon, Wren, Carrion Crow, 9 Mallard, 5 Tufted Duck, an amazing count of 245 Pochard - I cant remember that many before, Blue Tit, Blackbird, 28 Lapwing, Robin, Grey Heron, Goldfinch, Kestrel, Great Tit and Stock Dove. Onto the usual lanes and I added 323 Mute Swans, Pheasant, Buzzard, a single Golden Plover flying over (I had to double check on my cd's that it was not a Grey Plover as I am not to up on the flight calls and one been seen around super Utch GP recently if not that morning (I am writing this 5 days on, memory not good), Starling, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Greylag Geese, Canada Geese, Skylark, Fieldfare, a super adult female Peregrine dropped from out of nowhere on the hunt, Tree Sparrow and Pied Wagtail.

Blithers.

I had to visit the sailing club at Blithfield on work business, that and missing the Black Redstart on Christmas Day, I decided to make the trip worth while.......hopefully. Having sorted out what was needed to be sorted out it was hunting a small blackish bird, I headed towards the usual bay but having read other blogs and also the fact that somebody was having a mooch around the newly dug drains and looking gloomy, I concentrated on the shoreline and within minutes I saw a small bird fly from the shoreline into a small tree but by the time I trained my scope on the bird it had disappeared. I was soon joined by the other chap and after a while around where I saw said tiny bird with no luck we walked adjacent to the shore up to the dam but nothing so returned. A bit further on was a taller tree and after having a look the Black Redstart soon showed itself. Cracking. I must add the conditions were immensely windy so birding on the water was minimal. Other birds noted were Mute Swan, Cormorant, Wigeon, Lapwing, Greylag Geese, Black Headed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Coot, Mallard, Fieldfare, Carrion Crow and Wren.

After going home for a bite to eat and look at any FA cup footry, I decided to head to a private gravel pit. Of interest there were plenty of usual wilfowl (Mallard, Wigeon, Tufted Duck and Gadwall) plus a good numbers of Goldeneye, Shoveler and Great Crested Grebe and a pair of Pintail which was a nice bonus. A half decent gull roost was gathering as dusk was approaching and I was interested as to whether theis was a proper roost or just a pre-roost but unfortunately three gun toting people were walking the shoreline and the gulls didn't hang about, and after a few shots neither did I.

Whitemoor Haye.

Dusk was upon me by the time I arrived here but I fancied hanging around looking for any owls that I coulkd add to the year list. Soon enough the Little Owl wasout on the edge of the tree before flying off but no sign of any other owls. I went home.