14/2/25 – Andy Middleton reported: 72 Snipe, 210 Curlew, 900 Dunlin, 100 Lapwing, 21 Redshank, 52 Teal, 125 Wigeon, 210 Common Gull and 4 Fieldfare.
13/2/25 – A Golden Plover with c100 Lapwing flying around.
11/2/25 – 2 Otter on lake at 9am; caught fish and ate it on bank - Video.
10/2/25 – The adult male Marsh Harrier on Lagoon 3 this afternoon, and the Mistle Thrush singing from Lagoon 1 again.
6/2/25 – Heather England reported the 2 Little Grebe on the lake and the male Black Redstart on the jetty. Otter with fish in mouth on lake.
Lovely photos of Little Grebes by HE and the Black Redstart by Nigel Jones (taken on 30th from Lagoon 2 towards waterworks).
5/2/25 – 2 Coot now on the lake.
4/2/25 – An adult male Marsh Harrier toured the site for an hour this morning (Shepperdine and Lagoons 2 & 3). And the Mistle Thrush singing from Lagoon 1 again.
3/2/25 – 44 Snipe pushed off seaweed by tide on shore by Lagoon 3, and a Golden Plover flying around with 60 Lapwing.
31/1/25 – Mother and young Otter in the lake at 2pm ! Watched for 10 minutes. Video1 and Video2.
30/1/25 – Louise Bailey reported a male Black Redstart on the jetty this morning.
29/1/25 – Andy Middleton had 2 male Black Redstart (either side of the jetty), 4 Stonechat, 34 Teal and 46 Wigeon, this afternoon. And the Coot and Little Grebe are back on the lake.
27/1/25 – My annual photo of the Snowdrops in the wood by the lake, giving the first hope of spring.
22/1/25 – A Golden Plover and 20 Snipe on the shore by Lagoon 3, and a Treecreeper in hedge there.
21/1/25 – A Mistle Thrush singing from Lagoon 1 this morning.
20/1/25 – A Treecreeper by the meadow and a Chiffchaff in the wood by the lake.
17/1/25 – The HT roost was relatively calm: 2 Ringed Plover (first for year), 1000 Dunlin, 150 Lapwing, 35 Redshank, 21 Oystercatcher and 20 Turnstone. And lots of courtship display already: 2 male Coal Tit singing at each other, Great Tit singing, Kestrel and Raven in vocal display flights, and the Great Spotted Woodpeckers have been going a bit crazy this week with lots of drumming and chasing (I think there are 3 pairs around) - video of drumming on street light !. (#84 species for me at OPS this year, and #85 for all-comers.)
16/1/25 – 6 Pintail (2m, 4f) on the estuary at the yacht club in the morning fog, and the pair of Stonechat still at the yacht club. And 2+ Otter on the lake at dawn.
14/1/25 – A Little Owl calling ("Whelk") for a couple of minutes at dawn, from inland of Pillhead Gout. (The last one at OPS was in Sept. 2023.) The HT roost was repeatedly chased by 2 Cocker Spaniels (again - see 4th). So all in the air were: 2 Grey Plover, c700 Dunlin, c250 Curlew, c120 Lapwing and 15 Turnstone. A juvenile Marsh Harrier was over Lagoon 3 (and also seen by Andy Middleton at Shepperdine and yacht club) - different bird to the one on 9th. AM's WeBS count: 21 Mallard, 22 Teal, 136 Wigeon, 134 Lapwing, 1500 Dunlin, 46 Snipe, 94 Canada Goose, 26 Redshank, 1 Water Rail and 4 Stonechat. (#82 species for me at OPS this year, and #83 for all-comers.)
12/1/25 – A pair of Common Scoter on the Tidal Res. this afternoon (stayed until dusk). Some video of them getting alarmed and diving as a Grey Heron approached too low ! (#80 species for me at OPS this year, and #81 for all-comers.)
10/1/25 – A cold and rather quiet bird-wise afternoon made it difficult to persist. But it was worth it, as I found my first over-wintering Common Sandpiper at OPS, in Oldbury Pill. (They have over-wintered before, but the last was in 2001 !) Then 10 Golden Plover were feeding with c50 Lapwing inland of the seawall towards Pillhead Gout. The lake was 99% frozen, with the Coot and 2 Moorhen in the small unfrozen corner by the outlet rhine. (#79 species for me at OPS this year, and #80 for all-comers.)
9/1/25 – A frosty (-2 degs C) morning. A 2nd-yr male Marsh Harrier on Lagoon 3 (photo below), a female Black Redstart on S side of towers, halfway up, in sun (photo below) and a Greylag with 85 Canada Goose roosting overnight on the Tidal res. (then flew to Littleton). The harrier flushed 35 Meadow Pipit and 2 Snipe. And a pair of Stonechat in the reeds by the lake (which was 80% frozen). (#77 species for me at OPS this year, and #78 for all-comers.)
7/1/25 – A Black Redstart very briefly among the pipes on SW side of SW-most building and 88 Canada Goose feeding in field. (#76 species for me at OPS this year, and #77 for all-comers.)
6/1/25 – 3 Shoveler downriver (2m, 1f). And the 3 Otter on the lake again at dawn. (#75 species for me at OPS this year, and #76 for all-comers.)
4/1/25 – A lot of birds seen from the yacht club at HT (all in the air, as for the 2nd HT running, inconsiderate dog owners let their dogs run loose all over the saltmarsh): a Black-tailed Godwit, c700 Dunlin, c30 Oystercatcher (Littleton), c50 Wigeon, 18 Shelduck, 30 Redshank, 120 Curlew and 120 Lapwing. And 6 Skylark on the saltmarsh. Also, Little Grebe, Grey Wagtail, Collared Dove and Goldcrest added to year-list. Plus Chiffchaff and Cetti's Warbler added to my year-list. (#74 species for me at OPS this year, and #75 for all-comers.)
Little Grebe asleep with a pair of Teal, and the Stonechat pair (L & Centre) with a Meadow Pipit.
3/1/25 – Matt Plenty reported 3 Cetti's Warbler (seen!). Also, Cormorant, Little Egret, Stock Dove and Linnet added to year-list. Woodcock and Chiffchaff reported on Birdtrack. (#67 species for me at OPS this year, and #70 for all-comers.)
2/1/25 – 63 species seen this morning: a Treecreeper, 1 Coal Tit, 11 Bullfinch (inc. flock of 8), all the common raptors (2 Peregrine, 1 Kestrel, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Buzzard). a Greylag with 91 Canada Goose, a pair of Gadwall at Shepperdine, a pair of Stonechat (waterworks), 2 Jay, a Water Rail (heard), 8 Snipe, a Skylark, 3 Rock Pipit, a Raven, 20+ Oystercatcher and a Mistle Thrush. (No Goldcrest, Little Egret or Black Redstart.) An amazing encounter with 3 Otter in the lake (female and 2 cubs) at dawn. The 2 youngsters were on the road side of the lake, with one actually seen on the bank. Then the female saw me and came shooting over straight for me. When it got to just 5 yards away it came full height out of the water and started soft-barking at me to warn me off - quite scary, as 4 foot long. At same time the young were making a mewing call. The female had a small fish in its mouth and went over to one of the young and I presume fed it. I then retreated. Incredible !
A review of 2024 can be found here.
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