Sunday 2nd Jan 2011

Drayton birder reported 30 plus Waxwings at Peachcroft this morning. Not in the car park Rowans (now minus berries) but on nearby roof aerials (to south?). SU 507 985/6

Early PM - Abingdon Sewage Works / Wilsham Gravel Pits / South Abingdon (SU4995 & SU4994)

Red-crested Pochard male and redhead Smew on the non-mapped flooded pits some 500-800metres SSE of the sewage works (shown on Google Earth and centered on the word Otney on the 1:25,000 OS map within SU4994). Some waterfowl, gulls and 3 Grey Herons wary (most path approaches are at height on overburden piled around the margins). The Smew was not tolerant of stones thrown across ice by youngsters, but thankfully only flushed to far side of the increasingly ice free water body (but still take care !). The colour-ringed Lesser Black-backed stayed to reveal its origin in due course.

Apparently the Bittern on 1st Jan was, out in the open, on the pit due East of the Sewage Works, where a good variety of waterfowl and gulls still resided today between 11am and 2.15pm. 2 adult Common Gull, another nonUK overlap ring - ed LB-back, full breeding plumage Cormorant, a Great Tit singing an excellent Green Sandpiper flight call, 2-3 Treecreepers, a single Chiffchaff and 2 Grey Wagtails (in the works) was the other interest noted whilst optimistically scanning all flooded pit margins for a bemused static Botaurus.


Mid PM - ‘1066’
(View eastward from footpath SU487 942)

With the recent exit of Teal from Thrupp Lake, Radley, a flock of 3-400 at the recently thawed Drayton Road flooded meadow (known as 1066) possibly reveals the reason. Also present: c80 Wigeon; at least 3 male Shoveler and a few Mallard.

Late PM - Thrupp Lake, Radley (View west from SU521 975)
Tom and Wayne saw the 1stW Glaucous Gull arrive at 3.45pm and it was still sitting on ice when I left at 4.45, amongst a flock of less than 100 large gulls. No Scaup seen, but Tom saw a Goosander fly around which decided not to join the single feeding female Goldeneye. After mentioning NO geese last night, 117 Greylag’s and 157 Canada’s arrived in mass formation this evening at 4.40pm. Perhaps tonight I should mention there were NO Bewick’s, or White-front’s….....