31st Dec - quite a lot of rain during the night, with ground standing water everywhere this morning. Cloudy, light-mod SW, 8C

Stanford-on- Avon; morning

Two Cattle Egret on the monument field, a Little Egret lakeside and a Green woodpecker.

30th Dec - early light rasin, then cloudy, dull, mod SSE-S wind, 11C

WIlley; morning

At the feed station 18 House Sparrows and the first Yellowhammer of the winter.

Song Thrush singing (also yesterday)

Shawell sandpit/landfill;

14 Red Kites, c100 Teal, c 60 Coot, 5 Shoveler, 4 Gadwall, Pochard 1, a Little Grebe, plenty of Gulls.

19 Moorhens (my highest ever site count).

Swithland Reservoir; afternoon

Velvet Scoter still present off Kinchley Lane.

Goldeneye, wigeon, Gadwall, Mallard, Tufted. a Grey heron

Generally low duck numbers present on the water.

29th Dec - cloudy, light WSW, C, some light rain/showers p,

Stanford Hall; morning

c25 Siskin and c10 Goldfinches feeding in the Alders, A Nuthatch and Little Egret nearby.

Stanford Reservoir;

Two drake Pintails and two drake Goosanders in Blowers Lodge Bay.

Two Red Kites, c30 Redwings and 1 Goldfinches near the dam.

Three Goldeneye., a Grey Heron.

Harborough Magna - sunflower seed field; afternoon

Not many birds here currently.  3 Yellowhammers, a Reed Bunting, 2 Greenfinch, 10 Chaffinches

Lilbourne Meadows.

A  look at the field flood pools, the usual ducks, Wigeon, Teal, Gadwall, Shoveler and Mallard.

28th Dec - mod-blusterly SW, gusts upto 40mph and showers, some very heavy, 9C

Water, water everywhere!!

Willey;

A Raven flew over low SW, calling.

Shawell sandpit/landfill; morning.

A look here during a calmer weather spell.

The Egyptian Goose again, 5 Pochard, 5 Gadwall, c60 Teal, Tufties, Mallard, a Little Grebe, a Cormorant.

c20 Ravens, 6 Red Kites,

c 00 GBB Gulls, plenty of Herring Gulls and lesser numbers of  Black-headed and Common Gulls.

This fungus was surviving the rain quite well indeed.

27th Dec - mod/strong -gusty S, up to 35mph, rain most of the day, 10C

Awful weather day.

26th Dec - sunny spells am becoming cloudy, light SW, 10C

Stanford Res.

c30 Chaffinches, with Blue and Great Tits, in leaf litter under Beeches on verge at entrance drive area, no Brambling though.  

25th Dec - cloudy am, rain and mod wind from mid-day, 8C

 No obs

24th Dec - cloudy, mod-blusterly WSW, upto 30 mph gusts, 13C MILD!!

Shawell Sandpit/landfill; morning.

Very similar to yesterday, except less gulls. c50 Common Gulls.

A Cormorant, 6 Pochard, 10 Wigeon, 5 Gadwall. Coot 62, Moorhen 16.

Stanford Res; afternoon.

11 Goosanders (7 drakes), a Red Kite, a Shoveler, otherwise similar to yesterday.

23rd Dec - Sunny periods, mod-fresh W, 11C

Shawell sandpit/landfill; morning.

Plenty of Gulls present, but I didn't find any scarce Gulls or 'white-wingers'.

55 Coots, 15 Moorhens, 4 Pochard, 28 Tufted, c80 Teal, Shoveler 7,I Great-crested Grebe, Little Grebe 2, 

Red Kite 3, Ravens.

Willey; mid-day

I did check my paddock feed station, but there's so little coming to it this winter.  

Six Collared Doves were in the area.

Stanford reservoir; afternoon.

Three Goosanders, female Goldeneye, plus the other usual ducks.  

360 Greylags flew in.

A Buzzard.

A pair of Mistle Thrushes feeding on the dam.

Good number of Gulls coming to roost.

22nd Dec - cloudy, mod W, 10C, some rain/drizzle at times

 No obs.

21st Dec - cloudy, fresh blustery NW, gusts up to 40mph, 13C

Conditions were difficult today, with most birds keeping a low profile, so I decided to crack on with compiling my section of the species accounts for the 2022 LROS bird report.  Great to get it completed.

20th Dec - cloudy, light mod SW, 10C. little drizzle now and then

At last the shortest day is  in sight.  

A busy day, no obs to note.

19th Dec - rain until about 1300h, then cloudy, mod SW-W, 10C

 No obs today

18th Dec - light rain am, slowly clearinf, then mostly cloudy, mod SW breeze, 12C

Harborough Magna - Sunflower field.

A check early afternoon, not too many birds present, probably too wet again.  c40 Chaffinch, 10 Yellowhammers, 2 Red Buntings.

17th Dec - cloudy, mod breeze SW, 10C

A WeBS count day, but not too much on the lake I count.

Soar Brook Lake.

Wigeon 12, Tufted 2, Mallard 15, Little Grebe 2, a Grey Heron. Coot 12, Moorhen 7, and a handful of Gulls.

Also of note, a Green Woodpecker, a small flock of Lesser Redpolls moved along the brook trees.

Mere Lane Lake.

Very quiet a few Tufted, Coot and Little Grebe 2.

Lilbourne Meadows;

All the usual winter birds on the flood pools and rough meadows as reported previously.

DIRFT;

On the flooded non-developed area, c200 Lapwing, c 150 Golden Plovers, Wigeon, Shovelers, Gadwall, Mallards and 2 Teal.

16th Dec - mostly cloudy, light SW, 11C

Magna Park; morning.

A roaming Lesser Redpoll flock, a few Goldfinch, feeding in the alder/Silver Birch.

Two Little grebes and 11 Mallards on the lake.

Stanford on Avon; afternoon.

Two Cattle Egrets still feeding in the monument field.

A Nuthatch near the lane bridge.

Shawell Sandpit/Landfill; afternoon.

10 Red Kites, a Sparrowhawk, Pochard, Wigeon, Shoveler, Mallard, a Little Grebe, Ravens.

Starlings pre-roost gathering on the landfill area, a little bit of mururating before heading off to the roost an straight down.

15th Dec - CLoudy, liught SW, 8C

Willey;

Mistle Thrush on the Holly berries, church gardens 

Stanford Hall Lake; afternoon.

Great White Egret stalking the lake side vegetation.

Stanford reservoir; afternoon.

Pretty Quiet.  Usual Ducks including 2 Goldeneyes.

Long-tailed Tit Flock c10, and a Treecreeper with them.

c50 Fieldfares, fewer Redwings.

14th Dec - drizzle and cloud am, a few sunny intervals pm, light SW, 8C

Harborough Magna; sunflower field, morning

14 Yellowhammers, c30 Chaffinch, 6 Reed Buntings, a Greenfinch, Redwings.  

I don't think the finches etc like it when the sunflowers are soaking wet!

Lilbourne Meadows; afternoon

Wigeon, Teal, Shoveler, Mallard, Coot, Moorhen, Fieldfares.

13th Dec - drizzle most of the day, low cloud dull, light/mod N, 6C

WIlley;

A Great-spotted Woodpecker on the feed station - not seeing these as often as I did last year.  

Also, the Nuthatches have disappeared since the Spring!

A male Sparrowhawk flew down the main street then dashed off over the field.

12th Dec - dull, mostly cloudy, some light rain, light SW, 9C

Hinckley-  Triumph Island

A single Waxwing was showing after lunch, eating berries.

Above image was lightened.

Soar Brook Lake; afternoon.

7 Wigeon, 2 Little Grebes, 10 Coot, 4 Moorhen, 2 Mute Swans, Cormorant 4, Buzzard on field

11th Dec - mostly high cloud, light SW, 9C

Willey; morning.

Six Stock Doves around the field barn buildings.

Surprising how the Oak tree still has most of its leafs , whereas other trees do not.

Shawell Sandpit/landfill; afternoon.

16 Red Kites, similar ducks as yesterday, plus the Egyptian Goose. 

Thousands of Gulls, 95% Herring Gulls, next abundant seemed to be Great Black-back Gull.

10th Dec - Cloudy, mostly light SW, 8C, rain from 1100h until mid afternoon.

Harborough Magna; sun flower fields, morning

c70 Greenfinch, c30 Chaffinch, 2 Brambling, 10 Reed Buntings, 6 Yellowhammers, a Kestrel, Redwings and Fieldfares on hedges. 

Shawell Sandpit/landfill; morning

New today a female Egyptian Goose and 105 Lapwings and 14 Red Kites, otherwise similar to yesterday.

Dec 9th - rain until midday, then cloudy, mod-blustery SW, 10C

Shawell sandpit-landfill; early pm.

c30 Ravens, a Red Kite, 9 Moorhen, 35 Coot, Pochard 5, Tufted c20, Teal c70, Wigeon, 7, Shoveler 3, Little Grebe 2. A Cormorant.

Not many Gulls, mostly Great Black backed c70, resting on the water and island.

Stanford Hall Monument field; Northants

Two Cattle and two Little Egrets feeding on flooded field.  Also, a Great White Egret feeding in rough vegetation near the Hall lake.  A Mistle Thrush was present too.

8th Dec - mostly sunny, light SE/S, 8C

Willey;  a few more redwings coming to the Church yews, but no Mistle  Thrush for several weeks now.

7th Dec - rain most of the day, cloudy, dull, mod SE

Pretty miserable, everywhere totally saturated.

6th Dec - Frfost -4C last night. Sunny, light breeze, 4C

Stanford reservoir; afternoon.

Nothing new today.

10 Shovelers, 11 Goldeneye, 2 Little Grebe.

5th Dec - rain until midday,, then cloudy, light N, 5C

Stanford reservoir; afternoon.

Two Red-crested Pochards, a drake and female.  3 Teal, 5 Goldeneye.

Barnacle Geese -46.  Presumably the feral flock from the south Midlands, flushed off by nearby shooting activity, flew off eastwards, 1530h.

4th Dec - cloudy, 5C, light SE-E. Rsin last night and from yesterday means everywhere is very saturated and water-logged.

Harborough Magna; sun flower field.

Surprisingly fewer Greenfinch and Chaffinch, c 70 and c30 each.  15 Yellowhammers, 8 Reed Bunting, 6 House Sparrows.  Single Brambling.

3rd Dec - snow during the night, melting. Foggy, light rain all day, 3C, very light SE/E

Willey; late morning.

I checked the paddock feed station, a Collard Dove was just leaving, plenty of Blue and Great Tits, up to 7 Greenfinches, a single Goldfinch, 9 House Sparrows.

Redwings feeding on the Holly, a few Starlings flying around, a couple of Dunnocks creeping about.

Stanford reservoir; afternoon.

Conditions were very poor, limited viewing possible.

A Great Egret and Grey Heron near the dam, 11 Teal and 3 Goldeneye spotted.

A Kestrel and Buzzard.

2nd Dec - -2C last night, staying -2C all day with Fog hanging around ll day , vis c200yds, very light SW

Harborough Magna; sunflower field.

Poor visibility, more birds than recently.  c200 Greenfinch, c100 Chaffinch, 1 Brambling (female, a male the other day, probably a few more here), a Goldfinch, 2 Reed Buntings.

Stanford reservoir; afternoon.

Very poor visibility.  Redwings and Fieldfares on the boundary Hawthorn bushes.

4 Teal, 2 Goldeneye.

1st Dec - -2C last night. Mostly a misty, cloudy day, cold 2C, very light N.

Ashby Parva; afternoon.

Followed up a lead that 2 Waxwings had been present in the village, however a good search failed to find any, or any suitable berried bushes.

30th Nov - -3C last night, mostly sunny, light NNE, 4C

Harborough Magna; Sun flower seed field

c100 each Chaffinch and Greenfinch, 4 Reed Buntings, 3 Yellowhammers, a Brambling and a Linnet.

Stanford Reservoir; afternoon.

4 Goldeneye and a Little Grebe among the usual duck. 

A Sparrowhawk and Kestrel

29th Nov - -2C last night and only 2C. Mostly sunny, light NW

Stanford reservoir; afternoon.

A drake and female Goosander were relaxing in the narrows, 2 Teal, only one Shoveler and 4 Goldeneye.

Redwings and Fieldfares were on the berries, but other passerines in short supply, nine Long-tailed Tits and a few Blue Tits along the Leics bank.

A Jay alarmed by a bird of prey, possibly a Sparrowhawk, A Raven calling, then flew over south.

Mixed Blue and Great Tits, at least 20 in the leaf litter under the Beeches, plus a Chaffinch.

28th Nov - sunny periods, light WSW, 7C

Busy day, no obs to report.

Colour Ringed Shag update.

I mentioned the colour ringed Shag spotted in Wells harbour on November 11th, Blue XDH, it  was ringed as a chick on Inchmickery, Firth of Forth, on 16^th June this year.  It had also been seen at Wells by somebody else, on 27th Oct, so it is hanging around.

27th Nov - a miserable wet cold day, light/mod N, 5C

No obs today.

26th Nov - frost last night -2C. Cloudy, light S, mistly and dull pm, a little drizzle.

Willey; morning

c300 Starlings on the wires/fields to the east of the village.

Stanford reservoir; morning.

Rather quiet really, and almost still.

A drake Goosander, 3 Teal, 4 Shoveler, 4 Goldeneye.

Treecreeper in boundary hedge behind main reedbed.

Draycote Water; afternoon.

The Great Northern and Black-throated Divers were showing in the Biggins Bay area.

Two Goosanders (male and female) plus other regulars.  

Six Meadow Pipits along the bank and a Song Thrush sang a little.