20th Sept - cloudy and dull, little drizzle midday then brighter sunny afternoon, 18C, mod/brisk NE

Soar Brook Lake; morning.

About 400 Lesser Black-backed Gulls loathing on the arable field/lake with lesser numbers of BH and Herring Gulls.

Green Sandpiper on adjacent pool, three Little Grebes.

Shawell Sandpit; evening

Two Ferruginous Ducks still, although the wing feathers of the one in moult have grown noticeably now, so maybe nit much longer.

A female Goldeneye, which is quite scare in SW Leics, may last here was 2021and before that 2019, usually the winter months.

A Cackling Goose was with the Canada Geese, it stood out really well, a good example.

19th Sept - cloudy, some sunny spells pm, brisk NE, 19C

Willey; three Swallows over home first thing.

Draycote Water;, afternoon.

I went over to see the juv Red-necked Grebe that was reported this morning in the Toft Bay area.  After about an hour of searching I found it, it showed quite well, then swam off to the far side and went to sleep.  I managed a record photo at distance.

Other birds included redhead/female Goosanders, Great and Little Egrets, a good number of Shovelers, Wigeon, and Teal. 

18th Sept - cloudy am, clearing to sun mid-afternoon, mod NE, 19C

Shawell Sandpit; evening

The two ferruginous Ducks are still present, also three Shelduck which are fairly unusual here this time of year.

14 Red Kites.

17th Sept - misty start, slow to clear, then sunny, light/mos NE, 20c

Willey;  only one Swallow seen this morning.

Bittesby CP; afternoon

No Whinchats found today.

Buzzard, Kestrels and a Red Kite over.

16th Sept - misty, then sunny,light N, 20C

WIlley; Seven Swallows on the wires this morning.

Comma sunning itself and feeding on ripe Blackberries

Shawell Sandpit; afternoon.

Two Ferruginous Ducks again'

1W Caspian Gull.

Eight Red Kites, two Pochard, two Shoveler, plus other usual birds.

15th Sept - sunny spells, becoming cloudy with light rain showers pm, light/mod SW, 16C

Willey; Seven Swallows on the wires at 1100h.

Lilbourne Meadows; morning.

One Green Sandpiper on the very reduced pools.

c50 Goldfinches feeding, a jay, two Little Egrets, a single Meadow Pipit,  two Ravens over, five Grey Herons.

Shawell Sandpit; 

Two Ferruginous Ducks still.

Female Egyptian Goose, only one Red Kite, a Cormorant, two drake Pochard - new in, plus the other usual. A Grey Wagtail.

Bittesby Country park; afternoon.

Four Whinchats still present.  Three Kestrels.

Stanford reservoir; afternoon.

47 Lapwings flew to the dam.  Four Red-crested Pochards still (3 drakes), Treecreeper, several Chiffchaffs.

14th Sept - Sunny, light SW, 19C

Willey; 30 Swallows on the wires this morning.

Eyebrook Reservoir; afternoon.

13 Dunlin, three Black-tailed Godwits, a Ruff, four Ringed Plovers, Lapwings.

Hirundines - c50 House martins, c20 Swallows and c5 Sand Martins

A Great White Egret and two Little Egrets.

15 Little Grebes, eight Pintails.

1W Stonechat.

13th Sept - mostly sunny, light W, 16C

Willey; Two ravens over late morning.  c20 Swallows around the village.

Stanford reservoir; afternoon.

A Common Sandpiper on the dam top feeding.  A Flock of Lon=tailed Tits and Chiffchaff along car park hedge to Sand Martin bank.

Female Red-crested Pochard in the narrows (didn't see the drake which had been seen earlier).

A Little Egret, three Little Grebes with the ducks.  

Shawell Sandpit; evening.

Two Ferruginous Ducks still present.  

One is in primary feather wing moult, which takes about 22 days, so it could be around for up to another 14 days, depending when it actually started its primary feather moult.  I know it was moulting last Monday, so it will be interesting to see how long.

12th Sept - sunny spells, odd shower, mostly light NW, 14C

Bittesby Country park; afternoon

Four Whinchats and the male Stonechat still.

Two each Kestrel and Buzzard, a Jay. 

Shawell Sandpit; late afternoon.

Two Ferruginous Ducks still present.

11th Sept - Blustery NW, cool, showers at times, mostly pm, sunny intervals, 14C

Willey;

c 20 Swallows were seen searching for food around the Sheep  and elsewhere, usually in the lee of the wind.

Lilbourne Meadows; afternoon.

Most birds sheltering and out of sight, two Gren Sandpipers.

Shawell Sandpit area; late afternoon.

The female and immature Ferruginous Ducks were found sheltering from the wind.

Plenty of Ravens, 6+ Red Kites, 15 Little Grebes.

10th September - mostly cloudy, mod NW, rain pm, 17C

 Shawell sandpit; early evening.

One immature Ferruginous Duck present.

9th September - cloudy, cleraring to sunny spells, mod NW, 18C

Willey;  a few Swallows around the fields searching for food in the cool wind.

Shawell sandpit; afternoon.

The female and one juv Ferruginous Duck were found still present, the third bird was not found.

Six Red Kites, two Buzzards (one juv), seven each of  Shoveler and Wigeon, one Gadwall.

8th Sept - Some showers first thing, then clearing to sunshine, light variable NE-S, 22C

Willey;  52 Swallows on the wires 0800h.

Shawell sandpit; morning.

I went to have another look at the Ferruginous Duck, and surprise, surprise, there was two, a female and juvenile.

BUT, it did not stop there - going back late afternoon/evening and hoping for some photo opportunities (the light and distance have not been good so far) and with Carl present too we watched the two from this morning.  They eventually swam to the far corner and were resting, when Carl said 'I think I have found another' sure enough close by another bird was resting.  We could see all three together, so were not mistaken.

The birds do not show any signs of hybridisation and will be submitted to the BBRC.

7th Sept - cloudy, dull and mist with frequent spells of drizzle, very light E, 19C

WIlley;  16 Swallows on the wires in the drizzle, 1100h. 

Lilbourne Meadows, morning.

15 Swallows, three Green Sandpipers and two Snipe.

Several Chiffchaffs in the hedge.

Shawell Lagoons; afternoon; 45 Lapwings

Stanford Reservoir; afternoon.

Three Common Sandpipers, a Common Tern (ad), 

30 Wigeon, these must have come in last night.  Eight Pochard, 2+ Shovelers.

Four Yellow Wagtails, a Grey  and several Pied..  c50 Goldfinch feeding.

Shawell Sandpit; early afternoon.

Carl found a likely Ferruginous Duck, an immature-1st winter. However, light and drizzle conditions were terrible.

A few points need checking, mainly pale area at base of bill-cheeks.  The sides were mottled but this seems OK.  Otherwise it looked good, we shall see after more research.  Nothing obvious pointing to a hybrid.  Slightly small than the Tufted Ducks around it.

6th Sept - cloudy start, slowly clearing to hazy sun, then sun and very warm, 26C, light/mod NE

WIlley;

A Red Kite over Perkins area early, then two over top fields mid-day-ish.

Swallow, the stables have one pair with young still in the nest and are  busy feeding them.

Lilbourne Meadows; evening.

Seven Snipe, four Green Sandpipers, a few Teal, 18 Moorhens.  

Three Grey Herons.

Swallow pair still feeding young in the shed nest.

5th Sept - cloudy, drizzle early on, then mod-brisk NE all day, 17C

Willey;

10 Swallows over the village first thing, a Red Kite seen later.

A Chiffchaff singing in the top corner spinney 0830h.

Stanford reservoir; afternoon.

The hoped for passage sea/coast birds never appeared here, despite the favourable wind, except early evening Chris Hubbard had a single Little Gull for a short time.

Six Wigeon, one Teal, two Shovelers, a Common Sandpiper, five Pochard and a good number of Gadwall.

Three Common Terns, (2 juvs).

An impressive number of Hirundines were over the water and area, mostly House Martins c600, c100 Swallows and c10 Sand martins.  They were so busy feeding and speedy and widely spread, getting an accurate number was pretty much impossible.  There may have been even more than this.

4th Sept - mostly broken cloud, light NW, 18C

Bittesby Country Park area; afternoon.

Pleased to see four Whinchats together, feeding and fliting around.

c70 Goldfinch, a Buzzard and two Kestrels.

Lilbourne Meadows; evening.

Five Green and two Common Sandpipers, also four Snipe.

Swallows still feeding young in old shed.  Two Kestrels hunting.

Reed Bunting, Chiffchaff.

3rd Sept - cloudy, rain mid-morning till early afternoon, brightening latte pm, light WNW, 18C

Willey;  Swallows around, not on the wires, but spread over the fields.

Lilbourne Meadows; afternoon.

Five Green Sandpipers and a Common Sandpiper.  16 Teal.

Juv Yellow Wagtail.  Two Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs in the hedge.  Juv Green Woodpecker on the fence posts.

Hobby flew through, also a Kestrel hunting.  A Raven flew over calling.

2nd Sept - cloud and low mist first thing, some light drizzle, slowly clearing giving brief sunny spells am, humid, 22C, light WSW

Willey;

c100 Swallows over home and on the wires in the mist first thing, maybe some passage birds held-up.

A Red Kite was seen a couple of times this morning.

Stanford reservoir; afternoon.

Three juv Arctic Terns were present and 3/4 Common Terns.

Eight Shoveler, three Wigeon, a few Swallows too

1st September 2024 - cloud, then hazy sunshine, 27C, light ENE

Willey;

0900h, 45 Swallows on the wires, not really up to usual numbers.  I'm sure a lot of the first broods were lost due to the very wet late spring/early summer.

Welney;  

A enjoyable day here, but also very low butterfly and dragonfly numbers and variety about, as in many areas this year.

Single Spoonbill, Snipe, Black-tailed Godwits, Green Sandpipers, Lapwing, 35 Ruff, two Avocets, two Dunlin.

Teal, Mallard, Egyptian Geese - 4, Whooper Swan family.  Single marsh Harrier.  Five Great White Egrets, several Grey Herons.

Four Yellow Wagtails and Sedge Warbler in front of main hide.

100+ House Martins on around the centre, flying off the roof, practicing to go!, Also Swallows, in one hide two nests with young still, these will be at least two weeks before they fledge.

Tree and House Sparrows were in good numbers around the feeders and centre area.

31st August - mostly cloudy, light-mod/fresh at times ENE, 22C

Lilbourne Meadows; morning

Three Green Sandpipers, a Common Sandpiper, 20 Teal, two Kestrels, c25 Starlings, Snipe two, four Chaffinch (2 juvs).

Bittesby Country park area; afternoon.

Two Kestrels, two Buzzards, c20 Goldfinch.

No sign of either Chat.

Stanford reservoir; evening

Wigeon have started to return in the last couple of days, I found one this evening, 14 Teal, two Pochard, 12 Shoveler, a Little Grebe.

Two Jays, several Chiffchaffs.

A mixed hirundine flock feeding over the area, c150 House Martins, c50 Swallows, c10 Sand Martins