31st January - early rsin, then cloudy and some drizzle am, cloudy pm, 7C, light S

Willey;

24 Redwings in Oak tree in Perkins fields area.

At the feed station 10 Great Tits was a good number at the same time, a Chaffinch and four House Sparrows too.  A male Sparrowhawk casually flew by.

Four Greenfinch in the top of nearby Ash tree.

30th January - Frost last night -2C. Sunny, light NW, 7C

Stanford reservoir; afternoon.

Generally very quite, I thought duck numbers seemed to be down, especially Wigeon, certainly on the main water but I didn't make it to Keepers bay.

Drake and female Goosander in BL Bay.

Great White Egret- main reed bed.  A Raven over.

Lutterworth

Whilst here I counted the Feral Pigeons, 42, in their usual Church Street location.

29th January - sunny am, (high) cloudy increasing pm, light-mod NW, 7C

Bittesby Country Park and Mere Lane Lake area; afternoon.

Four Stone chats were found, three females and a male, I suspect there is another male somewhere as I always have seen two.

In the thick field vegetation two Reed Buntings were feeding and Skylarks and Meadow Pipits kept flying up.

A Red Kite was over the lake area, and a Kestrel was hunting, a Buzzard was on look-out (the blue in the photo is not sky but side of a warehouse!).

A Great Spotted Woodpecker and c30 Redwings in the hedgerow.  A Pheasant called from near the old railway track.

At the lake a drake Pochard, four Tufted, five Shovelers and two Little Grebes.

28th January - cloudy, mod WNW, 8C, light showers all day.

Willey - 

c30 Redwings feeding on pasture in the Perkins fields area.

a Raven heard again calling this morning from the Moors Lane area

Shawell Sand Quarry/landfill; afternoon

Plenty of Gulls at the landfill, and some coming to the pools.  90% were Herring Gulls, spotted a couple of Caspian and 'snowy'.

15 Red Kites, Ravens, two each Shoveler, Pochard and Gadwall, plenty of Teal, six Little Grebe.

27th January - early rain, then sunny, with strong gusty S/SW winds, 8C

Willey: A Red Kite over the fields to the east 0830h.

Lilbourne Meadows; afternoon.

Checked the field flood pools and adjacent fields.

A new species for me here was a single drake Goosander.  

c250 Wigeon, plus Gadwall, Shoveler and Teal.

c60 Starlings and c25 Fieldfares plus a few Redwings feeding on the arable fields

26th January - light becomimng strong SSE and rain most of the day, 6C

Willey;

Raven heard over the fields first thing

Managed a big garden bird count before the rain set-in.  Six Greenfinch and a Goldfinch, a Green Woodpecker, two Stock Doves, four Jackdaws, six Great Tits, Blues Tits, four House Sparrows, four Blackbirds and two each Robin and Chaffinch  were the main contenders.

Will see how it compares to last year shortly.

25th January - sunny periods, 10C, light SW

Willey; late morning.

At the fee station, five House Sparrow,  four Blackbirds on the old apples, two Chaffinch, eight Great Tits, four Blue Tits, a couple of Stock Doves, Magpie.

Shawell Sandpit/Landfill; morning.

A small number of Gulls, coming and going, but nothing notable.  10 Red Kites and a Buzzard.

75 Coots, five Little Grebes, two Pochard, 51 Teal and a Green Sandpiper.

Stanford reservoir; afternoon

I spent a lot of time checking the scrub and bushes for Woodcock with the thermal camera - but no luck.

Great White Egret, two Grey Herons, c15 Goldeneye, Goosander drake, Teal 4, plenty of Wigeon still.

A Treecreeper,  a Mistle Thrush.

24th January - very strong and Gusty SW winds through the night with rain, as a storm passes over. Continuing strong and gusty through morning, easing during the afternoon. 10C

 No Obs today.

23rd January - light rain most of morning, clearing, mod SW, cloudy, 7C - feeling cooler

Lilbourne Meadows; afternoon.

The usual ducks, including 19 Gadwall.  Five Mute Swans. Lapwing flock - mostly out of view on west flood pool area.

A Kestrel hunting.

Four Roe Deer on the big bank.

22nd January - high cloud, light NW< 6C

Shawell Sand Quarry/landfill; afternoon.

A good number of Gulls present, but the vast majority over the very far side due to  work operations making it not very productive for Gulls today.

61 Teal, 22 Red Kites, a single drake Pochard and a pair Gadwall.

21st January - hugh cloud, light S, 6C

Lilbourne Meadows, late afternoon.

Flood pools - c150mWigeon, c35 Teal, three Shoveler, 17 Gadwall, c100 Lapwing.

Adjacent arable fields - c100 Golden Plovers, c10m Redwings, three Fieldfares, c100 Starlings plus Black-headed Gulls all feeding.

Three Roe Deer on the big bank.

20th January - high cloud, light SW, 4C

Willey -1000h

c50mRedwings flew over the village low towards the old railway track, also a Raven over

Bittesby Country Park; morning

Four Stonechats in the meadows, two pairs, two Buzzards and a Kestrel.

Green Woodpecker heard

19th January - Low cloud, dull, mist, very light W, 3C

Willey; morning

Seven Stock Doves a the paddock feed station and a Raven heard calling over the fields.

Eyebrook Reservoir; afternoon.

Otter fishing of Stoke Dry car park.

Three drake Smew and one female seen, plus the other usual duck species.  20 Dunlin at inlet, plus Lapwings.  An Oystercatcher flew along, later seen at the island area.

Marsh Tit at the coppice feeders.  Three Red Kites around.

18th January - cloudy, misty, dull, very light S, 3C

Shawell sand quarry/landfill; morning

Only about 200 Gulls present, a few of each of the commoner species.  

15 Red Kites, a couple of Gadwall and Shoveler, c35 Teal plus Tufties, Mallard, Little Grebe and a single Great-crested Grebe.

I checked the spinney with the thermal camera, but nothing spotted.

Stanford reservoir; afternoon.

A Grey Wagtail in the spillway, usual ducks - four Goldeneye and two Goosanders.

A couple of Grey Herons and a Great White Egret.

I spotted a Water Rail with the thermal camera and fortunately could make it out with the Bins to watch it preening.

A couple of noisy Ravens in the adjacent wood.

Many Common Gulls in the roost, c500, or more. An adult Caspian too.

17th January - cloudy, dullish, light SW, 7C

Nene Washes

I spent some time here today, it is a brilliant place to visit, so much to see.  The Washes are currently flooded so that brings a different perspective to the area.

Of course all the usual ducks were present, and a good size flock of Black-tailed Godwits and Lapwings.  A single Marsh Harrier and Red Kite were seen.  

Along the bank from the car park five Stonechats were busy feeding. A Kestrel was hunting, often coming down and pulling out a work to eat.

Of course key species to see here are Owls, and I was fortunate to see Long-eared, Short-eared and Tawny Owl today.

    

The Whooper Swans were mostly out feeding on the fields, along the A605 I cam across several, small groups, plus a flock of 86, then a field full c400, busy feeding - but no Bewicks with them.  A small flock of Pink-footed Geese, c30, was also in one field plus five Roe Deer.

16th January - toch of frost. Fog clearing slowing during the morning. Cloudy, light S, 6C

Willey;

A Woodcock disturbed in the Long Spinney, opposite Perkins fields this morning.

Soar Brook Lake; morning

A few Common, Lesser Black-backed and Black-headed Gulls, four Tufted, six Teal, three Wigeon and a couple of Mute Swans.

Lilbourne Meadows; afternoon.

c200 Wigeon, three Shovelers, female Sparrowhawk, c15 Redwings and single Fieldfare. c15 Starlings feeding on Sheep pasture.

Male and female Stonechats were  moving around feeding.

15th January - light SW, 10XC. Misty until mid-morning then sunny.

Willey;

Checked some areas of the Long Spinney for resting Woodcock first thing.  I didn't find any but I did spot a 'hot' small mammal, which was quite inquisitive and allowing good views to confirm it to be a Weasel.

Disturbed a wintering Peacock butterfly in the log heap, but returned it safely.

Mid-afternoon - Paddock feed station

Four Stock Doves, a Raven over east, c30 Redwings over south, two Mallard heading for the local field pond.  Other wise just the usual.

14th January - light SW, 8C, cloudy

WIlley;

No obs today, other than time to notice 5 Long-tailed Tits at the feed station, first ones seen there this winter.

12th January  - Woodcock - Mere Lane

I checked my thermal camera for Woodcock pictures I had taken, here's some screen grabs from video.

As mentioned, I could not see it with the naked eye, and was happy to leave it there undisturbed.

13th January - A little frost last night. Cloudy, mod SW, 5C. Slow thaw still

Willey; morning

On the feed station, five House Sparrows, two Greenfinch, three Chaffinch, two Collared Doves, three Robin, Blue and Great Tits.

Stanford reservoir; afternoon.

Still mostly frozen over, Keepers bay about 50% frozen over.

Great White Egret and two Grey Herons standing in arable field near inlet.

Two drake Goosanders, plenty Gadwall, Teal and Mallards, plus five Shoveler, Tufted and Pochard.  A Little Grebe in Keepers bay.

Many Greylag Geese, I counted 340, with other out of view so c400. plus Chanda Geese.

I checked the waterside bushes with the thermal camera, but no Woodcock found today, they have been seen here before though.

12th January - cloudy, 5C, light S. Some thawing.

WeBs counts today, most waters counted were 90% frozen over

Soar Brook Lake Area

Lesser Black Backed 150, Great Black Backed 20, Herring, 50 Herring, 5 Common and 150 Black Headed Gulls.

Wigeon 3, Mallard 15, Mute 2, 7 Lapwing, Teal 6, Moorhen 6 and Coot 7.

A Buzzard, a few Redwings and Fieldfares round.

Mere Lane Lake

A few Coots and Moorhens, Little Grebe and Mute Swans.  

Checking the coppice with the Thermal camera I could clearly see a Woodcock sitting in the leaf litter, but not with the naked eye.  A couple of Ravens over.

Stanford Hall Lake area.

c100 Wigeon, three Tufted, six Goosanders, 27 Mallards, a Little Egret, one Shoveler and 15 Teal.

Buzzard and Red Kite, a Treecreeper and Redwing.

Draycote Water; afternoon.

The Red-throated Diver is still present and showed well.  Three Shelducks.

11th January - Frost last night -6C. Foggy/misty all day, vis often only 100-200m. 0C, still

Willey:

Got a few short clips of the Barn Owl last night.

Magna Park Lake; morning

I thought I would check some of the wood/bush area with the thermal camera for Woodcock, and the very first bird I found was a Woodcock, however, I didn't find any further ones.

Stanford Res; afternoon.

Very poor visibility, what very little I could see showed the water to be frozen over. I checked areas with the thermal camera for Woodcock but no success.  Nit much around at all.

10th January - Frost -5C last night. sunny, light NE, 2C

Shawell Sand Quarry/landfill area

Ian was already present at the watchpoint and Carl had been watching over the landfill for a while when I got there, then Dale turned-up, so the Gull watching had a big boost today.  At least 14 colour rings were recorded.

No white-wingers but a minimum of three Caspian were noted among the Gulls on the ice (the pit was bout 90% frozen over) whilst I was there.

The waterfowl were mostly concentrated on the open water or banks, including 32 Shoveler and 10 Gadwall.  I noted 10 Red Kites and a Buzzard.

A new bird for me here was a female Bullfinch in the spinney end.

Bittesby Country Park - 2nd January

Just got round to looking at a larva on noticed on the footpath, I believe its a Angle Shades moth, common species.

9th January - frost -4C last night. Mostly sunny, light W, 3C

Not restricted to Spring, but early Catkins are always a nice early sign of things to come - we hope, photo taken at Shawell.

Willey; morning

This morning three Mistle Thrushes and a couple of Fieldfares were around the church Yew trees - very few berries though.  Four Greenfinch were in attendance too. A Raven was calling over the fields to the west and a Buzzard flew over being hassled by Jackdaws.  Three Stock Doves were at the feed station again.

Following the trend theme, here are some data for the the Collared Dove in the parish, we have about 10 around the village at the moment, our peak winter count was 30 some years ago.

Records per year, then records per month.

I visited at farm near Houghton-on-the-Hill,, Leics today that had 27 Collared Doves around the cattle feeding area, no doubt a few more there too.

8th January - -3C last nigh. High cloud, light ENE, 2C

Willey

Ground remined frozen all day.

A look at another species records in the parish over the last  13 years, the Red Kite, per year and per month.  The peak in the summer months is due to birds coming to the grass fields when they are cut of either silage or hay

Bittesby Country Park; morning

No stonechats found in the meadows area, probably deep in the vegetation!

30 Meadow Pipits, a female Kestrel and a Buzzard, several Song Thrush again flew from the thick cover.

Shawell Sand Quarry; afternoon

Disappointingly on y a couple hundred Gulls around, no tipping today though.

47 teal, 6 each Gadwall and Shoveler, two Wigeon, eight Red Kites 10+ Ravens.

A Green Sandpiper feeding along the waters edge.

7th January - -1C last night. Sunny intervals, light W, 4C

Willey; morning

Green and great Spotted Woodpeckers about, six House Sparrows spotted today.

A raven over.

Even, the Jackdaw mob isn't visiting the feed station as much as they have in last winters!

Below are a couple of my charts for Raven  records in the Parish; a) per year and b) per month.

Misterton; afternoon.

Very quiet here.  A few Rooks were squabbling around the rookery and old nests.

6th January - snow and rain through the night, light rain till mod morning, cloudy, fresh-mod WNW, 4C

Everywhere thoroughly saturated with standing water,over flowing and flooded brooks and rivers. 

Lilbourne Meadows; early afternoon.

c250 Wigeon, seven Gadwall, four Shovelers,  c25 Teal, 17 Moorhens, eight Coots (an increase).

All the area south of the bund is underwater.

5th January - snow last night, 2cm. Melting slowly during the day, 3C, cloudy and mist increasing during the day, vis 2-300 m

Willey; morning

Grat Spotted Woodpecker , four Stock Doves, at least 15 Great Tits at feed station.  Ony three House Sparrows, bit of a concern that so few being seen here.

Stanford Res; afternoon.

Two Chiffchaffs in spillway.  Mistle Thrush, c30 Redwing, Kingfisher, 15+ Long-tailed Tits, Goldcrest 2, 

A Little grebe, female Goldeneye, drake Goosander.  

Plus all the usual waterfowl.

4th January - Frost last noight -2C. cloudy, very light SW, 3C

Shawell Sand Quarry; morning.

A drake Pintail was asleep on the main pit, an unusual sighting here.  Three each Pochard and Wigeon, 15 Shovelers.

Most Gulls were out of sight on the landfill, but some came in for a wash, Carl spotted a Caspian Gull.

Draycote Water; afternoon.

Went to catch up with the Divers present, managed to find the Red-throated but not the Great Northern Divers today.   

3rd January - frost last nioght -3C. Sunny, light NW, 5C

Willey; morning

Checked the feed station, more birds, incl four Greenfinch, two Chaffinch.  three Stock Doves, Great Spotted and Green Woodpecker..  Possible Blackcap briefly.

Cottesbrooke village; afternoon.

I went to find a Hawfinch.  I did manage to see one in a tree before it dropped down out of view.  There could be be several in the area.  Other birds included Mistle Thrush, Coal Tit, Greenfinch, Chaffinch and Nuthatch.

Ravensthorpe Res; afternoon.

Called in here to see the White-fronted Geese which have been present several days, an adult and 1W.  Fortunately, they and the Greylags had flown back to the res from the fields and were showing well near the causeway.

Several Goldeneye present too, 5+

2nd January - Frost -1C last night. Sunny, light NW, 3C

Bittesby Country Park; morning

Main sighting were:

Two Stonechat, a Buzzard, Kestrel and Sparrowhawk (f).

25+ Meadow Pipits, and 12+ Song Thrush - these kept flying out from under the vegetation of the weedy field as I walked along the path.

1st January Wednesday - strong SW gusty winds through the night, easing by mid-day. Rain through the morning. 11C, but cooling during the day.

Pretty awful weather through the morning to kick the year off.

Lilbourne Meadows; late morning

c200 Wigeon, 6 Gadwall, plus Teal, Shoveler and Mallard.

Four Mute Swans, a Little Grebe.

A few Starlings, Redwings and Fieldfares.

Shawell Sand Quarry, afternoon.

Very quiet, with few Gulls present.

Four Red Kites, four Pochard, Little Grebes, Tufties and Mallards. A single Canada Goose