28th February - fog/mist clearing midday, then sunny spells, light NW, 8C

Stanford reservoir; afternoon.

13 Goldeneye, 4 Goosanders, good Pochard numbers, c50, a drake Shoveler

Kingfisher,  a Fieldfare heard, Grey and two Pied Wagtails in spillway.

27th February - sunny spells, light NW, 8C

Shawell sandpit/landfill, ,afternoon.

This morning Carl found an adult Iceland Gull, first site record this year.  Very few reported in the UK this year so far.  However, I made it after lunch and luckily found it on the  sitting water among the other Gulls. 

The other expected birds, plus a Green Sandpiper. 

26th February - rain until midday, afternoon sunny intervals and showers, light W, 9C

Stanford reservoir; afternoon.

Two Great White Egrets and three Grey Herons,

Six Goldeneye and two each Goosanders (m=f) and Teal (m+f).

Raven heard, and a Buzzard in drive a driveway tree.

c40 Fieldfares, c5 Redwings and c200 Starlings  in adjacent trees/fields north side.

25th February - sunny spells, mod WNW, 10C

Lilbourne Meadows, afternoon.

c100 Golden Plover circling over, moved off NE.

c400 wigeon, plus a few each of Shoveler and Teal.  Coot and Moorhen numbers are still high 12-20.

Three Curlew, one landed and the other two were in dispute, one chasing the other in flight and making a noise too, these two flew off over the A5.

Several Greenfinches were calling/singing a little in the corner spinney area.  A Red Kite over and a Raven over the bank, on which there were four Roe Deer.

A handful of redwings in the bushes and 10m Fieldfares in the tree tops.

24th February - sunny spells, light SW, 12C, showers around during the afternoon.

Stanford reservoir; afternoon.

11 Goldeneye, five Goosander (2 drakes), 150 Greylags.

Treecreeper and Goldcrest with then Tits along the bypass path.

Water Rail heard in the main reed bed.

c30 each Redwing and Fieldfares flew in to tree tops.

A Song Thrush was singing.

23rd February - strong- gusty S-SW wind, up to 45mph. Cloudy, rain from mid-afternoon. 10C, but feeling cool

Shawell Sand Quarry/landfill; morning.

20+ Ravens were enjoying the strong winds, 6 Red Kites, 5 Gadwall, 51 Coots, 6 Little Grebes, Common and Black-headed Gulls, a handful of Great Black-backed Gulls.

16 Canada and 1 Greylag Goose.

Green Woodpecker called near the spinney.

Stanford reservoir; early afternoon.

Pretty grim weather keeping things quite.

Four Goldeneye. A Red Kite, a Grey Heron, Common and Black-headed Gulls.

I was able to check the underside of the Bracket fungus (see photo a few days ago) and was able to see pores not gills, so definitely a Red-belted Bracket, still growing too.

22nd February - Sunny am, showers pm, 14C, light SW

Willey:

I spotted three Blackbirds this morning in the garden and on the roofs embarking in territory fights and chases.

Late afternoon two Song Thrushes could be heard singing from the trees along the old railway east of the  village.

21st February - mostly cloudy, spits of rain, strong-gusty S, 14C

Lilbourne Meadows; afternoon.

Plenty of Wigeon still, probably a couple more weeks before numbers reduce. 

10 Shovelers, several Gadwalls.  Six Tufted, these have been less frequent here this winter than in previous years.  Small number of Teal and Mallards.

Long-tailed,  Blue and great Tits plus one Collared Dove in the entrance hedge.

20th February - cloudy, showers, mod, sometimes strong gusty SW, 13C

Rutland Water; north arm

The conditions were quite rough on the open water on the main reservoir  and not very helpful, but the north arm was much calmer, however, bird numbers were very low and none of the scarce Grebes or Divers were found.

A couple of Oystercatchers were feeding on the waters edge pasture.

19th February - a little frost last night. cloudy, dull pm and some light rain/drizzle, ESE light, 6C, warming continuing evening time

The bracket fungus I showed the other day is now identified as a Red-Belted Bracket, which is considered rare in Britain, so here it is again.  I do need to check whether it has pores or gills underneath just to be sure.

Soar Brook Lake; afternoon.

16 Lapwings and an Oystercatcher.

Two Wigeon, four Teal and seven Tufted, plus a Mute Swan.  A couple of Cormorant flew over.

18th February - frost -2 last night. cloudy giving way to hazy sunshine, light-mod SE, 7C eventually

Willey;

First thing c20m Fieldfares and c30 Starlings flew in to trees near Hurls furlong gate.

Bittesby Country Park; afternoon.

c50 Goldfinch flew past me near the lake.  Grey Heron on the top path flood pool.

Four Stonechats in the meadows, all males.  A couple of Fieldfares feeding in the vegetation. 

Seven Stock Doves flying around and a Buzzard perched in a tree, east side of meadows.

17th February - -2C last night. Sunny spells developing pm, 5C, light-mod SE

Willey;  

c20 Fieldfares flew over low 0930h, SE.

A check of the feed station area early afternoon, just in time to see the male Sparrowhawk swoop in and sit on a feeder.  Remarkably the Grey Squirrel present on the next feeder froze, and remained so for some while even after the Sparrowhawk had gone.  I wonder if they have ever taken a squirrel?

Six House Sparrows were present today, plus plenty of Great and Blue Tits.

Three each Bullfinch and Greenfinch were in the thick lane hedge for a short while.

I spotted this bracket fungus at Stanford reservoir yesterday on a birch, possibly Lenzites betulinus, I am waiting for confirmation.

16th February - cloudy - mod ESE, 4C, cloudy

WIlley; I noticed a Sparrowhawk with prey as I went up the street, 1315h.  A  small flock of Redwings, c25, flew over the road too.

Main WeBs monthly  count day, so busy this morning doing the counts.

Mere Lane Lake; a Water Rail was heard, plus Shoveler, Tufted, Mallard, Little Grebe, Coot and Mute Swans.

Soar Brook Lake; a Oystercatcher is back, Teal, Mallard, Tufted, Coot, Moorhens and Mute Swans.

Green Woodpecker too.

Stanford Hall lakes; Oystercatcher (from Stanford res nearby), Wigeon,,Teal, Tufted, Mallard, Shovelers, Grey Herons, Coot, Moorhens, Mute Swans.

Raven and Red Kite.

Stanford Res: afternoon.

11 Goosanders, two drake Pintail, drake Goldeneye, Oystercatcher flew on to the dam (first Spring record here was seen yesterday by Chris Hubbard).

Plus the other regulars.

15th February - rain most of the day, c10mm, light SSE, 4C

Checked a couple of my smaller lakes for the monthly WeBs count.  The new Bittesby country park lake only held a Mute Swan and a Canada Goose.   A small flock of Linnets (c30) and Chaffinch (c15) were in the nearby northern hedge.   Equally the Magna Park lake held little variety, only moorhens and Canada Geese, with the water so high I think the Water Rail have moved out to the ditches probably.

Lilbourne Meadows; afternoon.

Five Mute Swans, c350 Wigeon, 12 Gadwall, Shovelers, a drake Shelduck flew in. A flock of Lapwings flew off as I arrived.

On the adjacent arable field c100 Starlings, c 70mRedwings and one Fieldfare.

14th February - lighter cloud, a few breaks late afternoon, but mod SE wind, 5C

WIlley

First thing c 100 Redwings and a few Fieldfares were around the Perkins fields area as we have not many around at all, maybe these are the first birds heading back north from the S/SW.

Two Red Kites circling over the fields/BH wood mid-morning.

Stanford Reservoir; afternoon.

Seemed less Wigeon than of late.  10 Goosanders, five Shovelers, six Goldeneye, two Little Grebes.

Goldcrest with Long-tailed Tit flock.  Treecreeper feeding along Leics.

13th February - Lighter cloud than of late, very light NE, 4C

Shawell Sand Quarry and Landfill area; afternoon.

A large number of Gulls present today, but I could not find anything scarce.

16 Red Kites, two Wigeon, five Shovelers plus the other usual birds.

Green Woodpecker 'yaffling'; again.

12th February - Cloudy, dull, very light NE, 5C

I decided to check a few local places for House Sparrows today to help the LROS House Sparrow survey. 

LROS is conducting this throughout the year to get a detailed distribution and estimate of population.  The House Sparrow has seen a large reduction in numbers in some parts of the country, so data are needed to see how it is fairing in Leicestershire and Rutland.

My largest count was c20 in Walcote.  More places to visit yet!

11th February - cloudy, dull, damp, drizzle at times, light NE, 5C

Willey; a Kestrel sitting on tree top close to cross-in-hand roundabout on Coal Pit Lane, 1430h

Lilbourne Meadows; afternoon.

c300 Wigeon, a few Shoveler, teal, and Gadwall.  Greylag and Canada Geese.

c200 lapwings and a few Golden Plovers with them.

c150 Starlings feeding on the pasture and 14 Fieldfares in the hedgerow bushes.

A Song Thrush was singing a little.

10th February - another drab wet day. Light NE, 4C, light rain most of the day, low cloudy, dull and damp

A walk through some of Bittesby Country Park didn't produce much in the rain.  A distant finch/Bunting flock on the bridle path, as the other day, needs checking again.

1610h, five Red Kites, low over the Ullesthorpe road near Claybrooke Parva brook-lane corner.

9th February - cloudy, misty, dull, mod-fresh NE, 7C

Rutland Water;

Decided to visit today, which proved to be not very productive as the weather, especially the wind was pretty grim.  I didn't find any of the current scarcer birds, the water was very choppy, and they weren't even sheltering in the calmer areas.

Just the commoner, expected, species were seen.

8th February - cloudy, dull, misty, damp, light NE, 5C

Shawell Sand Quarry/landfill; morning

A reasonable number of Gulls around, but nothing unusual.

Four Wigeon, two Gadwall, also Teal, Mallards, and Tufted.  Six Little Grebes, two Mute Swans.

12 Red Kites, several Ravens with the other corvids.

Several Meadow Pipits and Pied Wagtails around the south pool,  a single Grey Wagtail too.

A Green Woodpecker 'yaffled'.  c200 Starlings on the landfill.

Lilbourne Meadows; afternoon.

Plenty of Wigeon still, six Shovelers, six Mute Swans.

Lapwing now increased to c400, and a few Golden Plovers on the arable field. With them c200m Starlings and c Fieldfares and a few less Redwings.

A Sparrowhawk along the lane and Long-tailed Tit flock in the hedgerow.

7th February - Cloudy,, mod ENE wind, feeling very chilly

 No obs today.

6th February - Frost -3C last night, Foggy till midday, then sunny intervals, mos ENE, 7C

Willey; 

We do have a small numbers of Starlings coming to roos in the conifers and old railway track bushes, only about 50 this evening though.

Bittesby Country Park; afternoon.

Six stonechats over the meadows, two male and four females.   Several Skylarks and Meadow Pipits too, a hunting Kestrel and two Pheasants.

On the farm track-bridle path leaving the park, on NW side, a small mixed flock were feeding - c15 Chaffinch, 10 Yellowhammers, c20 Linnets, a Reed Bunting and Dunnock.

c25 Redwings in the hedge near the brook.

5th February - sunny, then high broken cloud, 8C,light SSW

A busy day, however I went to see the Starling roost that has recently returned to Lutterworth, Leicester road area.

The first birds turned up at 1650 and it was all over by 1710h. I estimate 4000-5000, this will be refined from photo counts later.

A Peregrine was hunting the flock and grabbed one, plus two Sparrowhawks hunting them.

4th February - cloudy, mod-fresh SSW, 10C, light rain 1500h for awhile

Willey;  a Red Kite over at 1310h.

Lilbourne Meadows; afternoon.

Plenty of Wigeon c150, plus small numbers of Teal, Shoveler, Gadwall and Mallard.  Coot numbers have risen to 13.  Four Mute Swans.

A new arrival was an Oystercatcher (now a harbinger of Spring?), this is my earliest record here, previous earliest was the 23rd Feb 2023, so a good margin earlier this year.

On the adjacent meadows were c250 Lapwings and c200 Golden Plovers, along with c200 Starlings feeding..

3rd February - cloudy, mist and fine drizle pm, then brighter late afternoon, light SW, 7C

No obs today, other than c200 Woodpigeons feeding on Oilseed rape at Ullesthope-A5 lane corner.

A flock of finches, c30, spotted along Moors Lane, distantly, need to check them out.

2nd February - Chilly start, hazy sunshine, 8C, light SW

Welney WWT

If you have not been to Welney this winter you should go, its alive with birds and other wildlife, a day there is too short.  Plus roaming the lanes for the Swans, particularly for the Bewicks Swan.

Short-eared Owls were showing well at times, and Cattle Egrets were feeding very close.  Plenty of Lapwings and Golden Plovers around, along with Black-tailed Godwits and three Dunlin.  All the duck species you would expect, Marsh Harrier, Buzzard and Kestrel.

Tree Sparrows are still present here coming to the feeders with a good number of House Sparrows.

A scarce visitor, a Black-necked Grebe, was showing well.

So many more species to see - just go!!

1st February - Cloudy all day and dull, mist early, light SSE, 7C

Shawell Sand Quarry/Landfill; morning

A Great Spotted Woodpecker was drumming in the spinney and a Green Woodpecker was 'yaffling' too.

On the water were 74 Coots, four each Gadwall and Shovelers, and two Pochard, plus Little Grebes and Moorhens.

Quite a few Gulls, but the majority distant in the mist.

Brandon Marsh; afternoon.

Water level high still, fairly quiet on the pools.

A Great White Egret, 29 Shoveler, a few Teal, a Shelduck and drake Goosander.  A single Oystercatcher.

Few passerines around too.