Please post your notable sightings on this thread. Notable means notable to you - no matter how common! Not only is it nice to share, but we can use the information in our casual sightings records to help maintain a picture of species and numbers on the reserve.
I'll set the ball rolling:-
Thursday 3rd Jan
Black tailed godwit x c200 in flight over Drayton Lagoon/Elney Lake
Goldeneye x 4 Drayton Lagoon South
1 Weasel
Tim Fisher
Friday 4th Jan 13
Golden Plover x 3000 over Swavesey Lake/Ferry Lagoon
Black Tailed Godwit, (see my photo from other day on gallery) x 400 over Swavesey Lake
Common Snipe x 2 Ferry Lagoon
Lapwings x 6000 to7000 across river end of Covilles Drain
Kestrel x 3, (one squabbling with Barn Owl at Owl Box)
Barn Owl x 1
Wren x 3
Mink x 2 Ferry Lagoon
Fox Swavesey Lake
Long-Tailed Tit x 12 Swavesey Lake
Goldcrest x 2 Swavesey Lake
Saturday 05/01/2013
Common Seal x 3 (undisclosed location on FDL for now, sorry!),
Mink x 1
Common Buzzard x 1 (being mobbed by hundreds of Lapwings)
Marsh Harrier x 1
Little Egret x 2
Black Tailed Godwit x (thousands)
Golden Plover x (thousands)
Common Snipe x 100 to 150
Green Woodpecker x 2
Great Spotted Woodpecker x 1
Kestrel x 1
Butterfly x 1 (red admiral or peacock, amazing)
Wren x 2
Fieldfare x 30
Redwing x 5
Monday 07/01/2013
Common Seal x 2
Marsh Harrier x 2
Little Egret x 2
Fieldfare x 50
Black Tailed Godwit x 100s
Common Snipe x 20
Thurs 10 Jan
c850 Black-tailed Godwits, 29 Redshank and a large flock of Lapwings in the field South of the busway near Swavesey Lake. Flew off about 1400 hrs, I don't know what disturbed them.
Saturday 12th Jan
Kingfisher x 1
Grey Wagtail x 4
Black-Tailed Godwit x 1250
Wren x2
Saturday 19th Jan
Smew - drake over Holywell Lake at 13:50
Goosander - drake on Drayton Lagoon
Bittern - flew out of reeds at Holywell Lake at 16:10
Woodcock - flew over Holywell Ferry Road at 17:05
21/01/2013
All at North shore of Ferry Lagoon
Kingfisher x 1
Grey Wagtail x 1
Chiffchaff x 4
Female Reed Bunting x2
Long-Tailed Tit x 12
Fieldfare x 100
Snipe x 1
Kestrel x 2
Canada Geese x 30 (Swavesey Lake)
Greylag Geese x 5
My apologies if this is the wrong place to post...
I understand that in past years Fen Drayton lakes have been a good place to observe starlings.
It's now late January 2013 and I have an opportunity to visit - are there many starlings roosting at the moment?
Brian
Hi Brian,
It's the wrong time of the year for the starlings. They start arriving after the breeding season has finished (around late August) & then their numbers build up through the autumn (usually peaking in late October/early November). They will mostly have gone by Christmas/New Year, the cold weather pushing them further west to join the very large flocks (c. 2 million) in the Somerset Levels or possibly as far as Ireland.
However, don't let that put you off visiting! There is still plenty to see, including very large numbers of wintering wildfowl, good numbers of lapwings & golden plovers & the elusive bittern. If you're after roosting birds particularly, there are several thousand gulls coming in each evening and flocks of woodpigeons and jackdaws/rooks in their hundreds.
Enjoy your visit & don't forget to post your sightings!
