Sunday 19 October 2008 - Alvecote Pools SSSI - 19/10/2008

Alvecote Pools SSSI

After the heartbreak of the recent ALDER FLYCATCHER and the retrospective AMUR FALCON I just about managed to summon up the enthusiam to start looking at birds again today.  A quick trip down to the patch produced 2 Little Egrets on Teal Pool.  On Mill Pool the wildfowl numbers are at last starting to increase with 49 Mute Swans (the biggest number in a while), 28 Northern Shoveler, 59 Eurasian Wigeon, a single Gadwall, 104 Coot, 10 Moorhen and a single Northern Lapwing.  A few Meadow Pipits and Skylarks passed overhead.  Over on Upper Pool there were 60 Common Teal and 11 Tufted Duck.  It was good to bump into recent birding convert Simon Rose down there today.  He's just starting out and practically every species and every little bit of birding behaviour he sees is new and exciting to him at the moment, I envy him in a way.  He made me think about the fantastic stuff I'd seen over the years and convinced me not to dwell about the termoil of the last few weeks.  Cheers pal.  My smile got even bigger as a mixed flock of Redwing and Fieldfare passed through, the first local birds of the autumn. 

* * *

'South View', Poleworth  

The highlight around the house today was a Grey Wagtail (a new garden tick yesterday) this time taking a dip in the bird bath.  There was also a female Great Spotted Woodpecker, at least 5 Common Pheasants, 2 Sparrowhawks, 2 Coal Tits, 8 Long-tailed Tits and 2 Bullfinch amongst the more usual stuff.