There's a Killer on the Loose

I started off at first light at Gayhurst Quarry today.
Duck numbers are definitely building up, with well over a hundred Wigeon, around 50 Shoveler, 30 Gadwall, a dozen Teal, 8 Pochard and just the one Tufted, along with the usual Mallards.
 Finally Drakey Wigeon has some friends, with half a dozen Wigeon on Fishing Lake.
Five Little Egrets, 4 Little Grebe, a Kingfisher and a dozen Lapwing were seen around the site.

I decided to follow the river around to where it passes under the motorway.
It was here that I noticed a dark shape on the opposite bank. I kept watching and this Mink appeared. As it seemed unconcerned by my presence, I watched it for around 5 minutes, before it disappeared into the vegetation. I even managed a few rubbish photos.

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I then wandered up to Quarryhall, where a flock of around 300 Geese, 5/6ths of which were Greylags, the others being Canadas.
 A Grey Heron, a Little Egret, 40 Lapwings and 2 Golden Plovers, some Woodpigeons and Black-headed Gulls were also feeding in this field.
 Visible migration included a few Skylarks, Meadow Pipits, a couple of flocks of Linnets and 2 Siskins.

Furzton and Emberton

As I was working nearby I decided I would take at look at Furzton Lake this lunchtime as last years Yellow-legged Gull had returned. I even took some slices of bread with me to try and entice it near enough for a photo.
 Well he was there alright but it seems he was the only bird on the lake not interested in a chunk of Hovis Thick White. He stayed firmly in the centre of the lake while numerous Mallard, Canada Geese, Moorhen, Coot and Black-headed Gulls squabbled over the crumbs.


This Coot looks as though he has put the wrong shoes on.

 Juvenile Black-headed Gull.

I got a call later in the day from Simon saying that was a report of a Red-breasted Merganser at Emberton Country Park, so I thought I had better check it out. So after work I headed off down there.

No sign of any RBM but two juvenile Goosanders were present on the sailing lake, almost certainly 2 of the three that were raised on the nearby River Ouse.It was good to see them again and to know they were still O.K.                                                                                                                                                        

 Also seen was a pre-roost gathering of Pied Wagtails on the roof of the sailing club hut.I would estimate maybe 30 birds.                                                                                                                                         

 A bizarre moment occurred when one of th Pied Wags flew out towards the Goosanders and for one brief mille-second it actually landed on the back of one of thems head before realising it's mistake.                                                                                                                                                                    

The Calverton Hare

The Calverton Hare was present again today.

She seems to reappear about this time every year, presumably after raising her family.

I couldn't get any closer than this to her as she seems to know exactly how close she is prepared to let you get and then hops a couple of paces further away.

Willen and Calverton Today

 I stopped off briefly at Willen North on my way to work at Calverton Today.
The two juvenile Common Terns are still present - I wonder how long they will stay as all of their friends have long since departed to sunnier climes.
 Also 4 Snipe on the spit and quite a large influx of Wigeon since Friday. A Grey Wagtail hung around the dam area.
 At Calverton a few migrants went over during the day, including Skylarks, Pied Wagtails, 3 Mistle Thrushes and a couple of Buzzards.
 I ate my lunch close to the local Rookery and was surprised to see a good deal of the birds in courtship displays. This involved them (presumably the males) soaring around high over the nest site and then just tumbling down out of the sky as if they had lost complete control, only regaining their composure just above the tree tops. Quite spectacular and presumably why these birds are already in residence on their nests early in January.
Loking in at Stony Stratford Nature Reserve tonight, it once again lived up to it's reputation of 'Stony no birds' as a couple of Moorhens and a dozen Mallards were as good as it got.

Linford early doors

 Paul and I took an early morning visit to Linford Reserve this morning.
First bird seen was a surprising early Buzzard that was up before it even got light.
 Around the reserve roving Tit flocks included Great, Blue, Long-tailed and Marsh, also a few Chiffchaffs.
Nothing much doing from the hides, but a single Ruff on the bund was a definite highlight. Other birds present were a couple of Lapwings, quite a few Teal, a couple of Shoveler, a Kingfisher that flew low over the water and a distant calling Cetti's Warbler.

Like a Pigeon with a sore head

This young Woodpigeon was photographed while recovering from flying into a glass window. After about twenty minutes he felt fit enough to fly into a nearby tree. Luckily he did as the local Sparrowhawk shot through just minutes later.

A walk around Willen in the wet

I did a complete circuit of the two lakes at Willen this morning.
Duck numbers are building up with good numbers of Mallard, Wigeon, Teal, Shoveler, Gadwall, Tufted and Pochard. New in were 3 female type Red-crested Pochard on south lake along with the long stayer at north lake.Lots of Great-crested Grebe were present, including a family with four still quite small young.
 Around a hundred House Martins linger over 'The Wayfarer' as well as two juvenile Common Terns on north lake.
 The north lake is now home to a few hundred Coot and a Little Egret patrolled the edge of the island.