Bird on a Wire

I was a little late meeting up with Lol on the Lockwood, mostly due to the traffic; they’re digging up Ferry Lane, again. Don’t get me started on Clancy Docwra, I thought they had finished digging up the borough a few years ago now they are at it again and it is doing my pressure no good at all, the cold tap is just a trickle of its old self.

I digress, the Lockwood level was as low as last week, (maybe that’s where the pressure drop is coming from) the only bird of note was my first Goldeneye of the Autumn, a female. The 1^st winter Little Gull was still on the Low Maynard, as last week, still feeding just as frenetically and still eluding photography.

As we entered the Southern section one of the Water Bailiffs stopped to tell us of an Osprey about two weeks ago, we were just by the bridge that goes across to the track between No.1 & No.2, which is just as well because at that point a Woodcock came out from the bushes there and flew over us toward the Lea, another few moments and we would have missed it. Next up was a male Peregrine flying North and eventually landing on the crane by Tottenham Hale.

I cajoled Lol into walking round the whole of the West Warwick, tempting him with promises of Redpolls in the Alders, as ever I lied. We did get a Water Rail calling from the Coppermill stream at the South-east end of the West Warwick for our troubles and a couple of ringed Gulls, a Herring Gull with a white Darvic reading (as best as we could see) A7JR and a Common Gull reading A45A on a Red Darvic. I will report back if I find out where they have come from but I suspect a nearby tip rather than Vladivostok.

A Green Woodpecker was balancing very well on overhead railway cables, not something I have seen one do before. There was a Wigeon on the East Warwick and a high count of 11 Ring-necked Parakeets over No.5. A very pleasant, if tiring, walk in the fine November weather with a strange absence of any great Passerine activity. Maybe it’s just too mild to move anything down our way yet. Hopefully the current spell will continue and allow some tasty wintering Sibe to come our way.

PW