Room 101

I wanted to check out Bed 16 on the WaterWorks this morning as it had been newly flooded and a Common Snipe and a Kingfisher had made an appearance recently.

In and around the entrance and the paths to the hides there were lots of:

Chiffchiff

Goldfinch

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Green Woodpecker

Classic Goldfinch

 While I was watching the Goldfinches devour the teasel, I heard an unusual call pass over my head. I walked round to the bank of bed 15 where I saw and heard what I thought to be a Tree Pipit. I snapped a few pics, got a second opinion - fine flank streaking, breast streaking discreet, not coalescing into a central blob, eye stripe, spot on ear coverts, yellow breast and short hind claw, low teeess call and in a tree – and was later satisfied to tick my first life and patch Tree Pipit

Tree Pipit

Tree Pipit 8:54am  (lifer #186 and patch year #100)

There were also:

Cettis Warbler

Jay (lots of them all over stocking up on acorns)

Willow Warbler

And Bed 17 was getting some water. So hopefully Bed 16 and 17 will be good over Winter.

Later, me and the Prof took a whirl around the Reservoirs. No major wader action, but a scarce patch bird in the shape of a Skylark - #101 for the patch year for me.

Yellow Wagtail 

Skylark (patch year #101)

Yellow Wagtail (6)

Common Sandpiper

Kingfisher

Spotted Flycatcher

Lesser Whitethroat

Garden Warbler

Blackcap (m)

Common Tern

Swallow

House Martin

Tree doing a muppet impression.

GH - @leevalleybirder