Southfield Reservoirs Birding Highlights 2008 

A total of 155 species were recorded during the year. No new species were recorded. In general passage birds were scarce. The highlights of the year were numerous sightings of Little Egrets, a male Mandarin Duck and a pair of Goshawks.         

January: There was a good start to the new year with a Water Rail on the 1st and 2nd, also a flock of 600+ Golden Plovers on the 2nd, these have been scarce this winter period.  The 4th brought 4 superb Brent Geese, there have been no records of this species since December 2000; they were also noted next day. A first-year Glaucous Gull was in the gull roost 5th & 15th and an Iceland Gull appeared on the 22nd. Birds of prey included Peregrine on 6th & 26th, A Buzzard on 7th and 2 the next day. There was not much in the way of wildfowl, but among the usual species were 2 Whooper Swans, Pintail, Shoveler and up to 15 Shelduck. Passerines included Grey Wagtail, Treecreeper, Siskin and a male Stonechat was present in the east fields during the month.

February: Observer coverage was poor, but one or two interesting sightings were made; among the Gulls at the roost were adult Mediterranean Gull 16th & 18th, when it was with Iceland & Glaucous Gulls. Up to three Glaucous Gulls were noted in the roost on the 27th & 28th and a single was noted next morning.  A Brambling was at the fishermen's car park on the 26th & 27th. A snow Bunting flew north over the clubhouse on the 28th, also noted were 2 Green Woodpeckers and a Rock Pipit was on the middle bank briefly. On the 17th a Little Owl was seen on Went Ings.

March: A Water rail was seen in the boat compound on the 3rd. Next day a Siskin flew over and on the 5th the only Dunlin record for the month was obtained. The first Merlin of the year, a male, was seen on the 6th. On the 9th 7 Whooper Swans on the reservoirs later flew west, also seen were 4 Buzzards together and 12 Redwings.  A party of c.100 Golden Plovers on the 11th was a month maxima. Up to 3 Glaucous Gulls were noted in the roost again, also an adult Iceland Gull on 19th, 26th & 28th, plus a Mediterranean Gull on the 30th. Other notable birds included a Goldcrest 16th, a male Red-breasted Merganser 19th, Kittiwake 25th & 26th and a party of 23 Whooper Swans flew north on 29th. The male Stonechat was still present in the east-fields to at least the 14th; also on 14th another Merlin and 2 Coal Tits were at the sailing club feeding area, they were also seen again next day. Summer visitors that made an appearance were 2 Sand Martins 14th and 3 on 27th, Chiffchaff 29th and Swallow 31st. two new species not seen in March before were Avocet and a Black-necked Grebe.    

April:  A rather disappointing month, the main highlights were; Brambling, Goldcrest, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers all on the 4th. Two swallows on the 5th, also Mistle Thrush, Redpoll, Siskin, 85 Sand Martins, 24 Mute Swans, Grey Wagtail and 2 Treecreepers. On the 7th 3 Black Swans arrived for a short stay and left to the east. The first House Martins appeared on the 12th, A Whimbrel passed through 13th. A Pair of Goshawks flew west over Went Ings early morning of the 14th; the first since 2003. Also 2 Buzzards were noted and 2 Avocets circled the reservoirs before flying off east. A party of 6 Black-tailed Godwit flew west on 15th and the first brood of Mallards was seen. The only Wheatear, was seen over at the shooting range on 16th. Two more Black-tailed Godwits were seen on 17th, also a Marsh Harrier, and a pair of Pintail.  An Osprey was seen on the 20th. Another Marsh Harrier 21st, plus the first Sedge Warbler and next day the first Swift was seen. The 27th was a good day with, an Osprey, 9 Little Terns 6+3, a Black Tern, Stonechat which was a new species for April, 2 Whimbrels, 15 Dunlins,  3 Cuckoos and a Lesser Whitethroat.  Probably the same Osprey as 27th was seen on 28th. Also on 28th a Whooper Swan, a Marsh Harrier and 8 Black-tailed Godwits all passed through. It was a very poor showing for Common & Arctic Terns this year; with a maximum of 10 Commons and 3 Arctic.  Common Terns did however take up residence on the tern rafts once again, but breeding attempts failed.

May: There was a lack of observer coverage during the month, but even so, it was even more disappointing than April. The main species of interest were; Peregrine 5th & 20th. A skein of 84 Pink-footed Goose flew north-west on the 6th; also 6 Herons were noted flying east together. There were 5 Black Terns and 14 common Terns on 7th and a Garden Warbler was on Went Ings. An adult Kittiwake was present on the 10th; also a Corn Bunting and 8 Shelduck were seen. A Ruddy Duck and a Greenshank were noteworthy on the 11th. Two Spotted Flycatchers on the 18th was a good find, we don’t get many spring records.  The first Turtle Dove appeared on the 22nd, these are increasingly scarce now. Also seen on 22nd were Whooper Swan and Kingfisher. The only record of Ringed Plover was obtained on the 26th when a party of 4 passed through. A Yellow-legged Gull was seen on 24th & 27th. A Buzzard was seen on the 7th and 2 were noted on 26th. Great Crested Grebes peaked at 26 on the 29th. A Short-eared Owl, 6 Oystercatchers and 9 Shelduck were seen on the 30th.  A Black Swan arrived on the 8th and remained all month, which was unusual, as they usually only remain a day or so.   

June: The Black Swan remained on the reservoirs until 30th. The only Little Grebe of the month was seen on the 7th. On the 9th a male Marsh Harrier was hunting over Went Ings, also a brood of 9 Shelduck was seen on the reservoirs but were not seen again; also on the 9th and the 10th were adult Kittiwakes. New for June, on the 12th, was a Peregrine, which has now been recorded in every month of the year.  Also on the 12th on Went Ings were Treecreeper, Bullfinch, 2 Chiffchaffs, Reed Warbler and a Lapwing with a chick. A Grey Wagtail was seen on the 17th, then three on the 24th two on the 26th.  On Went Ings on the 20th, were three Green Sandpipers, Kingfisher Garden Warbler, Siskin and Grasshopper Warbler. A Greenshank and five Oystercatchers were logged on the 21st.  A Mediterranean Gull flew east on the 22nd which was new for June. From Went Ings on the 23rd were three Garden Warblers, two Green Sandpipers, Green Woodpecker, Tawny Owl, and Siskin.  On the 24th three Common Scoter and a Buzzard were seen

July: The month began with a male Peregrine and in the evening a Red-breasted Merganser arrived, but only for a short stay. There was also a new breeding species for the site, when a pair of Shovelers were seen with 7 young; this brings the number of breeding species now recorded to 74. On the 2nd a Treecreeper was seen on Went Ings. A Grasshopper Warbler was heard singing on the 8th and a Ringed Plover also passed through. The first returning Golden Plover was seen on the 9th also a Redshank was noted. The 10th brought a Greenshank and a Buzzard which was a first record in this month. A party of 9 Dunlins and 7 Redshank were logged on the 11th. Another new species for July was a Sanderling on the 12th; this was on the middle bank for a while. A party of 50 Dunlins flew west on the 18th, also a Whimbrel was seen.  Two adult Little Gulls were seen on the 22nd also that day two Little Egrets were on the middle bank for a short time and one was there on the 24th & 26th. On the 24th an immature female Peregrine gave good views flying over the clubhouse, also 5 Black-tailed Godwits and a Greenshank were noted. The first Turnstone record for the year was logged on the 27th when a party of 4 alighted on the middle bank.              

Other records included up to 5 Common Sandpipers, with 1-2 regularly. Ringed Plover, Snipe and a Great Spotted Woodpecker noted on a few dates.  The Black Swan continued its stay up to the 31st but was not seen on every visit

August: On the 1st 2 little Egrets roosted in willow tree on middle bank, one roosted 3rd, 4th & 7th, and was seen the next morning; then one was seen on various dates to the 28th. Also on the 1st a Little-ringed Plover flew over and was the only record of year. A Little Owl was on Went Ings & a Tawny Owl was along Southfield Lane. Four Green Sandpipers flew west on August 7th which equals the highest count.  A Greenshank was seen on the 8th + other dates. The first Hobby of the year was seen on the 8th then noted on four other dates to the month end. A female Common Scoter was present 9th and two Shelduck & Marsh Harrier on the 10th. The First Grey Plover of the year 12th and another on the 30th. Osprey sightings during the month were on the 13th, 14th same bird? 16th & 30th-2 sightings. Other records of note were a Knot and Arctic Tern 14th and an adult Yellow-legged Gull 16th. There was another Marsh Harrier 19th; and three Buzzards on the 22nd. Tree Pipits were noted on the 16th, 24th & 30th. A Crossbill flew west on the 24th. Eight Wigeon were present 23rd, a Pintail 29th; then a Mediterranean Gull and two Little Gulls were in the roost on 30th.

September:  Three Wigeon, 10 Shoveler and a Buzzard were logged on the 1st. The 2nd brought Siskin, six Mistle Thrush, Garden Warbler, two Swifts and a Green Sandpiper. On the 3rd two Wheatears and a Whinchat were together along the north bank, also an adult Hobby, Spotted Redshank, Swift and Whimbrel were noteworthy.  On the 4th Marsh Harrier and Pintail were noted next day c.60 Golden Plovers were seen.  On the 6th 4 Turnstones 2 adult Hobbys, Snipe, Greenshank and Tawny Owl were seen. The 9th brought a Marsh Harrier then on the 10th a male Redstart was seen, as well as a Goosander, Swift, 51 Siskins which was a new day total record and 19 Mistle Thrushes were also logged. The 12th brought 12 Black Terns, 4 in the morning and 8 in the evening,. On the 14th 2 Spotted Redshank flew through as did 32 Siskins; 60 Shelduck were down briefly which was a record count and a Little Egret was also seen. On the 15th 3 Little Gulls flew west and a female Ruddy Duck was present. A Garden Warbler was in fields along Southfield Lane on the 16th. A Marsh Harrier was seen 17th and two next day, also a  Little Egret during the morning and two that evening. On the 21st, 219 Meadow Pipits flew south, also noted were two Redpoll, Goldcrest and two Pintail. The first Ruff of the year appeared on the 23rd and 3 Common Sandpipers were present. A Coal Tit on the 24th and on the 25th a pair of Common Scoter were present. New Greylag and Canada Goose records were set on the 30th with 298 & 79 respectively.

October: was a month of new record counts with Canada goose peaking at 84 on the 3rd, followed on the 5th by a new Greylag Goose count of 572, falling to 337 on the 7th, then a new record count of 69 Cormorants on the 23rd.The 6th brought a Peregrine, Buzzard and Coal Tit. On Went Ings on the 15th were c.60 Teal. A male Scaup was present on the reservoirs on the 16th. On the 17th a Woodcock flew over the club and alighted in the north fields. The rest of the month was uneventful the highlights being Rock Pipit 21st followed by the arrival of the first Redwings, Fieldfares and Goldeneye. 

November: The month began with a Redshank 3rd, a Black-tailed Godwit 5th, 7 Goldeneye (2 males) 7th. A Barn Owl and a Little Owl were seen along Sykehouse Road on the 6th. A Barn Owl was seen hunting over Went Ings 24th. On the 17th, 6 Whooper Swans and a Red-breasted Merganser were present. The Merganser was also seen on the 23rd & 25th.  On the 24th a Peregrine and a Grey Plover were seen.  In the gull roost on the 26th there was a third year Iceland Gull. On the 27th a Snow Bunting gave very close views in the north fields and a Grey wagtail was also seen.Also noteworthy were Brambling on a few dates at the fishermen's car park, a Buzzard was noted on the 12th. Skeins of Pink-footed Geese passed through totalling c.600 on the 8th, 80 on the 13th, & 26 & 48 on the 18th. A party of 17 Dunlin passed through on the 17th. To end the month a Tawny Owl was seen flying briefly, on four occasions along a hedgerow on Went Ings 28th.

December: On the 3rd a Jack Snipe was flushed from a marshy area on Went Ings; this was only our eighth record, a Merlin was also seen that day in the same area. Our first male Mandarin Duck was present on the 6th. This was the third record of the species and was a new species in this month; also on the 6th were 2 Peregrines. Two Brent Geese and a Short-eared Owl were on the 7th. A sad find on the 11th was a dead Kingfisher at clubhouse. On the 18th a second-year Glaucous Gull was in the gull roost along with an Iceland Gull; earlier in the day a Waxwing had been seen on Went Ings. Another Merlin was seen on the 20th. On the 26th the Glaucous Gull was seen again in the roost, also a Peregrine was noted. On the evening of the 29th 2 Little Egrets were found on the middle bank, this was a new species for the month; they were still present next day and on the 31st one was still in the area. Also to end the year was a Peregrine and Tawny Owl. Other notable species during the month were Brambling, Ruddy Duck, 7 Shelduck and a count of 111 Teal.    

Other Wildlife noted during the year

Short tailed field Vole.Stoat.  

Weasel.

Badger. dead in reservoirs in March

Fox with 3 cubs on Went Ings.

Daubenton’s Bat?..  This was found on the ground at the clubhouse on the evening of 2nd of April by Jim Snowdon. It was picked up, warmed up in the hand and after a while it was released, apparently none the worse, as it was watched hunting insects around the jetties.  

Clive Featherstone Southfield Reservoirs Birdwatching Group