30th Oct 2016: Mandarins

I have been in email contact with Ian and he thinks we are more than likely right with our ID of the hybrid gull. Although, it would have been best to have details of the wing plumage all of the other features point towards it being a Herring x Lesser Black-backed Gull.

John had a male Pheasant on Thursday - an uncommon bird here and another new on on his patch list. He also had there Fieldfare over. In the gull roost in the even he had an adult, a 2CY and a 1st winter Yellow-legged Gull.

Saturday I had a walk around and although nothing major I had a Chiffchaff, the first I've seen here for a few weeks, and two Willow Tits.

This morning Steve and Colin had two Mandarins fly over south at 08:00 and when they got back to the reservoir at 09:20 found two drakes settled on the water. The Mandarins breaking the 2015 Big Bird Year list total! They also had a Snipe that nearly land at the reservoir edge and two Lapwings circle the Borrow Pit. Both Clive and John managed to see the Mandarins and John had twenty Golden Plover over (yet another patch tick for him!) and a Peregrine over.