Diary of 2000
sightings
30 December 2000
4
Goldeneye on Queenford and a single male Goosander on the Sailing Club Pit.
29 December 2000
Lots
of ice around apart from the Drayton Road Pit which was clear. Male Goosanders
on Allen and Drayton Rd and a female on the Sailing Club Pit. 3 Shoveler on
Sailing and 5 on Drayton Road.
28 December 2000
A
pair of Pintail and 2 Drake Goosander (at long last!) on the Allen Pit. Little
Owl in the Fisherman's car park (bet its not there on Jan 1st).
27 December 2000
Little
Grebe, 5 Shoveler and a Chiffchaff on or round Drayton Road Pit.
23 December 2000
90
Pochard, just one Pintail and the two Shoveler on Drayton Road Pit. Little Owl
in the Fishermans car park and a Shelduck on Queenford.
20 December 2000
At
last something different - 2 drake Pintail on Drayton Road Pit together with a
pair of Shoveler and good numbers of Pochard and Wigeon.
17 December 2000
The
last WEBS count of 2000 but little of special note; numbers were Little
Grebe (2), Gt Crested Grebe (23), Mute Swan (16), Canada Goose (271), Wigeon
(304), Gadwall (32), Teal (25), Mallard (70), Pochard (99), Tufted Duck (130),
Coot (551), Moorhen (6), Black-headed Gull (6), Common Gull (1), Kingfisher
(1), Lapwing (68), Water Rail (1).
Numbers of several species were down on November but this is not too
surprising with so much standing water around.
16 December 2000
Little
Owl in the Fisherman's Car Park - second time in the last couple of months so
may well be living nearby.
10 December 2000
Will
we ever get any winter weather to bring some new birds to Dorchester? All the same old stuff and I resorted to
counting some of the ducks on the Drayton Road Pit which included 285 Wigeon,
34 Tufted Duck, 16 Gadwall, 13 Pochard, a Little Grebe and a Kingfisher.
7 December 2000
Still
good numbers and a good selection of passerines in the hedges and bushes around
the Drayton Road Pit. Tagging on with a
large flock of Long-tailed Tits, Great and Blue Tits was a Chiffchaff and Treecreeper.
19 November 2000
Yet another WEBS count. Still no Goldeneye or Goosander but I guess it has been fairly warm. The counts for all lakes in the Dorchester complex were: Heron (1), Little Grebe (3), Gt Crested Grebe (33), Mute Swan (45), Canada Goose (268), Wigeon (428), Gadwall (20), Teal (26), Mallard (129), Shoveller (1), Pochard (60), Tufted Duck (85), Cormorant (5), Coot (517), Moorhen (8), Black-headed Gull (138). Counting the ducks on the Drayton Road Pit was not helped by a Peregrine putting up the birds as I arrived. This is the second time in the last couple of weeks I have seen this bird.
18 November 2000
1370
Golden Plover on Meadside as dusk approached.
Also good numbers of Lapwing but it was too dark for counting by this
stage.
22 October 2000
The following
is a list of the species and numbers seen during my WEBS count today. The numbers refer to the total counted on
all lakes.
Heron (4),
Little Grebe (9), Gt Crested Grebe (25), Mute Swan (92), Canada Goose (1), Wigeon
(125), Gadwall (20), Teal (2), Mallard (85), Shoveller (3), Pochard (15),
Tufted Duck (110), Cormorant (9), Coot (678), Moorhen (15), Black-headed Gull
(211), Kingfisher (1), Golden Plover (30), American Wigeon (1), Lapwing (3),
Redshank (2), Water Rail (2), Sparrowhawk (1), Lesser Black-backed Gull (68).
14 October 2000
Wigeon
numbers continue to climb with 160 counted on the Allen pit together with 56
Teal, 5 Gadwall, 2 Little Grebe and 3 Ruddy Duck. On Drayton Road pit there were 10 Little Grebe and 2 Gadwall
together with the usual assortment of Tufted Ducks, Pochard, a few Wigeon,
Coot, Moorhen, mallard and Great-crested Grebes.
7 October 2000
9
Little Grebe and a Kingfisher on Drayton Road Pit, Little Owl in Fisherman's
car park and a Gadwall on Queenford. On
the Allen Pit, Wigeon numbers up to 114 and 4 Little Grebe also there. A single Shoveler and a Bar-headed Goose on
the same water.
18 September 2000
September
WEBS count today with the following results: Heron (1), Little Grebe (3), Gt Crested
Grebe (21), Mute Swan (98), Canada Goose (468), Wigeon (57), Gadwall (2), Teal
(1), Mallard (204), Shoveler (4), Pochard (3), Tufted Duck (52), Coot (482),
Moorhen (7), Black-headed Gull (151), Kingfisher (1), Lapwing (33), Common
Sandpiper (1), Lesser Black-backed Gull (1).
16 September 2000
Wigeon
numbers up to 44 on the Allen Pit with 11 Teal and the ever present female
American Wigeon. A juvenile Red-crested
Pochard and a Great Crested Grebe with recently hatched young (still small
enough to climb on mums/dads back). AHB
alerted me to a Knot on Queenford.
10 September 2000
A
few signs of winter - or at least autumn.
Wigeon numbers up to 19 (plus the ever present Yank), a couple of
Gadwall, two Teal, a Little Grebe, 2 Golden Plover in the 250 strong Lapwing
flock and 14 Yellow Wagtails bathing - all on the Allen Pit. Common Sandpiper and a Common Snipe on Queenford.
28 August 2000
A
Hobby and a Kingfisher on Drayton Road Pit and 2 Greenshank (briefly) and a
Black Swan on Queenford.
27 August 2000
A
big flock of Lapwing over Dorchester about 1000 strong. Gadwall (1), American Wigeon (1), Eurasian
Wigeon (3) and a Common Tern on the Allen Pit.
A single Common Sandpiper on Queenford.
25 August 2000
Kingfisher,
Tufted Duck (31) and Mallard (84) on the Drayton Road Pit. A single Common Tern on Queenford.
24 August 2000
A
snipe and the American Wigeon together with 2 Eurasian Wigeon on the Allen
Pit. A sign of winter with the first new
Wigeon of the autumn.
23 August 2000
AHB
reported 2 Greenshank on Queenford plus a Common Sandpiper.
20 August 2000
Yet
another WEBS count with the following counts;
Heron
(4), Little Grebe (2), Great Crested Grebe (25), Mute Swan (70), Canada Goose
(102), Eurasian Wigeon (1), American Wigeon (1), Mallard (188), Tufted Duck
(92), Coot (322), Moorhen (14), BH Gull (253), Lapwing (40), Common Tern (5),
Water Rail (1), Common Sandpiper (1).
About the most notable find was the major migration of the 2 Wigeon from
the Allen Pit to Queenford.
15 August 2000
Little
new of note - still at least 3 Common Terns and 2 Common Sandpipers on Queenford.
12 August 2000
Both
Eurasian and American Wigeon still on Allen Pit.
23 July 2000
Todays
WEBS count was considerably livened up by 6 Little Terns resting on one of the earth
bunds on Queenford amongst Black-headed Gulls. 4 Common Tern on Queenford and another 4 on the Sailing
Club Pit. A total of 26 Great
Crested Grebes, 26 Tufted Ducks, 54 Mute Swan and 235 Coot on the complex of
lakes. The only other birds of note
(though hardly noteworthy) were the usual 2 Wigeon on the Allen Pit, one
American and the other Eurasian.
2 July 2000
Very
quiet today with the only notable sightings a Gadwall and the Eurasion Wigeon
on the Allen Pit. John Hillsdon tells
me there were 2 Ruddy Duck on the Allen Pit on Thursday but no sign of them
today. Also no sign of the Common Terns
on Queenford - I guess their breeding attempt has failed - not too surprising
with all the boating activity.
25 June 2000
WEBS
count day but little of special note.
Good numbers of Mute Swans with 49 Counted and Gt Crested Grebes with
36. 29 Tufted Ducks present but no
young seen - probably still a bit early.
A new breeding species for Dorchester (unless you know differently) with
a pair of Greylag Geese with two young.
Eurasian and American Wigeon on the Allen Pit. I suspect that the Common Terns are nesting again as I saw a
probable changeover but the nest is out of site.
The
Orchids are at their best with a clump of several hundred Common Spotted and a
similar number of Common Twayblade on private ground and at least 12 Pyramidal
and 9 Bee Orchids on the banks of Drayton Road Pit.
18 June 2000
The
first attempt at breeding by the Common Terns seems to have failed. Both were actively feeding today and the
male was again feeding the female; perhaps they will have another try.
11 June 2000
It
all seems to have gone very quiet! The
only bit of excitement (I am easily pleased) is the first breeding record at
the lakes for Common Tern. Over the
last couple of weeks I have watched the male feeding the female, mating on a
moored boat and one, or the other has been sitting for about a week. What I assume to be the male (anyone know
whether you can tell them apart?) has been chasing off a lone BH Gull and
assorted Wood Pigeons. Please let me
know if you see any "action" as I am not able to get over there as
often as I would like at the moment.
29 May 2000
Dorchester
seems to be quietening down as Summer? Approaches. Greylag and Barnacle geese still around the Day's Lock Scrape and
the American/Eurasian Wigeon pair still in residence on the Allen pit. A single Shelduck on the River Scrape and 2
Common Tern on Queenford. One,
presumably the male, was feeding the other (pair bonding?). The only other bit of behaviour I don’t
remember seeing before was a Common Whitethroat feigning injury, presumably to
draw me away from its nest to which I had strayed too close.
27 May 2000
Ringed
Plover and single Common Tern on Queenford.
21 May 2000
Single
Shelduck on Allen Pit (perhaps the other is sitting on eggs at last?).
American and Eurasian Wigeon on Allen Pit. Nice to see a handful of House Martins collecting mud for nest
building at a puddle near the Dyke Hills.
2 Spotted Flycatchers in the Churchyard near Cemetery Pit. On Queenford, 2 Common Terns, a
Redshank and an Oystercatcher.
14 May 2000
Redshank
on Day's Lock Scrape; American and Eurasian Wigeon, 2 Shelduck and a
Common Tern on the Allen Pit; Common Gull (sickly) on Queenford.
11 May 2000
2
Common Terns, 2 Common Sandpipers and a Little Ringed Plover on Queenford.
6 May 2000
On Day's
Lock Scrape a Greenshank and a motley collection of Geese including Greylag
(2), a Barnacle and a White Fronted - all presumably from Child Beale or somewhere
similar. A Gadwall still around and 2
Wigeon, a male Eurasian and the female American. 2 Common Sands and 2 Shelduck on the River Scrape and 4
Common Sands on Queenford. A
Little Tern and a Common Tern on Queenford brought a good day to and end.
5 May 2000
Best
day for waders at Dorchester for ages.
3 Little Ringed Plovers, 3 Common Sandpipers, a Ringed Plover, a
Turnstone and a Sanderling all on one of the earth bunds crossing Queenford. Good numbers of Swift also there.
23 April 2000
2
Common Tern on Queenford, Common Sandpiper on Allen Pit.
21 April 2000
Common
Whitethroat in bushes around Drayton Road Pit, Swift over Allen Pit
(first seen on 20th by AHB), 2 Wigeon left on Allen Pit,
plenty of Martins and Swallows.
16 April 2000
Days
Lock Scrape
held 2 Shelduck and 2 Teal whilst on the Allen Pit there were 2 Shoveler
and still 4 Wigeon, one of which was almost certainly the American. The Yellow
Wagtails seem to have gone from Queenford but a small number of Common
Sandpipers arrived overnight. I saw 5
and a Ringed Plover but AHB saw 6, the Ringed Plover and a Little Ringed
Plover.
15 April 2000
Very
cold and very wet at Dorchester this afternoon. 2 Shelduck and 3 Grey Heron on Days Lock Scrape; 2 Little
Ringed Plovers, a Ringed Plover and a (the?) Common Sandpiper together with
good numbers of Yellow Wagtails, Swallows & Sand Martins plus a single
House Martin on Queenford.
2 April 2000
A
single Swallow over the Allen Pit and what I am fairly sure was a
Pochard x Tufted Duck hybrid on the Drayton Road Pit. It is a male; if anyone else sees it I would
be interested in confirmation.
1 April 2000
Snipe
and Redshank on the River Scrape, still 17 Teal and 7 Wigeon on the Allen
Pit.
26 March 2000
The
two Little Ringed Plovers still on Days Lock Scrape but probably not for long
judging by how quickly the area is drying out.
Also there 3 Redshank and another 2 on the River Scrape. Numbers of Wigeon are down to single figures
but 2 glowing male Shoveler on the Allen Pit.
25 March 2000
On
the Days Lock scrape two Little Ringed Plovers, Allen Pit - a single male
Goosander and on or over Queenford a Redshank, a Common Sandpiper and 4 Sand
Martins.
19 March 2000
3
Garganey, 2M+1F, on Days Lock Scrape (thanks Alan!) and 4 Redshank. A single Ruff briefly on the Allen Pit. Also
there, 5 Goosander, still plenty of Wigeon and a single Shoveler.
15 March 2000
Monthly
WEBS count - some of the winter ducks have left but most remain, could'nt find
a Little Grebe. Gt Crested Grebe (21),
Mute Swan (15), Wigeon (410), Gadwall (15), Teal (79), Mallard (30), Pochard
(38 - well down on February), Tufted Duck (143), Goosander (2), Cormorant (4),
Coot (300), Moorhen (6), Water Rail (2), Redshank (1). A single Chiffchaff but no sign of any
Martins as yet.
6 March 2000
A
very pleasant walk round the Allen Pit this morning but for the weather rather
than the birds. The American Wigeon was
still present and 6 Goosander (3 males and 3 females). There was also a Black Swan in the field
beyond the river scrape. Day's Lock
scrape is looking very good at the moment with plenty of water which, I am
sure, will attract some passing waders in the next month or so - always
assuming it doesn't dry out. There were
88 Teal here this AM. Most of the
winter ducks are still around with a large flock of Wigeon and good numbers of
Gadwall.
13 February 2000
Monthly
WEBS count with similar numbers to January.
Little Grebe (4), Gt Crested Grebe (21), Mute Swan (31), Wigeon (791),
Gadwall (27), Teal (51), Mallard (44),
Pochard (198), Tufted Duck (164), Cormorant (11), Coot (396), Moorhen
(7), Water Rail (2). In addition a
Peregrine made a pass over a group of Teal on the Allen Pit and the
Common Sandpiper was still in residence on Queenford.
5 February 2000
105
Pochard on Drayton Road Pit, American Wigeon still on the Allen Pit. Lots of Teal and Wigeon on this pit but no
Goosander!
29 January 2000
6
Cormorant, 7 Goosander, a female Smew and a Peregrine on the Allen Pit
this afternoon.
16 January 2000
Monthly
WEBS count with the following highlights from all lakes in the Dorchester
complex:-
Little
Grebe (4), Gt Crested Grebe (27), Mute Swan (68), Wigeon (910), Gadwall (25),
Teal (97), Mallard (43), Shoveller (6), Pochard (186), Tufted Duck (167),
Goosander (1), Cormorant (4), Coot (559), Moorhen (10), Pintail (1), Water Rail
(certainly 1, possibly 2).
8 January 2000
2
White-fronted Geese with the Canada Geese flock on the Allen Pit.
1 January 2000
During
a quick call to Dorchester during our new year's day "twitch" managed
to see Red-breasted Merganser on Whittles Pit and Common Sandpiper and 3
Pintail on Queenford. Other birds of
note in the 84 species, but not at Dorchester, included Blackcap, Chiffchaff,
Water Rail, Long-tailed Duck, Smew and Scaup.