The Longham Patch 11th February

A very cold walk round the lakes this afternoon produce three new birds for the Patch Work Challenge and Longham year list with Fieldfare, Pheasant, Kingfisher and Goldcrest.

There was no sign of the Great White Egrets when I arrived, but later on when I was walking round the East side of South Lake a Great White Egret flew over the settling marsh area and dropped down somewhere behind Emily’s Wood and another was on the large island. In Hampreston Field there were 27 geese and I hoped one or two might be a winter visitor but they were all Greylags.

I counted a good number of Pochard 44, but only 3 Wigeon on this vist also Shoveler numbers were up prior to my last visit with 15 tucked up on the island as the water level is very low and is exposing large areas of shore line round the lake and islands.

A full list of birds

Mute Swan, Greylag Goose –27, Canada Goose – 4, Wigeon – 3, Gadwall,  Teal – 16, Mallard, Shoveler – 15, Pochard – 44, Tufted Duck, Pheasant – 1 male, Cormorants, Little Egret – 1, Great White Egret – 2, Grey Heron –1, Little Grebe – 16, Great Crested Grebes, Buzzard, Moorhen – 2, Coots, Black-headed Gulls, Common Gull – 1, Lesser Black backed Gull – 3, Herring Gulls, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove – 2,

Kingfisher –1, Green Woodpecker – 1, Magpie, Jackdaws, Carrion Crows, Goldcrest – 2,  Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Blackbird – 3, Fieldfare – 20, Song Thrush, Redwing – 30, Robins, Grey Wagtail –1,

As you a can see not to bad a haul for such a cold windy day round the lakes, they may be just the usual fare but with out them the place would be a boring one.

  On the large island there was a Cormorant that looked unusual from the rest of the Cormorant it was with so I took the  time to study it and came to the conclusion that it was a Great Continental Cormorant ( Carbo sinensis)type,

  due to the gular pouch along with not so much white  round the throat patch and the extensive white on the head and down the side of the neck. creating a C like shape of black on the side of the face between the white throat patch and the neck side. 

Fieldfare