Ewden valley 22/9/18. G and J Wasse, D Simmonite, S Green.

Cold breeze and slow birding until well into the afternoon. Peregrine 3 together and at times down, 1 ad. 2 imm. Merlin 1, Red Kite 1,C Buzzard 4, Kestrel 6. Raven 5, Meadow Pipit total seen 1657, Redpoll flock 20, Siskin total 12, Mistle Thrush 6. Stonechat 3 includes 2 males, Swallow 65, House Martin c 100, LBB Gull 1 imm s., 140 Grey Geese nw.,presumed Pinkfeet.

Wintersett - a big vis-mig day

Westerly wind, cloudy all day.
The day belonged to a terrific vis-mig session overlooking the CP lake. Birds were moving from first light and most of them were Meadow Pipits, heading southwards in a broad front to the west and east of the lake (which is normal). Fortunately we were in position on the hill early and counting started at 7am. By 8am we had counted over 2000 birds and just a half hour later we were up to 5000 and new records were being made (the previous best count was of 4735 in September 2011). The 10,000th bird passed at 10.45am after which passage tailed off a bit but we stayed counting until 2.05pm by which time we had a grand total of 11,169.  To put this fantastic passage into some context - this is the sixth highest count of migrant Meadow Pipits in the UK during the last ten years, only two sites in the whole of the country have counted more - Spurn Point on 4 occasions and Christchurch (Dorset) just once.
A single Tree Pipit and a single Rock Pipit went over us calling, clearly part of the same movement.
Other species seen heading southwards included;-
Common Buzzard 4, Peregrine 1, Kestrel 1, Pink-footed Goose 13, Golden Plover 23, Great Spotted Woodpecker 8, Skylark 26, Alba Wagtail 23, Grey Wagtail 1, House Martin 251, Swallow 169, Chaffinch 42, Goldfinch 46, Siskin 104.

The Juvenile Black Tern is still on the CP lake and it was joined by an adult Little Gull mid morning which remained all day. Shoveler 61, Goosander 2, Little Egret 1, Dunlin 1, Sand Martin 20.

Ringing;- a total of 71 birds were ringed including;- Blackcap 8, Reed Warbler 1, Chiffchaff 6, Goldcrest 5, Meadow Pipit 2, Chaffinch 20, Reed Bunting 6.

Carlton Marsh

This morning 225 Canada Geese were on the main scrape. Meadow Pipits were heading south and a Mink was photographed in front of the hide.

North American Mink (Richard Laverack)

This evening another Cetti's Warbler was ringed, this time a male.  A group of 12 Meadow Pipits were followed by two singles moving south. 3 Water Rails were calling and 3 Swallows and a few Yellow Buntings came in to roost.

A Fox was found dead on the bypass. (Rod Heeley)

Carlton Marsh

More than an inch of overnight rain flooded the valley floor. 10 House Martins were feeding over the scrape, 34 Canada Geese were on the wader scrape with 2 Shoveler, c30 Gadwall and an adult Common Gull.

A Red Kite circled over Carrs Lane, Low Cudworth at 09.52hrs before drifting NW over the Newtown Estate in the direction of Carlton Marsh. Alas nobody there to see it. (Richard Laverack)

A Red Underwing was found alive and well after Storm Bronagh, in Geoff Miller's garden in Upper Cudworth.

Wintersett 21.09.18

7 - 15 degrees with 8/8 cloud,  intermittent showers and a strong westerly
Anglers CP:  Black Tern 1.  Common Tern 1 immature.   Yellow-legged Gull 1 adult + 1 juvenile.  A Pintail,  a Common Sandpiper and a Dunlin were in.  Wigeon 50.  Little Egret 1.  Sand Martin 2. 

  Yellow-legged Gull juvenile      ACP SDenny

                        Yellow-legged Gull  adult        ACP SDenny

                                          Dunlin                   ACP   SDenny

                                           Pintail              ACP   SDenny

Low Moor/Midhope 21/9/18.

Cool and very windy with dry spells fewer as the afternoon went on . Peregrine  was mobbed by a  Merlin over barnside moor, C Buzzard 2 , Kestrel 2. Raven 1 pair, single calling Golden Plover  south, 3 redhead Goosander through south, Meadow Pipit total 52 going south. Siskin 6, Mistle Thrush 7, Starling 50, mostly attracted by the feeding station. On the res. Little Grebe 7, Tufted Duck 6.

Carlton Marsh

On the scrape before it was disturbed for desilting-reed removal, 190 Canada Geese, 6 Greylags, 4 Shoveler, 4 Tufted Duck and Kingfisher. A Grey Wagtail flew south, Buzzard was hunting and 2 Sparrowhawk were displaying.

(Rod Heeley)

The view from the hide had become obscured, its much better now thanks to the expertise of Dan Bichan and his machine.

During the heavy rain of this afternoon, Geoff Miller was kept fully entertained by a Great Spotted Woodpecker in his garden. It frequented his apple tree for 90 minutes.

Wintersett + Vis.Mig. 20.09.18

 16 - 19 degrees with scattered cloud and a strong south westerly. Very heavy rain from mid afternoon.
Wintersett Res: Vis.Mig.: 
Going south: Meadow Pipit 1458.  Skylark 3.  Linnet 6.   Siskin 10. 
Wintersett Res:  Hobby 1.  Cetti's Warbler 2.  Water Rail  1. 
Anglers CP: Black Tern 1 juvenile.  A soaked Wheatear was on the south bank.

 Wheatear        WRes.  SDenny

Wintersett + Gull Roost 19.09.18

14 - 18 degrees, warm with 6/8 cloud and a moderate south westerly wind.
Anglers CP: The Garganey and the  Black Tern were still present at 16:50.   Dunlin  1.  Siskin 3 flew south.  
Wintersett Res:  2 Willow Tits were on the west bank.  A late lesser Whitethroat was on the ruin.
Anglers CP Gull Roost:  Yellow-legged Gull  2 1stW + 5 adults.
Cold Hiendley Res: A Grey Wagtail was on the Sewage Farm.

Wilthorpe Marsh 19/9/18. + Fleets.

Oxbow pond area continues to look good for crakes and rails. Late aft. visit had 2, but possibly 4 Green Sands, 3 L Egrets, 3 W Rails, 8 Teal, 6 Stock Doves. Fleets, nowt much here with no sign of any parrots with early morning still probably the best time. 1 GC Grebe.

Carlton Marsh

Today still a large number of Canada Geese (220) on the main scrape with 7 Greylags, 14 Shoveler, Kingfisher and Little Egret. There was a steady passage of Swallows throughout the morning and 6 LBB gulls and 1 Herring Gull flew south from the wader scrape. 

Insects included

Green Veined White 3, Speckled Wood 12, Small Copper 15, Painted Lady 1, Red Admiral 7, Brown Argus 1, Comma 4 and Small Tortoiseshell 2. 

Day flying moths were Vapourer Moth 2, Lesser Treble Bar 4 and Silver Y.

Migrant and Southern Hawker were on the wing in the warm sunshine (Chris Parkin).

Wintersett + Gull Roosts 18.09.18

A warm 15 - 18 degrees with scattered cloud and a moderate south westerly.
Reports taken from Twitter  - per SDenny,  CSwaine and DLangston.
Anglers CP: Black Tern & Garganey still present . Also Dunlin,    61 Wigeon,   61 Great Crested Grebe.  A Common Sandpiper and  the Little Egret were in earlier.
Wintersett Res. Gull Roost: The 1st W Caspian Gull  was in with 6 Yellow-legged Gulls and 150 Lesser Black-backed Gulls. 
Anglers CP Gull Roost: 220 Lesser Blackbacked Gulls,  8 Yellow-legged Gulls, 11 Herring Gulls  and 3 Great Black-backed Gulls
Botany Paddock: Willow Tit 1.  

Carlton Marsh

There were 250 Canada Geese on the main scrape today along with 6 Greylags and at least 6 Shovelers. Also of note Buzzard, 2 Sparrowhawks, Kestrel, Kingfisher, 1 Siskin and Cetti's Warbler singing.

Wintersett 17.09.18

17 - 21 degrees with sun, scattered cloud and a moderate south westerly.
Anglers CP: The juvenile Black Tern was in until 09.45hrs but could not be located later, or on WRes..   The Garganey is still present on the shallows.  2 Snipe flew west.  Little Grebe 4.
Wintersett Res: A flock of 80 House Martin drifted through south.
Odonata west bank WRes.:  Southern Hawker 1.  Brown Hawker 1.
Lepidoptera: A small Copper west bank WRes.  A Comma on ACP.

            Souther Hawker            WRes  ASmith

Carlton Marsh

On the main scrape today 245 Canada Geese, 4 Greylag Geese, 11 Shoveler, 2 Tufted Duck, 3 Kingfisher, 2 Water Rail, Little Egret, 4 Swallows, 2 LBB. Gulls + 4 west, Snipe, Buzzard and Sparrowhawk.


A Lancaster bomber flew over the Wader Scrape and over Cudworth at 15.20hrs

Wintersett, Sunday 16th September

A much stronger south-westerly wind than yesterday although the predicted rain failed to materialise.

The Black Tern remains on the CP as does the Garganey on the shallows. An influx of Great Crested Grebes onto the park lake with 65 on here and a further 13 on the res. Cormorants are also clearly finding the feeding good with 67 present.
Two juvenile Hobbies were clearly liking the windy conditions and were on view for much of the day, particularly around the Top Res.

Vis-mig - the whole morning was spent counting south bound migrants although it was slow going much of the time;- Pink-footed Goose 20 flew west, Ringed Plover 1, Dunlin 2 singles, Common Snipe 8 west, Swift 1, Wheatear 1, Meadow Pipit 112, House Martin 875, Sand Martin 2, Swallow 34, Starling 99.

Low Moor / Midhope 16/9/18.

Still raining here at 4pm so only midhope res. news. = 106 LBB Gulls down, L.Grebe 6, Teal 3, Tufted Duck 3, C Buzzard 2.

Carlton Marsh

This evening 192 Canada Geese and 6 Greylag Geese were on the main scrape before they moved to the wader scrape. Also present 12 Shoveler, 5 Little Grebe, 14 Teal, Little Egret, 2 Kingfisher, Water Rail, Snipe, Green Woodpecker, 18 Lapwing, 36 Jackdaw, 20 Linnet and Sparrowhawk hunting at dusk.
2 Foxes were hunting at 18.36hrs.

Wintersett Ringing 15.09.18

77 Birds were ringed today.  Highlights were: 12 Chiffchaff.  2 Willow warblers.  6 Blackcap.  1 Reed Warbler.  11 Goldfinch.  15 Meadow Pipit.  3 Goldcrest.

          Juvenile Black Tern   (BOCshot)          ACP   KDenny

Wintersett, Saturday 15th Sept

South-west wind dropping off in afternoon, cloudy with 'murk' in morning,

Top Res- remnants from last nights gull roost were still present at dawn, Great Black-backed Gull 2 adults, Caspian Gull 1 juvenile, Yellow-legged Gull at least 5 adults and 3 juveniles.
A juvenile Black Tern relocated to the CP about nineish where it remained for the remainder of the day.
Country Park - the high congregation of Cormorants remain with at least 76 present. The regular Little Egret came in during the afternoon, Shoveler 13, Lapwing 180, Common Sandpiper 1, Water Rail 1, Hobby 1.

Vis-mig - one of the better days of recent years with a good movement from early morning to midday. An Osprey went south-west over Haw Park at 10.40, a Marsh Harrier south at 13.25. three skeins of Pink-footed Geese (first of the autumn) totaled 105, 4 Ringed Plovers south and a total of 23 Golden Plovers went west. However, the main movers were a local favourite (many vis-miggers favourite) - Meadow Pipits - a total of 2264 flew south, almost all before midday. This is our fifth ever highest count since regular counts began in 2011, but still some way behind the record of 4735 in September 2011. Hirundines were also moving with 523 House Martins (plus 120 feeding), 54 Swallows and 3 Sand Martins.

Ringing - a few warblers were caught, the best being a Willow Warbler.