SUNDAY 9th November-

We have had some very blustry weather with some fairly serious rainfall this week. The pools have filled up nicely.

Thursday 13th November:
4 Wigeon, Teal, 2 Shoveler, Mute Swan, Peregrine, Lontailed Tit, Sparrowhawk.

Friday 14th November:
Teal 260, Wigeon 3

Saturday 15th November - Jon Lloyd
Great morning, I was up with the sun and good patches of blue sky. Lots of small birds in the hedgerows this morning; Goldcrest and Long tailed Tits, Goldfinch, Wren, Blue Tits, Tree Sparrows(4). The usual flocks of winter Thrushes, not in any great flocks today. Picked up Mistle Thrush near the farm and large flocks of Starling passed through flying fast overhead.

Three Cormorants came over the Grange Pool just after sun up.The hide was empty. The water in the pools has filled to a level that has allowed the water to spill out into the other smaller pools to the left of the hide. I was greeted by the sound of a single male Wigeon whistling and at the same time stretching its neck and head, turning it bill upwards defiantly. My first for the winter but the book showed that small numbers had been here all week.

I located a female Peregrine in the back field. This field looks very smart in its new earth uniform, the soil colour changing from brown on the highland to peaty black down near to the Strine Pipe (ditch) There were odd lumps of beet here and there and the bird sat here preening in the early morning sun - a great sight through the telescope. To its left sat the male. From time to time they would take off to foray amongst the flocks of pigeons on neighbouring fields and then return.The female landed near to the male on one occassion having passed perilously close to its head in a dash of bravoardo. The two birds displayed to each other, the male and femals dipped and coutseyed before turning their backs on each other and getting on with the business of keeping all feathers in tip top condition.

Plenty of Teal about and male Sparrowhawk passed through causing the teal to scuttle half heartedly to the rush cover at the waterside margin. Another two Cormorant whistled passed in their usual hurried state.

Also seen today: Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Kestrel, Buzzard, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Moorhen, Heron,