Avez-Vous un Cuppa?

Over the weekend I checked out a couple of sites and added two year ticks to my list. This came in the form of a Cetti's Warbler at Watermead CP South and a female Pheasant at Birstall Lodge Farm. With these birds my list is now up to 73 species for the city challenge!

Yesterday was the monthly Wildfowl Count down at Watermead CP and the highlights included the two long-staying Red-head Smews on the Pec Pit opposite the Hope and Anchor Pub, Five Pintails (3 Males and 2 Females) flying over the King Lear's Lake, a female Cetti's Warbler in the complex and another year tick in the form of three Egyptian Geese (No.94) on Wanlip North Lakes! Watermead North CP Wildfowl count (including the Birstall and Wanlip Meadows section!): Great Crested Grebe:11,Cormorant:40,Grey Heron:5,Mute Swan:74,Canada Goose:22,Wigeon:519,Gadwall:67,Teal:62,Mallard:169,Shoveler:83,Pochard:22, Tufted Duck:132,Little Grebe:7,Goosander:34,Smew:2, Pintail:5,Gadwall x Hybrid:1,Moorhen:25,Coot: 144,Water Rail:1,Snipe:5, and Lapwing:27.

Since the euphoria of finding the Ring-billed Gull at Shawell it's back to normal service again! Going to work on the late shift and checking out the Soar Valley in the morning if I have time? So over the last few days I have missed the two drake Smews down at Watermead CP South as the weather was crap and my bins and scope just steamed up every time you tried to look through them. I did however finally heard the male Cetti's Warbler singing at the same site a day or so later which put my list now on 82 species for the year. Other sightings before the Ring-billed Gull find (sorry Skev, yep I'm milking it!) on the same day included the Ross's Goose of unknown origin, 2 Green Sandpipers, small groups of Tree Sparrows and " Harold" the Whooper Swan on and near the flooded fields at Wanlip North Lakes/GPs.