Avez-Vous un Cuppa?

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.

I had a good day in the Soar Valley today with a new year tick in the form of the returning Oystercatcher at Watermead CP South. Other sightings I saw in the park included the long-staying Redhead Smew still on the "Pec Pit", a fly-over Pintail also at Watermead CP North (which I saw later at Cossington Meadows) "Jocky" the Scottish-ringed Cormorant at the Birstall section and "Harold" the Whooper Swan on the water ski pit with the other Mute Swans. Moving onto Cossington Meadows whilst looking for Jack Snipe I flushed a Bittern from the reedy pool next to the footpath which goes to Sileby, then I saw a nice female Stonechat and a couple of Little Egrets on the upper marsh section of the reserve. Finishing with the Owls, the small crowd enjoyed at least three Short-eared Owls and two Barn Owls hunting over the Swan Meadow and the Moor.

Female Red-head Smew at Watermead CP(Birstall). With the whole week off from work it was down the Soar Valley again and a few more species tick off on the year list. First stop was Cossington South GPs and the surrounding farmland and sightings I saw included a couple of flushed Grey Partridge , and then a mobile Grey Wagtail . Then the phone rang and John Hague let me know that Mick Braker had found a redhead Smew on the Key Lakes at Birstall (Watermead CP). So off I went to twitch the Smew. Reaching the Key Lakes I spotted the Redhead Smew on the only un-frozen part of the Lakes. Get In!! So another good bird for the Soar Valley list. Meeting up with John in the nearby car park we spoke about the long-staying Black Redstart in the new housing estate just off the A6 and decided to include on the Soar Valley challenge. So after John had taken a few shots of the Redhead Smew and the Goosanders on the Key Lakes we met up again on the housing estate and it wasn't long before the cork...