Egyptian Goose - ID parade 3

Droopy (above)
Narcissus

Egyptian Goose - ID parade 2

Michael

Part the 2 (as the Goons used to say - unless, as usual, I've mis-remembered it).

Pete (Above Droopy Pair, Below Little and Large)

Egyptian Goose - ID parade

Michael Ruggins wrote today:

Pete,

I suppose one of these days I shall get up of a morning and see half of the stuff you regularly record day in and day out. For instance, at the Gas Bridge I simply don't get a sandpiper green or common or purple-hazed and, although I always expect to, I rarely see a grey wagtail and not always a pied (one of those based in Tesco's carpark and only at the overspill gasometer for short-stay purposes, do you reckon?) but I frequently hear one there.

In my defence, as you know, I most often trundle around in the afternoon approaching dusk with Max in tow. I daresay he'll soon become one of 2011's grounded barn owl statistics but at least I can see him in the dark. Yesterday we passed Little and Large, like sentries on night duty, standing three metres apart and facing across the Navigation between BW's stainless steel water filler and Dave's greasy spoon. l suspect they are imprinted on me and Max as dual white-haired nocturnal zombies they can safely ignore, with little more than a quavery shelgoose mumble in the throat as we pass by in peace.

Are they, however, the genuine Little and Large? And not the Droopies? A passport photo is needed, I feel, to substantiate their respective identities. The real Large, a loner, who spent a great deal of his non-working days in the past couple of years admiring his reflexion in the BW chrome mirror - your anthropomorphic view benevolently tongue-in-cheek - or fiercely attacking a doppelganger rival - the boring bto social-science take on such behaviour - now appears to be fixated on Little much more diligently. His constancy is a revelation.

Will it endure, I ask myself and Max, whose appetite for wildfowl is forever virginal and unsatisfied. Is he (Little) in love, is she female, or are they gay fashionistas? Is he even a male, I wonder. All I know is that his isolationist stance of yesteryear, when he'd tolerate an egyptian buddy or another pair for a matter of days only, has been sacrificed on the altar of blissful togetherness. He no longer hugs and craves the water pump. Hurrah...

Yet we still have to find empirical evidence and proof that L & L and the Droopies are who we think they are. Maybe Big Dave (Cottridge) can set up his 15 grand's worth of Nikon and give us 150+ digital images that confirm who's a hero and who a villain. Meanwhile your opinion would be appreciated sometime this week. 8 days, remember, in your fulsome week and not the measly 7 everyone else is restricted to by boring precedence and habit. Why aren't we all mathematicians like you, Pete? With a degree to testify to it too.

Michael

Monday sightings

Pete Lambert wrote yesterday:

No gadwall north of the East Bridge today, perhaps the group that were here have moved off now that most water is unfrozen. While I was standing on the Sandpiper Bridge, a male goosander flew high over the Lee Navigation, then went down to the Banbury Reservoir. A short time later, a female went similarly high over WM East. At about the same time a green sandpiper called from the east and I saw it come up and go south over the Marsh towards Lockwood Reservoir. Two male pheasants flew east from across the channel and landed on the East Marsh. Both had completely dark necks without white collars. Four redwings flew up from the trees along the west channel calling, circled overhead, then went off west. A little egret flew north over the Navigation, then from the Green Bridge I could see six teal (four males displaying at two females) and two shoveler - the female and eclipse male seen here before.

Down near Stonebridge Lock there were two pairs of egyptian geese again - Little and Large by the Centre, and Droopy pair on the barge just SE of the Lock.Nothing much on the west side of Clendish Marsh, but at the SE corner, I heard a goldcrest calling from Pymmes Brook. Found it - pecking at the metal railings round the channel - but also saw a chiffchaff, which was searching at the lip of the channel for food. Both these were the first sightings in 2011, earlier I'd only heard them calling as I walked round. By the slope in the channel near the bridge to the lock, there was a female gadwall feeding with the mallard.

At Stonebridge Wood I heard a goldcrest calling again and I found my second of the day, near the pond. Then when I reached the Orchid Meadow I disturbed a green woodpecker. This was the first I've seen this year, my last sighting was on 6 December. It flew off SW.

At WM West there was another song thrush singing, making four singing this morning. A male reed bunting flew up into the tree calling, before flying off high NE. From the Gas Bridge, there was a green sandpiper in the channel as well as both grey and pid wagtails. As I walked towards the Chalk Bridge, a lapwing called and looking up I saw it fly high north. On the walk south down the towpath I found two gadwall feeding - a male and a female, but not together.

DMC

Thursday Report

Peter Lambert wrote yesterday:

Not a good morning to go for a walk birdwatching. Dark and gloomy as I left my house and rain soon started. Only 'nuisance' level rain, but it made using binoculars hard . Could also have done with wind screen wipers on my glasses!

As I walked in from the east, a little egret flew north over WM East and from the East Bridge I could see some gadwall with the mallard, but the light was too poor to check how many. Walking down the side of the west channel I was surprised to flush a male gadwall from the vegetation just east of the path. Have disturbed mallards like this before, but never gadwall. A stock dove flew north over the east side of WM East, my first record for 2011. From the Green Bridge I saw seven teal in the channel and two shoveler (looked like an eclipse male and a female). Walking down the towpath to Stonebridge Lock I came across two egyptian geese on the towpath (Little and Large) and the other two (Droopy pair) were swimmming on the Lee Navigation near the Centre. It amazes me how territorial these geese are. They never seem to stray far from this little area, unlike the canada geese which come and go. Are they attracted to their reflections in the shiny metal thing for the barges? They often stand by it. Very strange. There werealso five more teal in the channel near the Lock, making a total of 12 for the morning.

Clendish Marsh still very quiet (where are our stonechats?) except for three redwings flying east calling and a greenfinch singing from the top of a conifer at the allotments. This is the first one I've heard singing in 2011.

At WM West, there was a grey wagtail in the channel from the Northumberland Park Bridge, and a green sandpiper in the channel from the Gas Bridge. From the Chalk Bridge I saw a little grebe on the Lee Navigation and seven gadwall in the channels east of the bridge. Walking down the towpath towards the Green Bridge I saw three gadwall on the Lee Navigation ( a male and two females), and wondered if this might have included the pair that bred there in 2010.

Home damp, but cheered up by a group of siskin feeding in alders near my house (the playground at Norfolk Road E17). There were here around Christmas and about 15 there today.

DMC

Latest Marsh Sightings and Tottenham waxwing alert.

Pete Lambert wrote today:

Happy new year to you all.

Before I go on about what I've seen at the Marsh so far, there may be waxwings feeding in the Tottenham High Road area! Terry tells me that his brother Paul saw over 20 waxwings in a tree along the High Road opposite Scotland Green on 30 December. Terry went later that day but there was no sign of them.

On Sunday 2 January, Terry was coming out of a shop in Hollington Road /Winston (can't find Winston in my A-Z) when 9 waxwings flew over his head going towards Harrington Park/Lansdowne Road area. Maybe worth a walk round this area looking for berries (and perhaps waxwings).

Will they appear next in David Cotteridge's garden?

Saturday 1 January 2011
Walking in from Blackhorse Lane, one of the first birds I saw was a little egret which flew north from the Reservoirs and on over WM East. A sign of the times that I see this before I see my first heron at the Marsh! From the East Bridge, a female goosander was feeding just north of the weir with 2 male gadwall. When I reached the Sandpiper Bridge, there was a fieldfare calling from the trees along the west bank of the Lee Navigation. Walking south by the west channel, a flock of about 35 redwings flew west calling. I was looking along the muddy edges of the channel to spot the water rail, when I suddenly realised the bird walking along the path in frot of me wasn't the usual moorhen, but it was the water rail! It pottered along the edge of the vegetation for a while and then walked through to the channel. Two linnet flying high calling were also a nice sign. From the Green Bridge I could only find 2 teal in the channel.

Walking south down the towpath, I went down to look at the channel and found a second water rail walking along the east edge of the channel. This is really a Walthamstow Reservoir record rather than a Tottenham Marsh one, but nice to know there are at least two around here. Near the Centre there was a dispute between 4 egyptian geese as to who should parade outside the Centre. It looked like the Droopy pair and Little and Large. The Droopy pair chased Little and Large off.

My first grey wagtail of the year was in Pymmes Brook from the bridge to Clendish Marsh and over Clendish Marsh I saw 3 redwing fly NE calling and then 3 skylark high N calling. Ended up on my walk back by Pymmes Brook with a second grey wagtail in the channel, heard a chiffchaff calling from the channel plus a goldcrest calling, although I couldn't see either of these. There was a male shoveler on the slope at the channel with the mute swans and I saw another skylark fly W calling and heard a siskin fly SE but didn't see it.

Another chiffchaff and another goldcrest calling from Pymmes Brook at WM West - again neither seen. Did see a skylark that went high W calling though. Checking the gulls flying over I found an immature great black-backed gull flying N over WM East - massive looking.

From the Chalk Bridge there was my first little grebe of the day diving in the Lee Navigation, then more skylarks calling - 6 flew SE over Banbury Reservoir. Walking down to the Green Bridge I saw 2 more little grebes in the channel and another skylark, this one SE calling. At WM East I thought I heard a bullfinch calling from the east trees - couldn't find it. (THe next day, as I walked round Lockwood Reservoir, I heard it again, calling from the south trees in WM East, and it flew into the east trees.) Also one reed bunting up calling.

Monday 3 January
Walked down from Blackhorse Raod, saw a bird feeding on top of the bank at Lockwood Reservoir - it was a curlew! Calmly probing the grass with its bill. I only record one curlew a year at the Reservoirs (if I'm lucky) so this was a pleasant surprise, although not a Tottenham Marsh record. But when I reached WM East I heard a jackdaw call and watched two jackdaws fly SW over the houses east, and then on across the East Marsh - my first record for 2011. Female goosander again feeding north of the East Bridge with 16 gadwall today. Then lots of alarm calls from the group of trees that form a triangle shape at the north of WM East, plus what sounded like a blackbird being killed! Get close to the sound and find a female sparrowhawk on the ground amongst the bushes, its wings spread wide with presumably a blackbird in its talons. Walked on leaving nature to take its course. From the Sandpiper Bridge, there was a male goosander as well as a female goosander, both feeding just north of the old sluice gate.Down by the Green Bridge I heard my first pheasant of the year calling - didn't see it, also heard a reed bunting calling. Only the Droopy pair of egyptian geese at the Centre but a carrion crow flew up to the old pylon nest there with a twig in its bill, getting the nest sorted for 2011?

On to Clendish Marsh where Little and Large were standing in Pymmes Brook and there were also 4 gadwall there. The walk round Clendish Marsh only produced a colared dove flying over and 2 fieldfares going east to Lockwood Reservoir, but by the time I got back to the bridge at Pymmes Brook, there were 3 male shoveler standing there.

Another pheasant calling somewhere at Stonebridge Wood out of sight, then at Pymmes Brook at WM West, heard again goldcrest and chiffchaff calling - still not seen. Male kestrel over the Marsh added to my raptors for the day. Single skylark high NW calling.

Walking down the towpath to the Green Bridge I found another 2 shovelers in the channel, one of these a female. Finally, as I walked out over the East Bridge, there was a single green sandpiper feeding in the channel just south of the bridge.


DMC

Christmas report

Pete Lambert Wrote Yesterday:

Did manage walks round the Marsh since my last report on 22 December, but didn't manage to find time to send details round. Here's a quick summary.

Wednesday 22 December.
Snow and ice still on the ground and saw 5 shoveler, all males. Two were standing on the ice on the Lee Navigation just south of Stonebridge Lock, while the other three were feeding in the channel just east of this Lock. Probably 3 separate chiffchaff calling at various places around the Marsh. Finally a record 21 gadwall seen from the Chalk Bridge in the channels NE and E of the bridge.

Friday 24 December.
17 fieldfare flew high west over Clendish Marsh at 9.04am, there was a green sandpiper feeding in Pymmes Brook just north of the bridge by the Gasometer at WM West and a female shoveler just north of the Green Bridge. Then as I left the Marsh at 10.39, loads of crows called over the houses east of me as they chased a buzzard NW over the houses and on over Banbury Reservoir.

Monday 27 December.
Very gloomy as I walked towards the Marsh and very icy underfoot. As a result, on the footpath east of Wild Marsh East by the allotments at 8.31am, I was looking down at my feet rather than up in the sky when I heard the long trill of a waxwing! Looked up to see two "starling-like" shapes going west overhead and on across Wild Marsh East. Got my bins on them, but only saw one bird from behind, and couldn't then see colour of plumage. Waxwing somewhere, and probably these two birds were them, but couldn't be sure. Interestingly, other movement as well with a jackdaw East over WM East at 8.54am and 5 lapwing east over WM West at 10.59. 4 shovelers in the channel east of Stonebridge Lock and 14 redwing east at Stonebridge Wood. Three different goldcrests seen.

Thursday 30 December.
A much quieter day with all the ice and snow gone from the ground, although most of the Lee Navigation still frozen. 3 male shoveler still in the channel east of Stonebridge Lock and a single mistle thrush (a rarity here) flew SE over Clendish Marsh, perching in the trees by the allotments and singing briefly before flying on SE towards the reservoirs. This made my 10th species of bird singing this morning - wren, robin, song thrush, mistle thrush, wood pigeon, dunnock, great tit, chaffinch briefly, and then collared dove and starling on my way too and from the Marsh. Is this because the days are getting longer now?

DMC