Thursday 6 December 2012

Thursday 6th December 2012

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

***Staffs Bird News would like to wish Sam Clare a very happy birthday***

*****HAPPY 87th Birthday ESC from all your many friends in Staffordshire and beyond******

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cannock Chase
Great Grey Shrike seen briefly by the road opposite Cannock Chase Visitor Centre on Rugeley to Penkridge road at c11.25 hrs.....GJM

Chasewater
Great Northern Diver still on the 60% frozen Swag. (pic below). Around 12.00pm it made 4 attempts at flight, all ended in running out of water or crashing on to the water due to losing balance. Photo taken later on shows something wrapped around the chest, hopefully it is weed from diving....JBa


 Westport Lake
Fem Common Scoter still present, 8+ Goosander and drake Goldeneye.....NJS
also a 4th winter Yellow-legged Gull..............PL

Blithfield Res (permit only)
2x Scaup( fem types) in Mickledale Bay. Also Little Owl and Willow Tit present today..........RB

Waxwings@
Newcastle-u-Lyme - 12 between Nirvana Restaurant and roundabout at 14:30hrs..
Trent Vale - c30 at Lincoln Avenue this afternoon...........NT
Stoke-on-Trent - 20+ low over Sackville Street, Basford today at 2.10 pm...LC

Branston Gravel Pits
12x Curlew, Little Egret, Water Rail, 31x Pochard, 69x Wigeon, 57x Gadwall, c250x Teal, 3x Great Crested Grebe, 6x Little Grebe, 2x Lesser Redpoll, 5x Goldcrest, 2x Bullfinch, 2x Green Woodpecker, c1500x Woodpigeon, c150x Lapwing................JW

Oakamoor/Churnet Valley
c20 Siskin downstream of the old railway station, Nuthatch, & Kingfisher near Lord's Bridge............ KK

Alton
2x Bullfinch, 2x Nuthatch, 1x Green Woodpecker, 1x Jay. 1x Great Spotted Woodpecker, 1x Raven, 1x Buzzard..............ARa

Rudyard
c50 Fieldfare this morning.............GA