Saturday 31st December
Well, what a finish to 2011 for Longham Lakes. As I write, there are three great ducks, Blue-winged Teal, Scaup and Smew, all on Longham Reservoir South together. Incredible – and with a decent backup in the form of a Goosander as well.
Credit to Roger Howell for re-finding the Scaup on 29th. It is a first-winter male, beginning now to get more and more adult-like.
I managed a full count of both lakes on 30th. For what it is worth, here are the numbers of various species presently around at the site:
Mute Swan 7 Canada Goose 25 Mallard 19 Gadwall 14 Wigeon 97 Teal 12 Shoveler 1 Blue-winged Teal 1 Tufted Duck 84 Pochard 31 Greater Scaup 1 Smew 1 Goosander 1 Great Crested Grebe 20 Little Grebe 3 Cormorant 40 Grey Heron 2 Little Egret 3 Moorhen 1 Coot 134 Black-headed Gull 375 Common Gull 7 Herring Gull 10 Lesser Black-backed Gull 3 Great Black-backed Gull 2 Mediterranean Gull 2 Kingfisher 1
Not bad for a mild December.