The Cotswold Water Park

This website highlights all recent reported sightings within the Cotswold Water Park.   Please send us your records and any photographs of interesting species seen in this area.  Sightings can be mailed to this website, added as 'comments' to previous entries or sent to "cwp_birdsightings-at-hotmail.co.uk"  (Note: Replace -at- with @)

For a leaflet on birds in the Water Park download this PDF File.    For further general information on the Water Park, please visit the Cotswold Water Park Society website, the Visitor Centre at Keynes Country Park or the Gateway Centre near the A419.  

For directions to the Water Park use this link.   Maps with lake numbers for the Western and Eastern sections of the Water Park can be downloaded or can be picked up at the visitor centres. For further information on birding nearby try Gloster Birder for Gloucestershire and Wiltshire Ornithological Society for Wiltshire.

CWP 74 from Twitchers Gate: 150+ Golden Plover and 320+ Lapwing   Jon Mercer

CWP 95: Raven, 25+ Teal.  Jon Mercer

Note: Waterhay Car Park almost completely flooded. Much of the Thames National Trail also flooded.
 
Ringing Group: Totals at CWP 68d/68c included 1 Blackcap, 5 Chiffchaff ( 1 of Scandinavian race albeitinus), 6 Meadow pipits, 2 Lesser Redpoll  John Wells

Cormorant with Tench courtesy of John Rock

Reed Hide L68a: Coot    Lots, Mute Swan     2, Long Tailed Tit, Pochard    4, Rooks, Mallard, wigeon  John Rock
Thames Path:  Redwing, Chaffinch, Grey Squirrel  John Rock
CWP 6: 1 Cetti’s Warbler, 1 Skylark, mixed flock of redwing/Fieldfare, 2 Goldcrest, 62 Coot, 13 Pochard, 2 Great Crested Grebes, 6 Gadwall.  Gareth Harris

CWP 57: 15 Moorhen, 21 Mute Swan, 69 Tufted Duck, 547 Coot, 13 Great Crested Grebe, Goldeneye, 6 Little Grebe, 2 Snipe, 5 Reed Bunting.  Gareth Harris

CWP 41: 383 Coot, 277 Wigeon, 27 Gadwall, 37 Tufted Duck, 19 Shoveler, 39 Mute Swan, 2 Grey Heron, 3 Goldeneye, 1 Red Crested Pochard, 1 Ruddy Duck, 1 Kingfisher, Jay, Green Woodpecker, Siskin flock.  Gareth Harris

CWP 58: 2 Bullfinch, Siskin flock, 58 Pochard, 6 Great Crested Grebe, 4 Gadwall, 156 Coot.  Gareth Harris

Swillbrook Lakes (CWP 46/48): 23 Coot, 6 Great Crested Grebe, Grey Heron, 13 Tufted Duck, Mute Swan, 8 Mallard, 2 Gadwall, 3 teal, 3 Shoveler, Kingfisher, 2 Cormorant, 2 Lesser Redpoll, 15+ Siskin, 2 Pochard.   Gareth Harris

On behalf of the Cotswold Water Park Society, I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who helped with the work parties at Cleveland Lakes this year: in the past few months, several work parties have been held here, including:

• Two days of work from The CWP Estates and Ranger Team with members of the Cotswold Water Park Ringing Group (CWRG) and local birders including several members of Wiltshire Ornithological Society,
• Three days of work from The CWP Estates and Ranger Team, one of which was with their own volunteer team
• One day of a corporate team building event with Npower.

Further events with local groups are also planned during the remainder of the winter.

The work parties have enabled several areas of willow scrub to be cleared to enable re-growth of the reed and the extent of the reedbed increases each year, improving the habitat here for various waterbirds such as Water rail, Bittern etc. Much of the area worked upon is within the site and not visible from the footpath, however, works were also undertaken to pollard one of the large willows and clear some willow scrub on the edge of the site, which should improve views into and across the reed beds.

By the way, for those who helped at the work party yesterday……………you’ll be interested to learn that the River Thames flooded overnight and the entire site is underwater now! Good timing………..

Thanks & best wishes   Gareth Harris, Biodiversity Officer, Cotswold Water Park Society

CWP 74: Ad. Great Black-backed Gull and 10 Goldeneye, Robin Griffiths

Blakehill/Stoke Common:  4 Stonechat and 45 Snipe  Robin Griffiths

CWP 31: Great Crested Grebe, Cormorant, Mute Swan, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Pochard, Red-crested Pochard (3 drake, 1 duck), Buzzard, Coot, Moorhen, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Woodpigeon, Grey Wagtail, Starling, Robin, Blackbird, Redwing (60), Fieldfare (4), Mistle Thrush, Song Thrush, Long-tailed Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Coal Tit, Wren, Treecreeper, Goldcrest, Magpie, Rook, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Goldfinch, Siskin (2), Redpoll (1)  Martin Adlam / Dawn Young.

Hide on CWP 74: 12 Ruddy Duck, 2 Goldeneye (f), Steve Wallace 
Reed Hide: 16 Wigeon, 3 Tufted Duck, 2 Pochard Steve Wallace 
Thames Footpath: 1 Kingfisher Steve Wallace 
CWP 59: 3 Kingfisher, 1 Little Egret, 1 Curlew, 20 Shovelar, 50 plus Tufted Duck, 16 Pochard Steve Wallace 
CWP 68C: 25 Teal, 15 Shoveler Steve Wallace 
Waterhay Carpark; 1 Green Woodpecker   Steve Wallace 

Swillbrook Lakes (46/48): 2 water rail, 2 kingfisher, 5 siskin, 3 lesser redpoll, c100 redwing, c25 fieldfare, green woodpecker, shoveler, cetti's warbler and c15 teal.  Nick Adams

CWP  57:  Star bird was a Woodlark (Nick Adams).

Also: 44 Tufted Duck, 5 Skylark, 2 Reed Bunting, 4 Meadow Pipit, 531 Coot, 2 Moorhen, 8 Cormorant, Goldeneye, Little Grebe, Grey Heron, 2 Snipe, Green Sandpiper.  Gareth Harris

CWP 44: 42 Coot, 7 Moorhen, 2 Great Crested Grebe, Grey Heron, 6 Red Crested Pochard, 3 Mute Swan.  Gareth Harris

CWP 42: 29 Coot, 2 Great Crested Grebe, 4 Wigeon, Kestrel, Bullfinch, Song Thrush, 5+ Siskin, 6 Reed Bunting.  Gareth Harris

CWP 41: 395 Coot, 34 Mute Swan, 44 Tufted Duck, 2 Moorhen, 257 Wigeon, 15 Gadwall, 14 Shoveler, 8 Great Crested Grebe, 10 Siskin.  Gareth Harris

CWP 58:  119 Coot, 8 Great Crested Grebe, 20 Pochard, 4 Tufted Duck, 2 Mute Swan, 2 Moorhen.   Gareth Harris

Swillbrook Lakes Reserve (CWP 46/48):  14 Coot, 4 Cormorant, 5 Tufted Duck, 4 Mallard, 4 Great Crested Grebe, 2 Teal, 2 Mute Swan, 2 Jay, 10 Siskin, Bullfinch, Reed Bunting.  Gareth Harris