The only news today was from photographer Pete Styles who reported that he didn’t see any of the waders nor the Egyptian geese though a cormorant was by the river and the BAR-HEADED GOOSE still present. I’ll have to think of a name for him though "Barry" which be the most obvious is already taken. Perhaps I should rename the barnacle goose to "Barny" or something. In Burgess Field he reported  winter thrushes in the NE corner and a SPARROWHAWK overhead.

Addendum:
Julian Mole reports that he saw some golden plover in flight and 3 REDSHANK as well as plenty of the usual birds.

"Bernard" (?) the bar-headed goose © Pete Styles

Early morning rain gave way to sunny intervals this morning down on the Meadow. The floods have actually receded slightly since I was last there on Friday and the channel of water from the river to the floods has now disappeared though I imagine it won’t take much rain to bring it back. The floods do still to all intents and purposes look like a lake and the birding is top quality at present with plenty to look through.  Unfortunately yesterday’s godwit and dunlin were nowhere to be seen though the three REDSHANKS were still about. The usual wigeon, teal, shoveler and gadwall in good numbers and a dozen or so PINTAIL still present. Lots of geese along the North Shore including the BAR-HEADED GOOSE still in amongst the very large canada goose flock. Three EGYPTIAN GEESE arrived in the middle on the lake and worked their way over to the bank near the house boat. Gulls seemed to be arriving throughout the time I was there and settling on the water so there were several hundred by the time I left with a greater black-backed gull being the most interesting. Plenty of redwings and fieldfares buzzing around in the surrounding trees and the usual plethora of pied wagtails and meadow pipits though with the increase in floods I expect the linnets have been pushed north into the Hinterland.

Late Afternoon Update:
A brief return to look at the gull roost found a pair of BLACK-TAILED GODWITS at the North Shore. Let’s hope they stick around for a bit. There were at least a couple of thousand gulls in the roost though nothing of particular note.

A videograb of the Egyptian Geese taken across from the other side of the "lake". © Adam Hartley

I wasn’t able to get down to the Meadow but fortunately young birder James Grundy did. He reported the following:

1 BLACK-TAILED GODWIT
3 REDSHANK
1 DUNLIN
1 CASPIAN GULL (looked like the same bird as recently)
Several greater black-backed gulls
1 YELLOW-LEGGED GULL
1 bar headed goose

After a rainy start this morning the sun came out but it was windy and cold. It makes one realise how spoilt we’ve been temperature-wise recently with the unseasonally warm weather that we’ve been having now that we are reverting to more usual levels.

The floods had extended even further since yesterday and the Meadow is now to all intents and purposes in "Lake Mode" where there is just one huge expanse of water. In such circumstances there is usually a narrow raised strip of land between the lake and the river and this is currently the case. This strip can often be a productive area to look and this morning the REDSHANK was still present working its way along this area in the company of some loafing black-headed gulls and a flock of lapwings and two lesser black-backed gulls. The rest of the birds were mostly at the north end spread along the shore line though there was a good flock of teal in the middle diving to feed on the just submerged grass. All the feral geese and also the much increased canada goose flock (now numbering several hundred) were along the shore so it was "goose city" out there. In amongst them I saw a BAR-HEADED GOOSE (obviously an escapee) though I couldn’t relocated it once they were all disturbed. All the ducks were about in good numbers. In amongst the wigeon there are now good numbers of shoveler about and the PINTAILS and gadwall are still present.

When in lake mode there is a chance of some diving ducks being lured in, thinking that the water is in fact deeper that it actually is though they don’t usually stay too long. Lake Mode is often very good for the evening gull roost with sometimes many thousands of birds present. The river has not really burst its banks yet, it’s more a case of having seeped over at the edges so I’m not sure how many fish will be trapped there yet. With a bit more rain the flooding process will be more thorough and should populate the floods with some fish which, unfortunately for them, once the waters recede will end up being picked off by herons and egrets.

One of the many black-headed gulls on the Meadow at present © Adam Hartley

This morning the wind had eased but it felt distinctly colder though with some sunny intervals. The flood waters have extended again and there is even now a water channel from the river opposite the house boat onto the floods. These extended floods are great for attracting birds and the gull roosts should be much better now but it does mean that the birds are generally further away and harder to see and photograph (am I never satisfied?). Still the Meadow does seem to be back in its stride with the full compliment of winter water fowl now present: as well as large number of wigeon and teal there were a dozen or so PINTAIL back again, increased shoveler numbers and some 15 gadwall fresh in this morning. The large contingent of canada geese were still grazing in the Hinterland and Barry the plastic barnacle goose was back in amongst them. Good numbers of black headed gulls with a couple of lesser black-backed thrown in for good measure. Our first REDSHANK since the floods were re-created was present along the North Reach which seems to be a popular location for this species. All in all one can confidently say that the Meadow is now fully back in business!

Late afternoon update:
A late afternoon visit to check out the gull roost found a modestly sized roost of perhaps a thousand birds of which the vast majority were black-headed gulls but there were perhaps one hundred or so larger gulls of which the most interesting was an adult greater black-backed gull. There was also a single common gull.

This morning’s redshank. Given the distance and the strong wind I opted for a videograb record shot though there was reasonable light this morning. © Adam Hartley

After very stormy conditions overnight the Meadow was this morning bathed in bright sunshine though still very windy. The floods had been topped up even more and there is now a finger of river water stretching out over the bank at the lowest lying area though the rest of the bank is still holding. Plenty of birds around though nothing particularly unusual. Good numbers of gulls but no sign of the Caspian this morning, nor yesterday’s oystercatcher nor pintails. Plenty of wigeon and teal and Shoveler numbers have now increased to a dozen but there are no gadwall as yet.

Lunch-time update:
A run around the patch produced a few fieldfare and redwings and a couple of snipe at the north end of Burgess Field NR. Loads of pipits and wagtails along the North Shore, a large starling flock feeding on the sodden ground and a pair of skylarks. The river is overspilling its banks in two places at present: opposite Medley sailing club and opposite the house boat. It’s not going to take much more before we have a proper flood and so ensuring Meadow birding is properly set for the rest of the winter.

A later afternoon return to the Meadow to check out the state of the gull pre-roost found the wind much increased which made viewing conditions much harder. However there were plenty of gulls by way of compensation for the conditions with at least 500 birds present though they were rather mobile and flighty. The vast majority were of course black headed gulls, followed by lesser black-backed gulls and then herring gulls but the star of the show was a wonderful adult CASPIAN GULL which gave good close views for about ten minutes before flying off, presumably to roost at Farmoor.

The adult Caspian Gull

A wider shot which allows comparison of the bill and mantle colour with a neighbouring herring gull.

The underwing shot here shows rather a lot of P10 black so is at the end of the acceptable range for a Caspian.

This morning windy, overcast and drizzly. The floods have increased in size once again and are now looking quite reasonable in size. The birds certainly seem to be relishing it and there were good numbers of them to look through this morning. Along the South Channel there were the now usual loafing gulls with perhaps up to 100 black-headed gulls with 16 lesser black-backed gulls and one herring gull. There were also good numbers of lapwing there. In the North Channel there were very good numbers of wild fowl with estimates of 450 wigeon and 150 teal. New in today were also the first PINTAIL of the season with 9 males and 2 females present. There were also 5 shoveler (3 males) to round of an interesting variety of duck. To cap it all there was a single OYSTERCATCHER near Stint Corner hidden in amongst the foliage and the masses of ducks. To the north the large canada goose flock was still present though I couldn’t see Barry in amongst them this morning. Plenty of meadow pipits, starlings, linnets and wagtails still about.

This was taken a couple of days agao when the ducks were all resting whereas today they were all very actively grazing on the grass or swimming around in the flood water © Adam Hartley

This morning a steady downpour gradually gave way to windy but sunnier conditions. The overnight rain had topped the floods up nicely and the river from a distance looked a bit closer to flooding. The birds appeared to be relishing the damp conditions with lots of feeding going on amongst the usual residents. The black-headed gulls and lapwings were loafing down the west side of the South Channel and the mallards, wigeon and teal, noticeably increased in numbers, were at Burgess Creek and the North Channel. There were even a couple of grey herons along the North Channel though there certainly won’t be any fish in the water so it would have to be earth worms that they are looking for. The usual smaller birds were still about: starlings, meadow pipits, linnets, pied wagtails and this morning there were quite a few chaffinches around the Trap Ground Creek area.

One of the most exciting events on the Meadow is when the large feral geese flock suddenly take flight en masse and fly straight towards you and I was fortunate enough to have this happen this morning: one has to hold one’s nerve and keep still and they part around you but it’s quite thrilling to have 200 heavy geese charging straight at you! Talking of geese, new in there were at least 180 canada geese in a large flock to the north of the floods and in amongst them was our old favourite "Barry" the barnacle goose, unfortunately rather "plastic" but nice to see nonetheless. On the way back a grey wagtail was heard but not seen by the Walton Well Road car park.

Now that the floods are back we’re really just waiting for something interesting to drop in, whether this be a late migrant or overwintering wader or perhaps an interesting duck or swan. Still there are at least plenty of birds to look at and sort through on the Meadow these days.

An archive photo of Barry the (plastic) Barnacle Goose © Adam Hartley

Today overcast and turning rainy later but remarkably warm for the time of year. A morning run around the Meadow found things pretty much the same as in recent days. The duck flock, still mostly wigeon with some teal were still hanging out near the Trap Ground allotment area. The black-headed gulls with one lesser black-backed gull were in the South Channel together with some lapwings and fourteen golden plover. A good sized linnet flock was buzzing around and still plenty of meadow pipits, pied wagtails and a few skylarks. One snipe was flushed from the Hinterland and a grey wagtail flew over. A few redwings could be heard calling from within the allotments. A fleeting glimpse of a bullfinch was had within Burgess Field NR.

The lesser black-backed gull, taken yesterday in sunnier conditions © Adam Hartley