1-31 August blog and sightings 2012

30 August 2012 A lovely start to the day with sunshine in full effect. At WWT the morning was livened by the call of distant Snow Geese which I could not see, eventually they appeared high over the reserve gliding in from the north. As is usual for this site this latest party of geese circled the reserve looking for a place to land. They eventually chose the Top New Piece bt left soon after. The flock all apeeared to be Lesser Snow Geese and fortuantely represented both colour phases, the blue and white (for those who know me, a colour combination I am rather fond of being a Bristol Rovers supporter). The twelve white bird had two juveniles with them and the single blue phase which naturally stood out among the rest.

Spotted Crake WWT South Lake
Discovered by a visiting birder on 25th August (Mr Woollam). It showed again a few times since including when I opened up for members for an evening search.

27 August 2012 Another wet start to the day delivered 72 Arctic and 2 Common Terns. Intermediate and dark phase juvenile Arctic Skuas also made an appearance on the Severn which I was pleased to share with two fellow observers.

1-20 August 2012 A visit to Spain back in the early hours of 8th. Back to work on 12th and a busy period of passage was underway, getting out of the car in the car park I heard terns, looking up a flock of 17 probably Arctic Terns flew directly to the Severn, later a first winter Arctic Tern fed over the tide. Some highlights in images follow.

Curlew Sandpiper
With two adults in July, this bird was the third I have seen this period. As usual adults are noted until late August when the juveniles begin to arrive. A party of four rising to five and dropping to three followed this one.

Wood Sandpiper
The third in Glos and WWT Slimbridge this year for me with a fourth appearing in August and joining this bird for a day or two.

Harbour Seal 16 August 2012
An excellent addition to my Severn mammal list. This chubby chap looked so relaxed and at home on a Severn sandbar but there was nothing wrong with its hearing, sense of smell or eyesight. It knew we were there and it took some stalking to get close enough to take this shot. I am pleased to say we left it in the same place as we found it and did not push it for a better shot. The Seal was in the same place an hour later before the Severn bore panicked it into diving into the wave where it dissapeared.