10 January 2022

Weather: Overcast with a light southerly breeze.

 

Disturbance: One dog walker walking along the fence by the eastern side of Langmere flushed the gulls.

Sightings from Ringmere:

Mute Swan (2)

Shelduck (1)

Shoveler (11)

Gadwall (21)

Wigeon (1)

Mallard (3)

Teal (181)

Tufted Duck (9)

Coot (30)

Little Grebe (5)

An amazing number of Teal on Ringmere this afternoon, with the majority of the birds previously present on Langmere having moved here (due to disturbance?). With the birds counted on Langmere later, there were almost 200 Teal present at East Wretham, which is my highest count so far this winter. The drake Wigeon was also my first sighting of one on Ringmere.

Sightings from Fenmere:

Coot (1)

Moorhen (1)

 

Sightings from Langmere:

Greylag Goose (9)

Mute Swan (10 - 7 adults and three first-winters)

Egyptian Goose (2)

Shelduck (2)

Shoveler (17)

Gadwall (20)

Wigeon (2 - drakes)

Mallard (56)

Teal (17)

Pochard (10 - 9 drakes and one female)

Tufted Duck (5)

Moorhen (15)

Coot (23)

Little Grebe (2)

Black-headed Gull (553)

Common Gull (3)

Great Black-backed Gull (1 - adult winter)

Iceland Gull (1 - first-winter back again)

Herring Gull (15)

Caspian Gull (2 - adults)

Yellow-legged Gull (5)

Lesser Black-backed Gull (1,302)

The first-winter Iceland Gull was back again this evening after having last been seen on 3 January, though I only saw it briefly in the midst of the Lesser Black-backed Gulls shortly after 4pm. The count of Lesser Black-backed Gulls is the highest so far this winter (previous peak count 1,227) and combined with the Black-headed Gulls there were possibly up to 2,000 gulls on Langmere this evening.

 

Gulls dropping in to Langmere

 

The Great Black-backed Gull was my first for East Wretham (species #103), and only the second sighting so far this winter, with one found by Nick Moran last November. The species seems quite scarce in the Brecks this winter with only a few noted at the Nunnery Lakes and Livermere so far (based on records logged on BirdTrack):

Records of Great Black-backed Gull on BirdTrack (Red markers = last 30 days)

 

Adult Great Black-backed Gull

 

 

Rest of the reserve:

Unidentified Duck (8)

Pheasant

Tawny Owl (1 - calling at dusk)

Jay

Jackdaw

Rook

Carrion Crow

Coal Tit

Blue Tit

Great Tit

Long-tailed Tit

Goldcrest

Wren

Treecreeper (2 - showing well along the Harling Drove)

Song Thrush 

Mistle Thrush (1 - singing near Ringmere)

Redwing (14)

Blackbird

Robin

Dunnock

Pied Wagtail

Meadow Pipit

Goldfinch

Siskin

Rabbit

Grey Squirrel

The flock of eight ducks were seen flying north high over Ringmere and were likely to have been Wigeon, but were seen too briefly to be 100% certain.