Avon Bird Sightings, September 2011

As reported to the Bristol Ornithological Club:
GREYLAG GOOSE A couple at Portishead boating lake on 22nd.
CANADA GOOSE 485 on 19th at Blagdon Lake (BL).
BARNACLE GOOSE High count of 23 at BL on 17th.
BRENT GOOSE Singles at Aust Warth (AW) and New Passage (NP), the latter being dark bellied.
EGYPTIAN GOOSE One on 5th at Chew Valley Lake (CVL).
SHELDUCK Clevedon to the Congresbury Yeo (Cl-Y) coast with 225 from Wain’s Hill to the Yeo Estuary on 28th saw the biggest count.

ROSYBILL
One of these pochards on 29th at the Yeo Estuary on a day trip from South America– er, possibly Slimbridge?
MANDARIN DUCK Two at Weston Moor on 3rd.
WIGEON Building to 127 at Herons Green, CVL on 19th.
PINTAIL Numbers rising into double figures through the month.
GARGANEY One at Stratford, CVL on 10th and 13th.
SHOVELER 173 at BL on 17th.
RING-NECKED DUCK Drake throughout the month at CVL.
FERRUGINOUS DUCK Drake throughout the month at CVL.
COMMON SCOTER One on 4th at Cake Pill, AW.
GOLDENEYE Female at BL during latter part of month.
GOOSANDER Redhead at Portbury Wharf (PW) on 16th and drake at Saltford mid-month.
RUDDY DUCK Ssh!

FULMAR Gales running into the second week brought these and other seabirds in with a vengeance, largely off Severn Beach (SB) but also with records down to Sand Point. Nine spotted off Cl-Y on the afternoon of the 6th.
MANX SHEARWATER Same afternoon, same place these peaked at 44, among 23 other Severn Estuary records during the period. Even Portishead/Portbury got in on the act. Inland, one was a first for BL on the 7th.
LEACH’S PETREL SB again with two on the 12th and one the next day.
STORM PETREL Just one record on the 7th at SB.
GANNET 15 coastal records.
SHAG Singles between the 6th and 18th.
CORMORANT 54 of these on the 30th at Barrow Gurney Reservoir (BGR) must have looked impressive.

BITTERN Three at Meare Heath on the 28th…
GREAT WHITE EGRET …and one of these.
LITTLE EGRET 23 records, some in double figures.
SPOONBILL NP had five on the 14th and two days later Long Ashton saw a couple.
BLACK-NECKED GREBE Ones and twos at BL and CVL throughout the month.

RED KITE Records from NP, Stapleton and the Battleaxes pub, Wraxall – cheers!
MARSH HARRIER Twice at Cl-Y and three females at the Levels.
HEN HARRIER Ringtail at CVL on 28th.
PALLID HARRIER The biggest twitch of the season for a juvenile near the Black Down trig point from the 28th to date, so it must have strayed into Avon at some stage. The bird tended to go missing when important people wanted to see it.
GOSHAWK On the 14th at Northwick Warth (NW) before it “flew like a train over the estuary towards Wales.” It was doubtless on a recce of Bristol’s famous pigeons.
OSPREY Singles at CVL (twice), SB and Littleton-on-Severn.
MERLIN Marshfield on the 2nd and Aust Cliff on the 22nd had single birds.
HOBBY 13 records throughout the month.

COOT 850 at BL on the 17th.
AVOCET One on the 17th at Cl-Y.
LITTLE RINGED PLOVER 3 early records at SB, then one juvenile at CVL, end of month.
RINGED PLOVER All over the place with many counts of hundreds and 500 at Cl-Y on the 3rd.
GOLDEN PLOVER Two on the 15th at Cl-Y and on the 16th at Stratford, CVL.
GREY PLOVER 3 coastal records.

KNOT 43 records with 180 at Cl-Y on the 11th.
SANDERLING 20 records with double figure counts at Sand Bay on the 10th and Oldbury POwer Station (OPS) on the 8th.
SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER This rare American vagrant in with the stints at CVL from the 12th to the 18th.
LITTLE STINT Up to four throughout the month at CVL with records also from BGR and Cl-Y.
PECTORAL SANDPIPER One of these more common American vagrants at CVL throughout the month with a second individual on the 12th.
CURLEW SANDPIPER 34 records up and down the coast and at CVL, with double figures on the 3rd and 28th at Cl-Y.
JACK SNIPE Singles at NP on 26th and on 28th at Chittening Warth.
WHIMBREL 15 records of ones and twos along the Estuary and at CVL.
SPOTTED SANDPIPER Another CVL American vagrant, at Herriotts from the 24th on. Only the 4th Avon occurrence, this individual lined up by a common sandpiper for a useful comparison.
GREENSHANK The regular Sea Mills sighting joined by nine others, mainly at CVL.
SPOTTED REDSHANK One at Kenn Estuary, Cl-Y on the 3rd, and one out of area at Slimbridge.
GREY PHALAROPE Seven or eight widespread singles between the 7th and 17th.

POMARINE SKUA On the 6th the gales also brought one past SB.
ARCTIC SKUA On the some day several of these and on the 12th one at Sand Point.
GREAT SKUA Seven coastal records of ones and twos, and on the 17th one at BL.
SABINE’S GULL Between the 6th and 13th seven sightings from SB and Sand Bay.
LITTLE GULL Ten sightings between the 7th and 23rd.
MEDITERRANEAN GULL 16 records, still all showing a marked bias to south of the Avon.
YELLOW-LEGGED GULL Up to three during the month at CVL and one on the 17th at BL.
LITTLE TERN SB on the 5th and 6th, and Stratford, CVL on the 30th.
BLACK TERN The usual hotspot of CVL and supporting cast generated 19 records.
SANDWICH TERN One or two at SB on the 11th, then two at Herriotts, CVL on the 21st.
COMMON TERN 13 sightings throughout the month.
ARCTIC TERN The bulk of 27 records during the gales with 16 past Sand Point on the 7th.
GUILLEMOT Three sightings from SB, and one at Royal Portbury Dock (RPD) on the 11th.

LITTLE OWL Six records spread around the south of the region, including Wrington.
TAWNY OWL Four records, but none from Wrington all month – a surprise apparently.
SWIFT The only sighting a late individual at CVL on the 19th.
KINGFISHER Among nine records six birds at Saltford on the 5th.
WRYNECK Vinney’s Lane, Horton on the 16th.

RAVEN Now officially common with 25+ sightings and one even come home to Ravenswood Road.
SAND MARTIN 700 at CVL on the 5th.
SWALLOW 10,000 passing Weston Sewage Works (WSW) on the 17th.
HOUSE MARTIN Various flocks of hundreds and nests still occupied in last week of month.
CETTI’S WARBLER Still clinging on at PW pools.
WILLOW WARBLER Four records for a species that’s hard to detect in the autumn.
GARDEN WARBLER Four sightings through the month.
GRASSHOPPER WARBLER Among four records, 8 at Saltford on the 2nd.

DIPPER On the 11th one at Eastville Park and two between Snuff Mills and Frenchay.
REDWING Two very early birds over Montrose Ave on the 28th.
SPOTTED FLYCATCHER Singles on the 1st at Aust STW, and the 28th and 29th at Saltford.
REDSTART Five singles until the 18th.
WHINCHAT 11 sightings throughout the month.
TREE SPARROW Probably passage birds on the 3rd at OPS and the 4th at Channel View Farm, Cl-Y.
YELLOW WAGTAIL Mainly at the start of the month nine records.
TREE PIPIT Just the one flying over the Gordano Valley on the 22nd.
CROSSBILL Nine on the 1st at Rowberrow Forest and a by-product 22 at Black Down on the Pallid Harrier twitch.

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