We've been reading about a lot of interesting sightings at Staines Reservoir on the London Bird Club Wiki page, including Black-necked Grebe and a Great Northern Diver so we hot footed it down first thing on Saturday morning. However, we were so excited we didn't stop to think about sunrise until we were driving past Heathrow and it was still pitch black. We arrived 40 minutes before sunrise, but luckily it was light enough to be able to see the nearest birds on the water. I'd recommend going to Staines Reservoir in time for sunrise as it is beautiful - dress up extremely warmly though! Our first bird was a lovely lonesome Tufted Duck, but being so enthusiastic about seeing new species, we spent a good 10 minutes peering through the scope trying to turn it into a Scaup. There was a good turnout of Cormorant, with some excellent flying shots as the sun came up, but knowing my luck I didn't catch a good one! On the edge of the reservoir we got our first Meadow Pipit of the year, socialising with a few Pied Wagtails. Stuart was especially excited about the Goldeneye, a favourite of his.
At around 9am we decided we were quite cold enough and with no Diver or Black-necked Grebe in sight, we headed to meet the Civil Engineering Group for a wander around the Thames path near Weybridge. This was a surprisingly productive walk, with Stuart spotting my first ever Redwing, with 4 more following. We also saw weird behaviour from a pied wagtail - it landed in the water and floated around like a duck for a while. Bizarre! Any ideas?
We popped back to Staines for the sunset, hoping still for the Diver or Grebe, but no chance! I've just checked the sightings and they're back again - not impressed! Did get a lovely Smew though, which was a nice close to the day.
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Staines AM
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Thames Path
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Staines PM
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1
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Tufted Duck
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Mallard
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Tufted Duck
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2
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Coot
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Canada Goose
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Coot
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3
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Cormorant
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Redwing – NEW FOR
LIFE LIST!
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Black-headed Gull
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4
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Black-headed Gull
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Robin
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Gadwall
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5
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Lesser
Black-backed Gull
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Cormorant
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Starling
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6
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Meadow Pipit
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Blue Tit
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Shoveler
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7
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Pochard
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Great Tit
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Pied Wagtail
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8
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Great Crested
Grebe
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Sparrow
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Great Crested
Grebe
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9
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Wigeon
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Parakeet
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Cormorant
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10
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Goldeneye
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Egyptian Goose
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Lesser
Black-backed Gull
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11
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Pied Wagtail
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Pied Wagtail
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Teal
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12
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Goldfinch
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Long-tailed Tit
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Smew
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13
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Crow
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Mute Swan
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Grey Heron
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14
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Starling
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Coot
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15
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Mallard
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Moorhen
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16
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Teal
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Song Thrush
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17
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Gadwall
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Crow
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18
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Greenfinch
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19
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Magpie
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20
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Blackbird
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21
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Jackdaw
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22
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Starling
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23
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Wood Pigeon
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24
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Black-headed Gull
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25
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Grey Wagtail
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26
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Grey Heron
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27
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Greylag Goose
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My year list for 2012 comes to 61.
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