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2008 sightings 
December 31st 2008
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December 30th 2008
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December 28th 2008
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December 25th 2008
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Also a fox along the shore |
December 24th 2008
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December 22nd 2008
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December 20th 2008
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December 19th 2008
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December 18th 2008
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December 17th 2008
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December 15th 2008
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December 14th 2008
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The water level is quite high after
some heavy rain. |
December 13th 2008
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December 12th 2008
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December 11th 2008
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About half of the water was frozen
today. |
December 10th 2008
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Some of the water was frozen around
the edges.
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December 8th 2008
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December 7th 2008
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December 6th 2008
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The Woodcock was flushed from the north end. |
December 5th 2008
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December 4th 2008
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December 3rd 2008
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December 2nd 2008
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These are the first Redpoll to be seen at the Res for 5 years and the first Res record for December. They were at the entrance to the wood. |
December 1st 2008
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November 30th 2008
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November 29th 2008
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November 28th 2008
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November 27th 2008
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November 26th 2008
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November 25th 2008
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November 24th 2008
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November 23rd 2008
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November 22nd 2008
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November 21st 2008
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November 20th 2008
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November 19th 2008
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November 18th 2008
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Also 3+ bats feeding low over the water
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November 15th 2008
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Also a Hornet
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November 14th 2008
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Also a Hornet
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November 13th 2008
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November 12th 2008
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Picture from Dave Helliar - Thanks
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November 11th 2008
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The Brent Goose is reported as an immature bird of the pale bellied race.
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November 10th 2008
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Brent Goose found by Andy Grinter
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November 9th 2008
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November 7th 2008
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November 6th 2008
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November 5th 2008
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November 4th 2008
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November 3rd 2008
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November 2nd 2008
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November 1st 2008
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October 31st 2008
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October 28th 2008
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October 27th 2008
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October 26th 2008
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October 24th 2008
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October 23rd 2008
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October 22nd 2008
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October 21st 2008
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The first Phalarope seen at the res since 1933! Found by Dave Helliar. |
October 20th 2008
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Also 2 Hornets seen.
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October 19th 2008
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October 18th 2008
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Also a fox seen |
October 17th 2008
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October 16th 2008
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Also a fox seen in the old duck pens |
October 15th 2008
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October 14th 2008
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October 13th 2008
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October 11th 2008
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October 10th 2008
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October 9th 2008
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October 7th 2008
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October 6th 2008
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October 5th 2008
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October 4th 2008
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October 3rd 2008
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October 2nd 2008
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September 30th 2008
plus 2 Roe Deer |
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September 29th 2008
Also: Roe Deer 1 |
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September 28th 2008
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September 27th 2008
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Foggy today |
September 26th 2008
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September 25th 2008
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September 23rd 2008
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September 22nd 2008
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September 21st 2008
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September 20th 2008
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September 19th 2008
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September 17th 2008
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September 16th 2008
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2 Roe Deer also seen today.
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September 15th 2008
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Photo:Dave Helliar The Gannet was in very poor condition and was taken to West Hatch RSPCA centre where it unfortunately died overnight. |
September 14th 2008
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The first Gannet record for the reservoir.
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September 13th 2008
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September 12th 2008
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September 11th 2008
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A Little Grebe was apparently released here recently by the RSPCA and this may account for the single bird seen recently
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September 10th 2008
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September 9th 2008
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September 8th 2008
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September 7th 2008
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September 5th 2008
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September 4th 2008
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September 3rd 2008
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September 2nd 2008
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September 1st 2008
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August 28th 2008
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August 27th 2008
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August 26th 2008
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August 25th 2008
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August 24th 2008
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August 22nd 2008
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No waders seen at lunchtime, but 2 Common Terns
and a Little Grebe made up for that in pleasant
weather for a change. |
August 21st 2008
The fifth record of Ringed Plover at the Reservoir. |
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August 20th 2008
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August 19th 2008
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August 15th 2008
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August 14th 2008
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August 13th 2008
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The fourth ever record of Sandwich Terns in heavy rain at lunchtime. This year we have doubled the number of Sandwich Tern records for the reservoir. |
August 12th 2008
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August 11th 2008
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August 10th 2008
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August 9th 2008
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August 8th 2008
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August 7th 2008
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Thanks to Lewis Bates for this shot. I witnessed this large fish being consumed, but wasn't ready with my camera like Lewis was. |
August 6th 2008
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August 5th 2008
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August 4th 2008
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Some of the young grebes have a full set of flight feathers now and may start to move between waters. |
August 2nd 2008
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August 1st 2008
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July 31st 2008
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July 30th 2008
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July 29th 2008
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A Kingfisher peers out of the willows looking for fish. |
July 28th 2008
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Adult Common Sandpiper today. Note the difference in pattern on the wings and back compared with the juvenile of 3 days ago. |
July 27th 2008
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July 26th 2008
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July 25th 2008
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Juvenile Common Sandpiper near the hide today. |
July 24th 2008
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July 23rd 2008
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July 22nd 2008
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July 21st 2008
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July 19th 2008
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July 18th 2008
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July 17th 2008
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5 pairs of Grebes have raised 8 young
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July 16th 2008
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July 15th 2008
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July 14th 2008
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July 12th 2008
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July 11th 2008
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July 9th 2008
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July 8th 2008
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July 7th 2008
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July 6th 2008
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The Lesser Black Backed Gull chick seems to have disappeared |
July 4th 2008
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The Lesser Black Backed Gull chick is standing out in the open more now. |
July 3rd 2008
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July 2nd 2008
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July 1st 2008
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A sense of change today with a few new arrivals.
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June 30th 2008
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June 28th 2008
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The 3rd ever record of Sandwich Terns at Chard Reservoir from Dave Helliar. |
June 27th 2008
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June 26th 2008
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June 25th 2008
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The Tawny Owl was seen to fly across the reservoir at the north end and was later heard at the south end. It was seen while looking and listening for bats with the countryside rangers. Plenty of Pipistrelles were seen around the tops of the tall trees in the woods and a couple of Noctule bats were seen outside the woods.
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June 23rd 2008
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Only one juvenile lesser Black Backed Gull seen today. |
June 20th 2008
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June 19th 2008
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June 18th 2008
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June 17th 2008
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June 16th 2008
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Only one young Grebe seen today of the two reported on the 13th |
June 13th 2008
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A Great Crested Grebe leaps clear of the water as it defends itself and its 2 young from a Lesser Black Backed Gull. They survived this attack. |
June 11th 2008
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Thanks to Robert Daw from Bristol for sending in these pictures |
June 6th 2008
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June 5th 2008
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May 30th 2008
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4 pairs of grebes have raised 10 young between them so far |
May 27th 2008
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2 pairs of grebes have raised 5 young between them so far |
May 24th 2008
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May 22nd 2008
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May 19th 2008
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May 15th 2008
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Cooler wet day
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May 12th 2008
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Another warm sunny day. 1 pair of grebes has raised at least one chick. Hopefully more to come...
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May 9th 2008
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May 7th 2008
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May 6th 2008
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A warm sunny day The Great Spotted Woodpecker flew right across the Reservoir near the north end. |
May 4th 2008
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Thanks to Steve Waite for this record. |
May 2nd 2008
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May 1st 2008
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April 30th 2008
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April 29th 2008
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April 28th 2008
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April 25th 2008
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The Hirundines were made up of just Swallows and Sand Martins. They are notoriously difficult to count when quickly flying around, back and forth. |
April 24th 2008
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Another sunny day. Many Grebe pairs displaying.
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April 23rd 2008
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Another sunny day. The Sandpipers were only there early morning and had moved on by lunchtime. |
April 22nd 2008
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April 21st 2008
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Wet weather. |
April 19th 2008
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April 18th 2008
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April 17th 2008
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April 16th 2008
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April 15th 2008
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April 14th 2008
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April 13th 2008
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April 11th 2008
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April 9th 2008
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The Egret was pursued by the Swan as an unwanted large white 'rival'. |
April 8th 2008
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April 7th 2008
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April 6th 2008
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First House Martins of the year on a day when it snowed. |
April 4th 2008
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April 3rd 2008
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April 2nd 2008
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April 1st 2008
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Overwintering Wigeon sometimes stay until the middle of March, but this is the first April record at the reservoir since 1933. Drumming heard from the Woodpeckers. |
March 31st 2008
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First Blackcap of the year |
March 30th 2008 |
4 Great Crested Grebe nests flooded. It's very early yet. |
March 28th 2008
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First Swallow of the year |
March 27th 2008
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March 26th 2008
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March 25th 2008
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March 23rd 2008
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March 20th 2008
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There is almost no shoreline after heavy rains have raised the water level. The Redshank were on one of the floating platforms |
March 19th 2008
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March 18th 2008
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March 17th 2008
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March 16th 2008
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March 15th 2008
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Heavy rain today. |
March 13th 2008
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Dave Helliar reports that the Gulls did not stay for long. |
March 12th 2008
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March 11th 2008
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High winds and heavy rain. |
March 9th 2008
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March 8th 2008
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March 7th 2008
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Andy Grinter reports the Brambling, Siskin and Bullfinches in the Reservoir carpark. Brambling are rare visitors to the Reservoir. There have been a larger number than usual seen locally this winter. |
March 6th 2008
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The Sparrowhawk nearly caught the Kingfisher |
March 5th 2008
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March 4th 2008
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March 3rd 2008
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Only one Reed Bunting was seen last year at about the same time of year. |
March 1st 2008
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Apparently there is a small northerly migration of Great Black Backed Gulls over Somerset at this time of year. Most birds stick to the coast with just the odd ones appearing inland at reservoirs. |
February 27th 2008
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February 25th 2008
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Surprisingly, 3 Great Black Backed Gulls is a record count. Recently they have averaged one bird every two years. There were 2 adults and one second winter bird today. |
February 24th 2008
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February 23rd 2008
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February 22nd 2008
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February 21st 2008
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February 20th 2008
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February 18th 2008
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The water level is being kept deliberately low at the moment due to work on the sluice at the north end. |
February 6th 2008
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A good count of Common Gulls again. The Peregrine was flying over the reservoir below the treeline and carrying prey. It was chased by Crows and put all the Gulls to flight as it flew low over them. I saw an adult female Peregrine a few weeks ago just north of the reservoir, so that's 2 Peregrines in the area. |
February 5th 2008
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February 4th 2008
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10 is the best count of Common Gulls for about 2 years with a mix of adult and young birds. |
February 2nd 2008
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January 29th 2008
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January 28th 2008
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Some shoreline is now present as the water level has fallen somewhat. Apparently the sluices are partly blocked so the water level does not fall as quickly as it should. |
January 27th 2008
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January 24th 2008
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Presumably related to the high water level, all the good birds were at the north end. |
January 19th 2008
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January 18th 2008
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Also a bat seen at 16:15 |
January 17th 2008
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January 16th 2008
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Very heavy recent rains have made the res unsuitable for many of the birds that were present before. For instance there is almost no shoreline and all the usual gull perches are under water. Plenty of Grebes still present but no count taken. |
January 12th 2008
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January 9th 2008
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January 8th 2008
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40 Teal at lunchtime had reduced to 24 in the evening |
January 2nd 2008
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Recent sightings
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2005 sightings
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2000 sightings
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