Saturday 18 February 2012

Review of 2011

At last - a new blog entry!! I've been entering the records for the farm for 2011 onto my MapMate program and have set out below some highlights.  It was a very good year indeed.  Firstly the birds. Those in bold are the first records of those species for the reserve:

Golden Plover 248 on 1st Jan
Snipe 49 on 1st Jan
Mediterranean Gull 9 sightings during the year
Fieldfare 200 on 14th Jan
Wigeon 51 on 14th Jan
Shoveler 13 on 14th Jan
Hen Harrier 9 sightings during the year
Bewick's Swan 7 on 30th Jan
Gadwall 5 on 3rd Feb
Teal 23 on 14th Jan
Black Redstart 5 on 25th Mar
Ring Ouzel 7 sightings during the year
Bee-eater 1 on 3rd Apr (added retrospectively - see comment below)
Marsh Harrier 1 on 9th Apr, 1 on 22nd Nov
Merlin 6 sightings during the year
Peregrine 3 sightings during the year
Hoopoe 1 from 19th-24th Apr
Short-eared Owl 1 on 19th Apr
Black-tailed Godwit 3 on 24th Apr
Whimbrel 14 on 7th May
Tawny Owl 1 on 28th Apr
Red Kite 1 on 15th May
Golden Oriole 1 on 19th May
Wryneck 1 on 19th Aug
Green Sandpiper 20 on 23rd Aug
Black Kite 1 on 29th Aug
Spotted Redshank 2 on 29th Aug
Yellow Wagtail 6 on 2nd Sep
Wheatear 20 on 4th Sep
Whinchat 10 on 4th Sep
Redstart 1 on 30th Sep
Meadow Pipit 80 on 1st Oct
Hobby 1 on 1st Oct
Tree Pipit 1 on 2nd Oct
Pectoral Sandpiper 2 on 4th Oct
Linnet 300 on 11th Oct
Yellow-browed Warbler 1 on 17th Oct, 1 on 19th Oct
Firecrest 1 on 17th Oct
Siskin 5 on 25th Oct
Bullfinch 8 on 25th Oct
Lapwing 103 on 20th Nov
Redwing 120 on 12th Nov
Little Gull 1 on 12th Nov
Pintail 3 on 22nd Nov
Greylag Goose 6 on 20th Dec
Black-headed Gull 82 on 21st Dec
Brent Goose 1 on 26th Dec
Jack Snipe 1 on 28th Dec


Red Kite


Spotted Redshank


Short-eared Owl


Best counts of singing warblers during the Spring were as follows:

Grasshopper Warbler 9
Whitethroat 12
Lesser Whitethroat 2
Blackcap 5
Garden Warbler 1
Sedge Warbler 9
Reed Warbler 4
Willow Warbler 24
Chiffchaff 6

And now, some other notable records:

Vagrant Emperor 1 on 24th Apr, 2 on 25th Apr
Lesser Emperor  1 from 28th Jul to 4th Aug
Red-veined Darter 6 on 25th Apr and many sightings of up to 3 throughout the summer
Marsh Fritillary 6 on 6th June
Roe Deer 1 on 21st Apr
Pigmy Rush 142 plants
Yellow Centaury 1440 plants
Green-winged Orchid 17 plants

We were probably the only site in the whole country to record all three species of Emperor dragonfly during the year. We had the highest count of Pigmy Rush too - not difficult as it occurs only on the Lizard!


Marsh Fritillary


Green-winged Orchid


7 comments:

  1. Some nice records, though you forgot to add the Bee-eater (3rd April), which was within the reserve boundaries when it flew.

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  2. Was it?? I didn't know that. I've amended the list. Yet another new record for the reserve.

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  3. Yes - it was on the telegraph wires just outside the reserve when I first saw it, but several times flew over the kale/quinoa fields that belong to the reserve. A rather rubbish record shot of it here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/55998516@N02/5584892119/in/photostream

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  4. Yay! That's not a rubbish photo Ilya!

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  5. Good report there Andy and some very impressive records.
    Steve

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  6. Hi Andy,

    Just stumbled across this blog. Probabaly keep track of it regularly as I am trying to engineer a return trip to the Lizard in the autumn as there are a few tasty bryophytes to be had.

    I have since branched out from birding into the pan-species malarkey and am keen to see what else comes out of your Mapmate conversions.

    Mind you, I am more of a Devon Pan-lister but when it comes to bryohpytes there is no geographical restrictions.

    Cheers,
    Andrew.

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  7. Hi Andrew - bring it on. We have NO bryophyte records for the reserve. All the best, Andy

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