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Grimley's American Wigeon is weekend highlight Loving couple

With no new lifers reaching the UK this week I opted for a weekend of local birding which started over at Grimley where I improved on my only one previous siting of an American Wigeon. It seems this bird was probably blown in by Storm Doris midweek. The bird attracted quite a decent crowd who had timed their arrival better than my own. I'd spent the previous hour searching through the flock of Wigeon on the pits before reaching news the American Wigeon was on the north pit again.

With the first few Sand Martins passing through the midlands I was hoping for an early record but a grim & wet Sunday morning put paid to those chances. The wintering Green Sandpiper was still present on Pophills rotating between the north & south shores. A Great Crested Grebe was a surprise find who seemed pretty comfortable with being watched & photographed. Three Buzzards were displaying over Ennister Wood as the rain briefly abetted as I headed over to the main pit. The wind was really getting up making it very unpleasant to make an accurate counts however there were a flock of 50+ Tufted Ducks, two Pochard, two Shelducks (three on Sunday) & 80+ Teal. The normal flocks of Canada & Greylag Geese were on the rough ground on the edge of the pit.

I did record a patch year tick as I picked up a Red Kite hunting on the east side of the pits over Dunnington. I saw the bird again as I drove home and watched it well around the Cock Bevington turning.

In late news, the Squire flushed a Great White Egret from the dead tree at Abbots Salford late afternoon.
Posted by Neil Duggan at 13:40 Labels: American Wigeon, Grimley, Red Kite, Salford Priors Gravel Pits


