Garden bird list from the Rea please?

[storye_book]

Come on Mr Whittles - your turn! We can't all travel to visit the Rea and it would be lovely to know what we're missing in the darker regions of the UK. I hear you have a g.s. woodpecker currently?

So on with the old pompom hat and camo jacket, roll down those wellie-tops, dust off the bins and checklist, and let's be 'avin yer.

And while you're about it - wouldn't it be nice to have a birdcam link to the Rea on your main website? You would increase regular visitors and links to the site. Those of us who have to travel to work and come home in the dark, and don't see our garden birds in the week, could log on to your birdcam in our lunch-hour at work, to make up for it.

[Lisa]

Hi

Here is a list of the 44 species spotted at the Rea so far this month.

1 Little Grebe
2 Mute Swan
3 Mallard
4 Sparrowhawk
5 Buzzard
6 Kestrel
7 Red-legged Partridge
8 Grey Partridge
9 Common Pheasant
10 Moorhen
11 Coot
12 Stock Dove
13 Woodpigeon
14 Collared Dove
15 Little Owl
16 Great Spotted Woodpecker
17 Skylark
18 Meadow Pipit
19 Pied Wagtail
20 Wren
21 Dunnock
22 Robin
23 Blackbird
24 Fieldfare
25 Song Thrush
26 Redwing
27 Mistle Thrush
28 Goldcrest
29 Coal Tit
30 Great Tit
31 Blue Tit
32 Magpie
33 Jackdaw
34 Rook
35 Carrion Crow
36 Raven
37 Starling
38 House Sparrow
39 Chaffinch
40 Greenfinch
41 Goldfinch
42 Linnet
43 Yellowhammer
44 Reed Bunting

This list will be updated approximately once a month.

[Lisa]

Hi

Here is the list of species recorded at the Rea over the last 10 years along with their current status.

1 Little Grebe On pond, breeds most years

2 Cormorant Overflies

3 Grey Heron Occasional

4 Mute Swan Occasional

5 Greylag Goose Overflies

6 Canada Goose Winter visitor/over-flies

7 European Teal Winter visitor

8 Wigeon One record: overflew 1 December 2006

9 Mallard Resident/released. Regular breeder

10 Hen Harrier One record, May 1997

11 Sparrowhawk Resident, breeding not proved

12 Buzzard Resident, breeding not proved

13 Kestrel Regularly seen

14 Merlin Winter visitor

15 Peregrine Occasional

16 Red-legged Partridge Resident/released

17 Grey Partridge Occasionally seen in small coveys

18 Quail Occasional, last record July 2000

19 Pheasant Resident/released

20 Moorhen Resident - has bred

21 Coot Occasional on Brick Kiln Pond

22 Oystercatcher Overflew 28/2/03

23 European Golden Plover Winter visitor (with Lapwing)

24 Lapwing Usually seen in winter

25 Common Snipe Usually seen in winter.1 record (31 May 99) displaying bird in Brick Kiln Field.
(1 by cell phone mast 20 dec 04).

26 Woodcock Winter visitor

27 Whimbrel Overflies

28 Curlew Overflies

29 Redshank One record

30 Greenshank Overflies

31 Green Sandpiper One on Brick Kiln pond 13 December 1999

32 Black-headed Gull Occasional visitor/overflies

33 Lesser Black-backed Gull Overflies

34 Herring Gull Overflies

34 Feral Pigeon Occasional visitor

36 Stock Dove Resident - has bred

37 Woodpigeon Resident - breeds

38 Collared Dove Resident - breeds

39 Turtle Dove Summer visitor, probably breeds in the trees along the old canal.
The Rea is probably the best site in Shropshire for this red-listed species

40 Cuckoo Occasional visitor

41 Barn Owl Resident - may breed

42 Tawny Owl Resident - may breed

43 Little Owl Resident - may breed

44 Short-eared Owl One seen in 2005

45 Swift Overflies

46 Kingfisher Resident - has bred in river bank

47 Green Woodpecker Occasional visitor

48 Great Spotted Woodpecker Resident - has bred

49 Skylark Resident breeder/winter flocks

50 Sand Martin Summer visitor - non-breeding

51 Swallow Summer visitor - breeds in stable and birdfood plant

52 House Martin Summer visitor - has bred

53 Meadow Pipit Winter visitor/passage migrant

54 Yellow Wagtail Summer visitor - has bred (one record of nominate Blue-headed sub-species.)

55 Grey Wagtail Resident, breeding not proved

56 Pied Wagtail Resident - breeds. Large flocks in winter >300

57 Wren Resident - breeds

58 Dunnock Resident - breeds

59 Robin Resident - breeds

60 Whinchat Passage migrant - may have bred locally

61 Stonechat One (1st year male) by the brick kiln pond on 8 December 2004

62 Northern Wheatear Passage migrant

63 Blackbird Resident - breeds

64 Fieldfare Winter visitor

65 Song Thrush Resident - probably breeds

66 Redwing Winter visitor

67 Mistle Thrush Resident - probably breeds

68 Grasshopper Warbler One on 24 May 2000 near irrigation jetty

69 Sedge Warbler Summer visitor - probably breeds

70 Lesser Whitethroat Summer visitor

71 Common Whitethroat Summer visitor - breeds

72 Garden Warbler Summer visitor - probably breeds

73 Blackcap Summer visitor - probably breeds

74 Chiffchaff Passage migrant - may breed

75 Willow Warbler Passage migrant

76 Goldcrest Resident - probably breeds

77 SpottedFlycatcher Summer visitor - has bred

78 Long-tailed Tit Resident - probably breeds

79 Marsh Tit Resident - probably breeds

80 Coal Tit Resident - probably breeds

81 Blue Tit Resident - breeds

82 Great Tit Resident - breeds

83 Nuthatch Resident - probably breeds

84 Treecreeper Resident - probably breeds

85 Jay Resident, breeding not proved

86 Magpie Resident - breeds

87 Jackdaw Resident - probably breeds

88 Rook Non-breeding resident

89 Carrion Crow Resident - breeds

90 Raven Overflies (breed locally)

91 Starling Resident - breeds

92 House Sparrow Resident - breeds

93 Tree Sparrow Declining resident - last bred in 2004?

94 Chaffinch Resident - breeds

95 Brambling Winter Visitor

96 Greenfinch Resident - breeds

97 Goldfinch Resident - breeds

98 Siskin Winter Visitor

99 Linnet Resident - breeds

100 Bullfinch Resident, may breed

101 Yellowhammer Resident - breeds. Large flocks in winter (>200 in 2000)

102 Reed Bunting Resident - breeds. Large flocks in winter (>100 in 2000)

103 Corn Bunting Resident, may breed

Below is a picture of one of the ponds at The Rea. This was taken last year before the ponds were fully established. Later in the year I will post an updated picture of the pond.

[Jenny]

Lisa, thanks for this list.

It's great that CJ are allowing us this extra forum and the more of us join in the merrier. I remember moving from a house with wonderful diversity of species to a house on the edge of town where there was a robin, wren, blackbird and sparrows. I put in a pond (small) and started feeding the birds and within a month of bird feeding and the following spring for the pond, I had had 40 plus species visiting regularly (the heron was a bit of a nuisance!). In its first season the pond had frogs - I'd not thought about the problem of getting up an hour earlier each day to rescue froglets who'd got onto the swimming pool cover but this was a daily chore for around 8 weeks! - nor for larger frogs who got disorientated and found their way into the kitchen and on one memorable occasion I found a heron there too!:o It doesn't matter where you live because we have such a diversity of birdlife that, as I said to Margaret, I'm green with envy because, although I have Golden Eagles and Sea Eagles - I miss many other birds I was so used to seeing because the habitat/food/climate isn't right. J