Arriving at the Ashcott Corner car park at about 3.15pm, I walked out to the hide at Noah's Lake. A party of four Stock Doves flew over as I walked out and a few duck were on the pools on the far side of the drove. A Buzzard was doing a good impression of a Marsh Harrier as it drifted low over the reeds, occasionally hovering.
Setting up in the hide I spent about an hour scanning over the water looking for three target birds that had been present for a couple of days; a redhead Smew, a female Long-tailed Duck and a long-staying Great White Egret.
There were plenty of duck on the water, most noticeably large numbers of Wigeon, Mallard, Gadwall and Teal. Diving duck were less evident with a couple of dozen Tufted Duck and a couple of Pochard. There were also at least eight Goldeneye, and the males were carrying out their bizarre head-throwing courtship displays.
After a long search I finally got on to the Great White Egret, which spent long periods hidden in the overgrowth. More scouring through the duck finally yielded the Smew which was at the far edge of the lake. However, with the light deteriorating I had to give up and could not find the Long-tailed Duck anywhere. A single Bewick's Swan was also present.
As I returned to the car, large numbers of Starlings were flying in from the south.
UK list for 2010 now at 117 species.
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