Wanlip Scrape and Quails in Watermead

September 22, 2001

Pleasant, warm autumn weather. The Wanlip scrape contained some shallow water, visited by mainly Blackheaded Gulls and Lapwings plus one Green Sandpiper and a Dunlin or Curlew Sandpiper Note the species without a number have been observed elsewhere in Watermead

  1. Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis
  2. Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus
  3. Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo
    4. : 1 ex
  4. Grey Heron Ardea cinerea
    5. : 4 ex
  5. Mute Swan Cygnus olor
    6. : 4 ex flying by
  6. Greylag Goose Anser anser
    7. : 4 ex passing by
  7. Canada Goose Branta canadensis
    8. : 6 ex
  8. Common Shelduck Tadorna tadorna
    9. : 1 female.
  9. Gadwall Anas strepera
  10. Eurasian Teal Anas crecca
    11. : 2 ex
  11. Mallard Anas platyrhynchos
    12. : 3 ex
  12. Northern Shoveler Anas clypeata
  13. Common Pochard Aythya ferina
  14. Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula
  15. Eurasian Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus
    16. : 1 female flying towards south
  16. Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus
    17. : 1 female harrashing the sparrowhawk
  17. Common Quail Coturnix coturnix
    18. : 1 male and 1 female: I flushed them in the second meadow just south of the gravel pit. Tiny birds, the size of a fist, not very willing to fly much or far when they exploded almost from under the wheels of my bike. One with black and white pattern on throat and head.
  18. Common Pheasant Phasianus colchicus
    19. : 1 male and 1 female
  19. Common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus
  20. Common Coot Fulica atra
  21. Northern Lapwing Vanellus vanellus
    22. : > 150 ex.
  22. Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea
    23. : Some time after the passage of the Sparrowhawk the waders settled again. Most of the Lapwings had gone, but between a group of Snipe I spotted a Dunlin/Curlew sandpiper type of bird. The bill was long, slightly curved and ended rather thin. Legs seemed long. Possible white rump, but I did not get a full view when it was preening: upper side of primaries seemed to have a whitish band. The bird had an clear eyestripe, resulting white spots next to bill when viewed frontally. It waded between a group of 3-5 snipes. Feeding non stop: drilling almost nonstop with beak in the shallow water which seem to make the whole body tremble. As I am unfamiliar with Curlew Sandpiper and the bird was at a distance of about 100 meter (my small scope is up to a blurry 40x) I am not sure whether this was the same bird as the Dunlin I spotted earlier or a genuine Curlew Sandpiper. Ps: one week later: most likely this was a Dunlin.
  23. Dunlin Calidris alpina
    24. : 1 ex between the large group of Lapwings. When flying followed this group, showing white wingbars and white sides of tail. I noticed this bird immediately upon arrival, and then lost it after the Sparrowhawk made all the birds fly up.
  24. Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago
    25. : 9 ex.
  25. Common Redshank Tringa totanus
    26. : 1 ex in winter plumage: mottled belly and white wings.
  26. Common Greenshank Tringa nebularia
    27. : 1 ex flying by and calling.
  27. Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus
    28. : 1 ex
  28. Black-headed Gull Larus ridibundus
    29. :> 200 ex.
  29. Mew Gull Larus canus
    30. : 2 ex
  30. Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus
    31. : 2 ex
  31. Great Black-backed Gull Larus marinus
    32. : 1 ex
  32. Stock Pigeon Columba oenas
    33. : 1 ex
  33. Common Wood Pigeon Columba palumbus
    34. : several ex.
  34. Eurasian Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto
  35. Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis
  36. Sky Lark Alauda arvensis
    37. : 1 ex
  37. Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
    38. : several
  38. House Martin Delichon urbica
    39. : several
  39. Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis
    40. : 2 ex
  40. Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea
    41. : 1 ex
  41. White / Pied Wagtail Motacilla alba
    42. : 1 ex
  42. Winter Wren Troglodytes troglodytes
    43. : several
  43. Hedge Accentor Prunella modularis
  44. European Robin Erithacus rubecula
    45. : several
  45. Common Blackbird Turdus merula
  46. Mistle Thrush Turdus viscivorus
    47. : 2 ex
  47. Long-tailed Tit Aegithalos caudatus
    48. : several
  48. Blue Tit Parus caeruleus
    49. : several
  49. Great Tit Parus major
    50. : svereal
  50. Eurasian Treecreeper Certhia familiaris
  51. Black-billed Magpie Pica pica
    52. : several
  52. Carrion / Hooded Crow Corvus corone
    53. : 2 ex
  53. Common Starling Sturnus vulgaris
  54. Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs
  55. European Greenfinch Carduelis chloris
    56. : > 30
  56. European Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis
    57. : >5
  57. Common Linnet Carduelis cannabina
    58. : > 10
  58. Reed Bunting Emberiza schoeniclus
    59. : 1 ex
Back to Birds of Leicestershire and Britain

Nomenclature follows Voous’s List of Recent Holarctic Bird Species (BOU 1977, revised edition). English names are as in BOU Checklist of Birds of Britain and Ireland (6th Edition, 1992)