There were several notable sightings today, over the course of 2 sessions on patch. Again, ducks took centre stage, with 2 female
Red-crested Pochards on Bramley Park Lake in the afternoon. The relative cover of the north shore allowed for some
fairly close views, as well as
this footage, as the birds fed quietly in the vegetated fringes, before flying to the south side of the lake. Their origin remains a mystery, but as time goes on I'm beginning to wonder if there was/is an ornamental pair on a private pond somewhere around here, and these perhaps are free winged young. On Mill Pond, a very high count of 32
Mandarins was made, mostly drakes either in eclipse plumage or moulting.
 |
Spotted Flycatcher being pretty unspotted but catching flies
at Selhurst Common today |
Bramley Park Lake was the more exciting water body today, with a
Kingfisher also present this afternoon. Surprisingly, this is only the 4th record this year. A
Cormorant was fishing, and there was one at Winkworth too, where a
Marsh Tit was also knocking about. Perhaps the biggest surprise of the day came at Bonhurst Farm, in the shape (or sound) of a singing
Reed Bunting. Remarkable not primarily for being out of season, but because this species has never been recorded here anywhere but the Ridge (wintering flock) or Winkworth (occasional outside the summer).
It seems there are in fact 2 pairs of
Spotted Flycatchers nesting in ivy-clad walls at Selhurst Common. The site occupied last year was seeing a lot of action today, with food constantly being taken in, all whilst another pair were busy over the road. As things stand, there are at least 4 pairs across the site, but likely more.
