Pete Lambert reports on his visit yesterday:
Almost a week since my last visit to the Marsh on 4 Nov., so I was pleased as I walked down the footpath from Blackhorse Lane to the Marsh to see a goosander fly low north over the channel east of WM east. A female (or immature) bird, this was my first record of the autumn/winter. Later, a mistle thrush flew West over WM East, only my fourth record this year. A little egret was feeding in the channel East of WM East and a reed bunting (female/imm) was calling from a bush on Clendish Marsh.
I still haven't seen any returning teal or water rail in the channels, although Michael saw some teal last week. And still no wintering stonechats! I hear that at Wormwood Scrubs it's the same story, so perhaps something has affected the population that usually returns to London for the winter. Last winter was a cold one but I've looked at my records for the 1990s and there were wintering stonechats every winter during that decade, so perhaps there's another explanation.
DMC
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