Time: from 9:15 a.m.
Weather: dry, cloudy, light wind, 6°C to 8°C
This was my inaugural visit to Gloucester Park having chosen it as a site to feature in this blog.
This was a very different wildlife watching experience from my other 2 sites in that it has a large lake which is obviously an ideal habitat for water birds.
On this first visit to the site, I recorded the following: Canada Goose (c.50), Greylag Goose (6), Mallard (c.20), Coot (c.10) and Moorhen (c.10). Perhaps most surprisingly, there were 2 Cormorants perched in the trees on the island in the middle of the lake. I had hoped to see maybe a pair of Great Crested Grebes or a pair of Mute Swans but unfortunately this was not the case.
My first mammal record for the site was a Brown Rat foraging at the edge of the lake.
Species recorded during this visit were as follows (heard only records in italics):
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Robin
Wren
Dunnock
Blackbird
Goldfinch
Pied Wagtail
Woodpigeon
Collared Dove
Carrion Crow
Magpie
Canada Goose
Greylag Goose
Mallard
Coot
Moorhen
Cormorant
Black-headed Gull
Herring Gull
Brown Rat
Here are some photos from around Gloucester Park:
Site totals to date:
Birds = 20
Mammals = 1
Butterflies = 0
Dragonflies and damselflies = 0
Reptiles = 0
Amphibians = 0
Mammals = 1
Butterflies = 0
Dragonflies and damselflies = 0
Reptiles = 0
Amphibians = 0
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🦉 🌼 🌳💚
Stay safe, stay well, stay strong, stay connected with nature
Stay safe, stay well, stay strong, stay connected with nature
Hi, nice blog. I'm just visiting having seen your post on the Gloucester Park faceboook group. There's been cormorants over at Gloucester for several months now but I've never seen Great Crested Grebes there. Early in 2019 there was a pair of little grebes who stayed at the pond for quite sometime. Most people seemed to think they were ducklings, but why there would be ducklings in January and quite why they'd be diving for fish I have no idea! :-) If you're interested in great crested grebes in or around Basildon there's usually a pair on the lake over at Northlands Park and another pair over at Billericay Lakes. Take care, stay safe and look forward to seeing more posts and photos.
ReplyDeleteHi Matt. Thank you for your comment. I think Great Crested Grebes can be easily disturbed and I am guessing that Gloucester Park has a lot of visitors during a normal spring and summer. Also, the (noisy) Canada Geese are very dominant on the lake and that may be a factor too. Interesting to hear that there was a pair of Little Grebes on the pond last year. I don't have a car so those other sites you mention are out of reach for me unfortunately. Take care and stay safe.
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