A visit on the 25th produced 9 Egyptian Geese till including 7 goslings and the adopted Mallard duckling. There were 8 Reed Warbler, 2 Sedge Warbler, 1 Willow Warbler (113), 1 Cetti's Warbler, 2 Blackcap, 3 Whitethroat, 1 Mistle Thrush, 2 Linnet, 1 Goldfinch, 1 Yellowhammer and 1 Reed Bunting. A visit again yesterday morning at 07:30 produced the 9 Egyptian Geese still, 1 Cuckoo, 38 Swift west, 1 Green Sandpiper, 6 Black headed Gull, 10 Herring Gull, 3 Cormorant, 1 Great spotted Woodpecker, 1 Green Woodpecker, 1 Kestrel, 1 Hobby, 1 Jay, 1 Raven, 2 Reed Warbler, 1 Sand Martin, 3 Swallow, 1 Chiffchaff, 3 Blackcap, 1 Mistle Thrush, 1 Song Thrush, 1 Yellow Wagtail, 2 Pied Wagtail, 4 Linnet, 1 Goldfinch and 4 Yellowhammer and 1 Reed Bunting. On the dragonfly front, a new species was found for the patch with 2 Lesser Emperor (male and female). Also seen were 4 Red veined Darter. 

I was out just after 4am this morning where I drove over to Chislet Marshes to collect the recorder. I had not long parked up and got out of the car when I heard a distant Quail calling. I heard one briefly a few weeks ago but this one was heard much easier. I walked up the track a hundred metres or so when another Quail called much closer. You wait 10 years and then 2 Quail come along! This is a Mega bird for the patch and excellent to have a couple of birds in the area. I continued to walk up the path and in the end, I must have been within a few metres of the calling bird but still didn't see it. The second more distant bird continued to call before they both went quiet. As I stood listening to the Quail, 4 Barn Owl were seen along with 1 Little Owl. A Tawny Owl was sound recorded during the night. After the morning excitement, I then spent a few hours walking around the Nethergong, Chislet Marshes area were I noted 60 species which included 7 Mute Swan, 9 Egyptian Geese including 7 goslings still and the adopted Mallard, 2 Swift, 9 Moorhen, 1 Green Sandpiper, 2 Black headed Gull, 10 Herring Gull, 2 Lesser Black backed Gull, 2 Common Tern, 26 Cormorant, 1 Grey Heron, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Marsh Harrier, 2 Common Buzzard, 2 Great spotted Woodpecker, 5 Green Woodpecker, 4 Kestrel and 1 Jay. There were 10 Magpie, 74 Jackdaw, 2 Raven, 2 Skylark, 2 Sedge Warbler, 10 Reed Warbler, 2 Sand Martin, 8 Swallow, 2 Chiffchaff, 2 Cetti's Warbler, 2 Long tailed Tit, 6 Blackcap, 4 Whitethroat, 1 Treecreeper, 32 Starling, 3 Song Thrush, 4 Robin, 2 Dunnock, 3 Yellow Wagtail, 4 Pied Wagtail, 3 Chaffinch, 2 Bullfinch, 69 Linnet, 2 Goldfinch, 2 Yellowhammer, and 3 Reed Bunting. 

Quail

Having recorded Quail a couple of times recently out on Chislet Marshes, I thought I would get up at silly O'clock and see whether I could actually hear one on the patch. On the 1st July, I arrived at 03:00 and spent a few hours walking around the southern end of the patch. At 03:40, I could hear a distant Quail calling a couple of times before it went quiet. Although I have recorded them here this year, it was pleasing to be able to add this species to my patch list. The other obvious highlight has been that the pair of Egyptian Geese have bred and are raising 7 young goslings at present, plus an adopted Mallard which they seem to have picked up. This constitutes the first breeding record of this species on the Nethergong patch. I shall hopefully follow how they grow over the coming weeks. I have also been seeing the odd Barn Owl and Little Owl when I have been going down in the evening to put out the recorder. 

Egyptian Geese