A record count of Wigeon

Lapwing at Bow Creek, 12/2/2012

I was on the patch just after dawn this morning hoping to refind yesterday's Woodcock; a quick circuit of the ecology park drew a blank but I did find a single Meadow Pipit feeding on the embankment, the first one on the deck this year. I met up with Gary and we had another try for the Woodcock with no luck so we headed for the basin scoring a flock of ten Redwing flying west, a year tick for us both; we then put up six Lapwing from the mud on Bow Creek, things were shaping up nicely. On arrival at the basin we found it still frozen so decided to concentrate on the Thames, almost immediately we got onto a flock of seven ducks loafing off the Millennium Dome mudflats, they were Wigeon, three males and four females, the third site record and the only multiple count; three Fieldfare heading west provided another year tick for both of us . We then met up with a party from the London Natural History Society on a planned trip to the basin; we managed to get them onto the Wigeon but then I found another duck with them which turned out to a Shoveler, yet another year tick. A Peregrine was roosting on the Dome and most of the LNHS party managed to see it, always a good bird on a guided walk. The tide was now on the rise but with a couple of hours until high water I headed home for some lunch, returning to find 12 Redshank and three Common Sandpiper in the roost, a Common Teal count produced 374 birds and the female Pintail, which was conspicuously absent this morning, was feeding in the usual place, four Shelduck were on the basin with a flock of 23 together on Bow Creek, the highest count of the year and possibly the highest ever and quite a spectacular sight in the fading light of late afternoon; 13 Tufted Duck on the basin were the seventh duck species for the day. Passerine interest was provided by three more Meadows Pipits flying west, a flock of six Linnets in the ecology park and at least three Reed Buntings at the basin.