A Great grey shrike was found inside the perimeter of Slough Sewage Farm at the start of December and has shown occasionally since. It is by no means an easy bird to connect with however
Walk along the north bank of the river and the bird is most often seen north of the weir area – see the site guides below to view maps of the site (More info)
Great grey shrike in Berkshire
Glaucous gull is pretty rare in Berkshire and usually hard to connect with at one of the big gull roosts so it’s a real treat to get such an “easy” bird
This bird was found on a suburban lake in Reading on the 10th and a photo sent to the webmaster of Berksbirds
To see the bird you can park in The Thatchers tavern on Fairwater drive, Woodley Click here to get the Google map
To get sun-behind-you photos you need to get to the south side of the lake
Bearded tit is a scarce visitor to Berks. First reported on Oct 21st (3 birds) a single male has been seen off and on since. It was ringed behind the northern shore of the lake on 15th Nov. It’s been seen for a few minutes every few days so you’ll need a bit of luck to catch this handsome reedling …
Slav grebes at QMR tend to stay quite close in so should be a better bet if you want decent views. Both birds were reported in the morning. QMR isn’t that busy mid-week so there should be a reasonable chance of it being there for the rest of the day. They can hang around for a day or so but …
Another great Autumn bird at QMR. News of this bird came out around 10am. A scare visitor, this bird didn’t seem to hang around very long and wasn’t reported after 10:30 …
You really need a permit from the BOC to access the site. If you have a permit, rather than unlock the gate to get out you can get a “Day pass” from the Sailing club and use it to get out the easy way ;o)
Common scoter (reported by Paul “Birdingovermyhead” BT) and Dark-bellied Brent goose were also seen at the site today. Showing just how good the site is and how putting bodies on the ground there is always fruitful!
Mike McKee found a female which has been resident between the car park and the pier and will show down to 25-30 feet
You should join the BOC to get a permit to have access to the site
Ian Paine found a 1st winter male at Dinton Pastures on October 1st
Click here for a link to the site guide
Update
The bird is now spending its time on White Swan lake – at The south end (and Tufties corner). Park at the Dinton overflow for a short walk (£1)
The bird first seemed to be at Sandford lake mostly. There are a few places to park including a couple of “pull-ins” along Sandford lane – one just near the western entrance to Sandford lake. You can see the bird from the new-ish hide
Click here for a link to info about Fudgers in Berkshire
including my Birdguides prize-winning fudger pic from 2001 – I got £150 worth of BG DVDs. Shows how much (amateur) bird photography has come on since then!
