Bittern was back on World Wetlands Day
A bittern flew across the reedbed channel in front of a boat safari trip on Fri 2 Feb - World Wetlands day - giving some of our visitors a real treat!
We had our first oystercatcher of the season, spotted between Ramsar and Sand martin hides on Tues 6 Feb in the morning. Another noted visitor that day to the same area was a black-tailed godwit!
Staff working on the Arun Riverlife lagoon flushed 40 snipe while walking to the back of the kingfisher nesting bank. A pair of pochard a regularly being spotted on Pelican cove - could tis be our nesting pair from last year? The little grebe is still a regular there as well.
Tues 6 Feb
Ramsar and Sand martin hide: 40 Canada geese, 14 greylag geese, 20 cattle egrets, 2 little egrets, 4 cormorants, 2 Carrion crow, 6 wood pigeon, 15 shoveler ducks, 24 lapwings, 1 oystercatcher, 1 black-tailed godwit, 8 coots, 2 snipe, 9 shelducks, 5 tufted ducks, 4 pochard, 13 wigeon, 14 mallards, 8 gadwall, 22 teal, c500 black-headed gulls, 130 common gulls, 2 Mediterranean gulls
Arun Riverlife: 7 pochard, 40 snipe
Pelican Cove: 2 pochard (pair), 1 little grebe
Wed 5 Feb
Ramsar and Sand martin hide: 20 cattle egrets, 21 lapwing, 4 snipe, 11 pochard, 10 shelducks, 27 shoveler, 15 wigeon, 4 Mediterranean gulls, 70 common gulls
Lapwing hide: 2 Canada geese, 2 greylag geese, 5 mallards,4 gadwall, 1 song thrush, 1 robin
Scrape hide: 2 snipe,9 shoveler, 2 chif chaff
Pelican Cove: 3 pochard,
Arun Riverlfe: 1 fieldfare, 1 pochard
Sun 4 Feb
Wetland Discovery: 2 coots, 1 pheasant, 2 tufted ducks, 18 mallards, 4 canada geese, 1 long-tailed tit, 1 chaffinch, 1 black bird
Waterside walk: 2 bullfinches
Ramsar and Sand martin hide: 1 water rail, 18 snipe, 25 lapwing, 10 shelducks, 2 wigeon, 5 pochard, 6 Mediterranean gulls, 70+ common gulls, 2 herring, 70+ black-headed gulls.
Sat 3 Feb
Arun Riverlife lagoon: 1 pochard, 2 gadwall, 26 mallards, 4 coots, 3 moorhens, 8 Canada geese
Pelican cove: 2 pochards
Scrape hide: 1 marsh harrier male, 2 pochards, 3 teal, 1 kingfisher, 2 shelducks, 1 Cetti’s warbler
Ramsar & Sand martin hides: 13 gadwall, 9 shelducks, 17 cattle egrets, 16 lapwing, 4 herring gulls, 158 common gulls, 4 med gulls, 300+ black-headed gulls.
Fri 2 Feb
Wetland Discovery: 1 bittern
Ramsar & Sand martin hides: 9 pochards, 18 teal, 4 shoveler, 5 shelducks, 47 lapwing, 162 black-headed gull, 12 snipe
Scrape hide: 2 shelducks, 11 shoveler, 1 Cetti’s warbler, 1 goldcrest
Wood Loop: 1 song thrush, 4 mallards, 3 goldfinches, 5 blue tits, 2 great spotted woodpecker, 4 chaffinch, 2 great tits, 3 wood pigeons, 4 robins, 1 tree creeper.
Arun Riverlife lagoon: 3 pochard
Pelican cove: 2 pochard, 1 little grebe
