Black-tailed godwits & red kites
On Monday two red kites were playing over our front reedbed, car park and Mill road, enjoying the warmer air and updrafts off the Offfham hangar. Then the pair would drop low, around twenty feet above the visitor centre. A buzzard was doing similar only not coming in as low. We also had two black-tailed godwits on the island closest to the Ramsar hide. On Mon 12 Dec we had 11 black-tailed godwits recorded on the monthly WeBS (Wetland Bird Survey) site count.
With blues skies and milder temps on Tues 20 Dec mean the ponds, ditches and scrapes are finally free from ice after the recent deep freeze. Some areas had been totally frozen with a few inches of rain sitting on top.
The bird feeders in the Wood Loop were busy during the cold spell – see Friday’s sightings below.
The monthly Marsh Harrier count on Sun 18 recorded seven marsh harrier come in between 3:30 and 4:30 pm from the Scrape hide.
Tues 20 Dec
Ramsar and Sand martin hide: 9 shelducks, 20 teal, 4 coots, 2 shoveler, 13 mallards, 3 Canada geese, 11 pochard, 11 gadwall, 6 wigeon, 7 cormorants, 14 tufted ducks, 2 black-headed gulls, 11 greylag geese, 2 moorhens, 1 water rail, 1 snipe.
Mon 19 Dec
Ramsar & Sand martin hide: 3 snipe, 2 black-tailed godwits, 10 shelducks, 1 wigeon.
Wood Loop: 1 great spotted woodpecker.
Car park and offham hangar: 2 red kites, 1 buzzard
Sun 18 Dec
Arun Riverlife: 1 little grebe, 2 shoveler
Wetland Discovery: 4 coots, 1 blackbird, 2 water rail
Ramsar & Sand Martin hide: 11 shelduck, 22 shoveler, 7 teal, 3 lesser black-backed gull
7 marsh harriers
Sat 17 Dec
Arun Riverlife: 110 Black-headed gull, 14 Canada geese, 19 coots, 1 little grebe, 5 mallards, 1 moorhen
Fri 16 Dec
Wood loop: 1 water rail, 1 Cetti’s warbler (singing), 3 robin, 2 nuthatches, 1 greenfinch, 1 pheasant7 blue tits, 6 chaffinches, 2 moorhens, 3 blackbirds, 6 great tits, 2 dunnock, 1 wood pigeon.
Thurs 15 Dec
Reedbed Boardwalk: 2 blackbirds, 3 blue tits, 1 song thrush, 1 robin, 1 teal
Sussex screen: 45 mallards, 2 gadwall, 1 goldfinch
Ramsar & Sand martin hide: 11 shelducks.
Wed 14 Dec
Scrape hide: 1 robin, 1 wren
Ramsar & Sand martin hide: 6 shelducks., 1 lapwing, 1 wigeon, 2 marsh harriers to roost at 3:15 pm
Monday 12 Dec
Ramsar hide: 11 black tailed godwits
Tues 13 Dec
Ramsar & Sand martin hides: 48 black-headed gulls, 7 shelducks, 2 Canada geese, 6 wigeon, 8 shoveler, 3 common gulls, 8 coots, 1 moorhen, 1 pintail.
