Calm kestrel on Wetlands Discovery
Our Reserve team have been hammering away at the annual autumn cut on the Wetland Discovery area. This means they haven’t had much time for counting many birds this week.
Last Wednesday during the mini-heatwave they got help from a great crew of volunteers from HSBC who were raking and hauling away the reeds.
Yesterday while the wardens were on lunch break from the cutting work they left a garden fork standing in the soil near the edge of one of the islands. When our boat driver Tracy passed by with a boatload of visitors she spotted a kestrel perched on the fork handle. This young male didn’t startle instead just slowly rotated its head, its gaze following the boat and its passengers as they passed!
This kestrel is likely the same one spotted on the owl box last Wednesday and Thursday.
Tues 19 Sept
Ramsar Hide: 23 Canada geese, 34 mallard, 1 coot, 22 black-headed gull, 1 herring gull.
Sand Martin Hide: 1 gadwall, 1 Moorhen, 1 Kingfisher.
Wetland Discovery: 1 kestrel perching on handle of garden fork!
Sunday 12 Sept
Wetland discovery: 1 mute Swan, 1 kestrel, 1 coat, nine mallard, 1 Kingfisher,.
Scrape hide: 2 to you, 1 Kingfisher.
Saturday 11 Sept
Arun Riverlife lagoon: 22 coots, 4 moorhens, 5 Canada goose, 12 mallards, 10 gadwalls, 15 black-headed gull, 1 little grebe
Friday 10 Sept
Pelican Cove: 5 Egyptian geese.
Wood loop: 4 moorhen, two mallard, 1 wren, 2 blue tits.
Thursday 9 September
Ramsar hide: little egret
Discovery hide: two little grebe
Sussex screen: 1 wren, 1 chiff chaff, 2 gadwall.
Reedbed loop: 2 Cetti’s warblers,.
Reedbed hide: 1 Marsh Harrier.
Lapwing Hide: 3 snipe, 1 kestrel sitting on the owl box.
