Camouflaged Snipe, Scraping Lapwings and arriving Oystercatchers
It has been great to see so many snipe back in the fen cut in front of the Ramsar hide this past week!
A male kingfisher has been investigating the nesting holes on Kingfisher bank on Arun Riverlife, a pair were spotted feeding at Scrape hide Tuesday.
An oystercatcher pair are onsite, spotted at Pelican Cove, on Arun Riverlife and at the Sand martin hide. Lapwings are beginning to display and one was nest scraping on the Wet Grassland.
Regular visitor Russ Tofts and some friendly photographers were able to ascertain the colour ring code on one of three Mediterranean Gulls outside Sand Martin Hide on the weekend. Russ’s investigations showed the gull was at least 10 years old, ringed in Antwerp and seen there, France and several south coast sites 30 times in the last seven years
Tues 20 Feb
Arun Riverlife: 3 pochards, 1 kingfisher, 10 snipe
Wetland Discovery: 3 pochards
Lapwing hide: 1 lapwing
Ramsar and Sand Martin hide: 18 snipe, 51 Canada geese, 96 greylag geese, 7 pochard, 5 cormorant, 2 Egyptian Geese, 2 moorhen, 6 coots, 2 oystercatchers, 23 lapwing (2 displaying, 1 nest scraping), 15 shoveler, 13 tufted ducks, 25 mallards, 18 gadwall, 134 black-headed gulls, 4 Mediterranean gulls, 2 carrion crows, 8 wood pigeons, 1 shelducks
Scrape hide: 3 pochard, 1 kingfisher, 4 snipe, 1 lapwing.
Mon 19 Feb
Ramsar hide: 29 lapwing, 7 pochard, 1 kingfisher, 18 snipe, 1 Cetti’s warbler, 2 Egyptian geese, 1 common gull
Scrape hide: 3 pochard, 1 snipe, 2 teal
Reedbed: 1 reed bunting, 1 redwing
Pelican Cove: 2 oystercatchers. 1 little grebe
Woodloop: 1 goldcrest, 1 chiffchaff
Lakes & Forest exhibit: 2 pochard.
Ramsar & Sand martin hide: 3 lapwing, 4 mallards, 3 gadwall, 16 Canada geese, 4 greylags, 1 pheasant, 2 coots, 1 wren, 1 great tit, 1 blue tit, 4 shovelers, 1 woodpigeon, 17 cattle egrets, 1 oystercatcher
Sun 18 Feb
Arun Riverlife: 2 pochards
Wetland Discovery: 26 mallards, 1 cormorant, 2 moorhens, 8 Canada geese, 2 tufted ducks,
Entrance pond: 1 Cetti’s warbler
Ramsar & Sand Martin hide: 13 pochards, 36 lapwing, 10 snipe, 1 oystercatcher4 shelducks, 1 Cetti’s warblers, 2 Egyptian geese
Scrape hide: 1 pochard, 2 Cetti’s warbler
Willow sphere: 1 kingfisher
Long Path: Cetti’s warbler
Sat 17 Feb
Lapwing hide: 1 stonechat
Wetland Discovery: 1 pochard
Ramsar hide: 47 lapwing (5.30 pm), 24 cattle egrets, 9 little egrets, 1 great egret, 4 pochards
Scrape hide: 2 kingfishers feeding
Discovery hide: 15 pochard displaying
Arun Riverlife: 1 oystercatcher, 27 mallards, 5 pochards, 1 kingfisher, 3 mute swans, 3 coots, 6 Canada geese, 2 tufted ducks, 1 moorhen, 3 snipe
Lakes and Forest exhibit: 1 pochard
Trumpeter pen: 7 mandarin
Scrape hide: 1 marsh harrier, 1 pochard
Sand martin hide: 1 pochard, 1 Cetti’s warbler
Ramsar hide: 27 cattle egrets, 55 lapwing, 16 snipe, 1 pochard, 1 lesser-black backed gull, 10 common gulls, 5 lapwing.
