Friday's sightings
Kingfisher Hide
The flock of 29 White-fronted Geese were again on the Bottom New Piece along with 730+ Lapwing, 10 Curlew, 2 Golden Plover and 73 Dunlin. Five Gadwall were on the water along the South Finger Extension, beyond the Kingfisher nesting bank. This duck species has been noticeably absent of the last few weeks and small numbers are now returning to the reserve.
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South Lake Hides
Counts included 49 Teal, 116 Mallard, 356 Lapwing, 31 Shoveler, 53 Shelduck, 43 Black-tailed Godwit, 4 Pochard, 36 Tufted Duck, 6 Gadwall, a Great Crested Grebe and 8 Cormorant. Duck numbers here are lower as the count was early morning when most of the Tufted Duck and Pochard are awaiting the morning feed on the Rushy.
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Rushy Hide
This morning’s feed attracted 131 Greylag Geese, 87 Shelduck, 200+ Tufted Duck and 56 Pochard. A Little Grebe and Redshank were also seen.
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Holden Tower
Two Peregrine were perched together on driftwood on the Dumbles. Geese included 182 Greylag Geese and 214 Barnacle Geese, and a small flock of Curlew were roosting on edge of river. At least 85 Shelduck and 10 Pintail were on water as the tide fell along with a few Wigeon. A total of 11 Cranes were seen mid morning.
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Zeiss Hide
Another busy morning at the Top New Piece with counts including 18 Ruff, 25+ Snipe, 627 Canada Geese, several hundred Wigeon, 50 Pintail and 38 Black-tailed Godwit. The Lapwing were mobile between here and the Bottom New Piece. The Bittern was seen again mid morning.
