Kingerfisher pair persisting at nesting bank
The kingfisher pair continue to perch around and enter a hole in the nesting bank on Arun Riverlife lagoon. We have daily sightings of the pair in and outside of a nest hole. Lapwing are also displaying on the lagoon with a pair mating and nest scraping. A pair of oystercatchers have been showing, likely one of our regular pairs come back to nest again.
At least three lapwing pairs are on the wet grassland opposite the Lapwing hide. The male lapwing have been displaying - soaring skyward then a rapidly dropping and rolling then looping up again. Their tin whistle calls try to impress the females. Its working too as we have seen males making nest scrapings and mating going on as well. The birds also mobbing carrion crows looking for eggs
Big numbers of gulls moving through the site on Saturday on their way north with over 1000 black-headed gulls and 400 common gulls spotted last Saturday.
We counted 100+ linnets in trees and hedges between Arun Riverlife lagoon and the children’s Pond Skater play area on Monday morning. These seed eaters were likely feeding across the downs then came in to spend the night here.
Sat 13 March
Arun Riverlife: 23 tufted ducks (13 male,10 female), 2 gadwall (pair), 9 pocard (6male 3 female), 7 Canada geese,4 greylag geese, 9 mallards (8 males, 1 female), 1 shelduck, 138 black-headed gulls, 2 lapwing (male display, pair mating), 2 coots, 3 teal, 2 moorhens.
Lapwing hide: 6 lapwing (3 pairs), 13 teal, 6 shoveler
Ramsar and Sand martin hides: 3 cackling geese, 2 cackling X barnacle geese, 1 male lapwing displaying, 1 lesser black backed gull, 9 Mediterranean gulls, 400 common gulls, 1300 black-headed gulls
Fri 12 March
Wood Loop: 4 mandarin ducks (2 pair), 3 goldfinches, 5 blue tits, 4 chaffinches, 1 water rail, 3 great tits, 1 dunnock
Wildlife garden: 1 chiffchaff
Scrape hide: Cetti’s warbler.
Lapwing hide: 4 lapwing (2 pairs)
Arun riverlife lagoon: 1 male bullfinch, 1 male lapwing displaying
Thurs 11 March
Sussex screen: 2 gadwall, 1 male mandarin duck, 7 mallards (7 male, 2 female), 1 coot
Arun Riverlife: 1 kingfishers, 2 lapwings with a male displaying.
Lapwing hide: 5 lapwing (3 male, 2 female males displaying)
Ramsar hide: 2 little egrets, 3 Mediterranean gulls
Scrape hide: 11 Canada geese, 3 greylag, 4 shelducks, 7 black headed gulls, 4 mallards, 2 teal, 1 moorhen
Wed 10 March
Arun Riverlife: 2 lapwing (male displaying), 12 pochards (8 male 4 female)
Scrape hide: 5 Canada geese, 2 shelduck, 12 black-headed gulls, 13 mallards, 2 shoveler, and 4 greylag geese
Ramsar hide: 1 lesser black-backed gull, 1 lapwing
Reedbed: 1 marsh harrier, flyover.
Tue 9 March
Lapwing hide: 6 coots, 5 moorhens
Ramsar hide: 1 lapwing, 14 Canada geese, 1 oystercatcher, 23 mallards (14 male, 9 female), 2 tufted ducks (pair), 6 shelducks, 22 black-headed gulls, 2 greylag geese, 7 shoveler (4 pairs)
Sand martin hide: 1 cormorant, 8 common gulls
Scrape hide: 3 pochard (2 male, 1 female)
Arun Riverlife: 2 oystercatchers (moving between lagoon and old Tundra pen, sight of previous nests), 3 lapwing (a male holding territory, a female nest scraping), 3 kingfishers (female on perch outside nesting bank, male inside nest hole, then both in and out, another kingfisher flew over), 3 pochards (1 male, 3 females)
Mon 8 March
Arun Riverlife: 5 pochards (3 male 2 female), 1 male lapwing displaying, 2 kingfishers in and out of nesting bank hole, 100+ linnets in flock
Lapwing hide: 4 Canada geese, 4 greylag geese, 8 teal, 1 pheasant, 1 moorhen, 3 mallards, 4 lapwing (1 chasing off crows), 3 carrion crows, 8 snipe
Ramsar hide: 16 shelduck
Sun 7 March
Wetlands Discovery 2 little grebes, 12 tufted ducks (6 pairs), 18 mallards (15 male, 3 female), 4 greylag geese, 8 Canada geese, 1 dunnock, 4 coots, 3 blue tits, 4 gadwall (2 pairs), 4 black-headed gulls
Lapwing hide: 6 lapwings (2 mobbing a crow), 6 snipe, 14 teal (7 pairs)
Ramsar hide: 2 lapwing (male displaying), 7 teal (4 male, 3 female)
Sussex Screen: 3 mandarin ducks.
Arun Riverlife: 2 lapwing, 3 pochard (2 male, 1 female)
Sat 6 Mar
Lapwing hide: 4 lapwing, 1 little grebe
Ramsar and Sand martin hides: 3 wigeon, 1 lapwing on the island.
Arun Riverlife: 2 lapwing (male displaying), 96 black-headed gulls, 3 Canada geese, ,6 tufted ducks (4 male 2 female), 9 pochard (6 male, 3 female)5 mallards, 1 coot, 1 moorhen, 1 kingfisher perched at nesting bank, 2 carrion crow, 1 grey heron
Sussex screen: 2 kingfishers.
