Kingfishers, Egyptian geese & Cold Weather

8 January 2025

We had lots of ice on Wednesday morning – low temperatures are predicted for the rest of the week and will keep things chilly. Some of our water bodies are icing over.

Lapwing flock numbers are up and down depending on the time of day. We had 150 on Jan 3, one of the week’s highest counts. Snipe are visiting the front of the Ramsar hide once again so you may see some there. Quite a few kingfisher sightings this week -the cold weather likely has made them hungry.

Cattle egrets are still roosting in good numbers – anywhere between 50 and 80 of these birds can be seen “decorating” the trees around the large lagoon visible from the Ramsar and Sand Martin hides in late afternoons

Wed 8 Jan

Scrape hide (frozen): 2 Canada geese, 1 kingfisher, 1 wren, 1 blue tit, 1 woodpigeon, 1 magpie, 1 Carrion crow, 1 great tit, 1 long-tailed tit.

Ramsar and Sand martin hide large lagoon (frozen): 126 lapwing, 3 snipe, 1 kingfisher.

Tues 7 Jan

Ramsar and Sand martin hide large lagoon: 44 Canada geese, 53 lapwings, 2 cormorants, 36 mallards, 10 shoveler, 1 pochard, 1 wigeon, 19 teal, 6 shelducks, 4 moorhens, 4 coots, 2 wood pigeons, 1 Carrion crow, 4 black-headed gull, 1 little egret, 2 greylag geese, 2 gadwall, 1 kingfisher.

Scrape hide: 1 little grebe

Long path: 2 kingfishers, 1 little egret

Mon 6 Jan

Ramsar and Sand martin hide large lagoon: 4 snipe, 3 Egyptian geese, 2 wigeon, 37 teal, 64 Canada Geese, 32 lapwing, 1 kingfisher

Sunday 5 Jan

Wetlands Discovery area: 2 cormorants, 4 tufted ducks, 2 blackbirds, 1 robin, 1 coot, 5 mallards, 1 pheasant, 1 wood pigeon

Ramsar and Sand martin hide large lagoon: 6 lapwings, 7 shelducks, 1 kingfisher

Scrape hide: 1 little grebe, 2 shelducks, 1 cormorant, 1 marsh harrier

Lakes & Forests exhibit: 1 sparrow hawk, 1 tree creeper.

Sat 4 Jan

Ramsar and Sand martin hide large lagoon: 88 lapwing, 18 cattle egret, 15 shelducks

Robins gate: 1 great spotted woodpecker

Woodland Loop: 1 great spotted woodpecker

Willow sphere: 1 teal

Arun Riverlife lagoon: 1 kingfisher, 1 little egret, 11 mallards, 1 pochard, 2 shelducks, 2 coots, 18 Canada geese, 9 greylag gees, 1 moorhen

Fri 3 Jan

Arun Riverlife lagoon: 1 little egret

Wetland Discovery 1 kingfisher

Ramsar and Sand martin hide large lagoon: 50 cattle egrets, 2 Egyptian geese, 150 lapwing, 1 kingfisher

Woodland Loop: 11 mallards, 2 chaffinches, 14 blue tits, 1 moorhen, 6 great tits, 2 blackbirds, 1 great spotted woodpecker, 2 wood pigeon, 1 greenfinch