Kingfishers nest in Arun Riverlife bank again
A kingfisher pair are back in hole 5 of the nesting bank on Arun Riverlife.
They favour this hole and have nested here before - see Mike Jerome's photo above.
We are not sure about the pair of kingfishers who nested in the Sand Martin
Hide last year – its one to watch. Sand martins are back in abundance and can be
seen hawking over the water, before popping in and out of the nest chambers of
the Sand Martin Hide. The windows of this hide are now locked for the breeding
season to minimise disturbance to the nesting birds.
Mon 17 April
Arun Riverlife: 2 pochards, 2 lapwing, 1 male kingfisher on the perch using hole #5
Wetland Discovery area: 1 male pochard
Lapwing hide: 2 Canada geese, 15 greylag geese - 5 pairs with goslings, 2 lapwing pair nest scraping in front of hide, 6 mallards including 1 female with ducklings, a pair of tufted ducks, 2 shoveler, 1 grey heron, 3 coots, 1 moorhen, 1 male pheasant.
Ramsar and Sand martin hides: 2 cackling geese, 1 cacklingXbarnacle cross, 2 oystercatchers, 1 Egyptian goose, 5 lapwing (2 on nest)
Scrape hide: 4 pochard, 1 snipe.
Sun 16 April
Wetland Discovery: 3 black-headed gulls, 6 Canada geese, 10 mallards, 13 tufted ducks, 1 moorhen, 1 Cetti's warbler, 3 chiff chaff, 2 sedge warblers, 2 pochards, 2 gadwall, 1 bullfinch
Pelican cove: 2 oystercatchers
Arun Riverlife: 1 lapwing
Lapwing hide: 2 lapwing
Ramsar and Sand martin hide: 6 lapwing, 2 Med Gulls, 3 Cackling geese
Sand martin hide: 1 pygmy shrew, 10 sand martins
Scrape hide: 2 snipe, 1 pochard
Woodloop: 3 mandarin ducks, 1 kingfisher
Sat 15 April
Arun Riverlife: 1 Cetti's warbler, 1 mute swan, 5 Canada geese, 12 black-headed gulls, 4 greylag geese, 10 tufted ducks, 8 mallards, 2 gadwall, 1 grey wagtail, 4 pochard, 1 lapwing
Lapwing hide: 1 lapwing, 1 grey heron,
Wetland Discovery area: 1 pochard
Scrape hide: 1 lapwing
Reedbed hide: 1 sedge warbler
Reedbed boardwalk: 2 mute swans
Woodloop: 2 mandarin ducks
Sand martin hide: c 20 sand martins
Ramsar hide: 8 lapwing, 1 cackling goose, 2 cormorants, 4 lesser-black backed gulls, 1 sedge warbler.