Toads on the move, Kingfishers & oystercatchers active
Toad migration to breeding ponds picked up again last week on the days when the overnight temps were warmer and the weather was showery.
On Monday Senior Reserve Warden Emma Jacob was on ‘Toad Patrol’ doing 'catch and release' of toads that were brought to a standstill on their journey along our fence line. The visiting Reception class of children from St Mary's school in Worthing were thrilled to get close up looks a the bucket full of toads before the release!
Kingfishers have been around the nesting bank on the Arun Riverlife lagoon. A male perched up on Sunday was chased off by another male, some rivalry between the two pairs we had nesting on site last year? The oystercatchers have been around again mostly on the gravel island on Arun Riverlife and perching on the pelican's logs at Pelican Cove.
Please Note: these wildlife sightings are from morning counts taken by our wardens. Only certain sections of the site are counted each day, on a rotating basis. This is not a complete record of everything you may see on site.
Wed 15 March
Arun Riverlife: 2 oystercatcher on the island, 1 pochard, 1 lapwing displaying and mobbing a crow
Scrape hide: 5 Canada goose, 6 greylag geese, 4 pochards, 10 snipe, 17 shoveler, 12 mallards, 19 black-headed gulls, 1 moorhen
Ramsar & Sand Martin hide: 1 great egret, 2 pochard, 6 Med Gulls, 6 cackling geese, 2 snipe, 8 lapwing displaying
Lapwing hide: 2 lapwings – a pair, male nest scraping
Tues 14 Mar
Arun Riverlife: 2 oystercatchers
Ramsar & Sand martin hide: 10 cattle egrets, 30 Canada geese, 4 greylag geese, 10 coots, 4 moorhens, 4 cormorants, 3 shelducks, 14 gadwall, 14 lapwing, 9 mallards, 1 snipe, 3 pochard, 5 tufted ducks, c350 black-headed gulls, c330 common gulls, 28 herring gull, 16 Mediterranean gulls, 2 lesser-black backed gulls, 4 shoveler
Scrape hide: 15 shoveler, 1 great egret
Mon 13 Mar
Lapwing hide: 3 mallards, 3 Canada geese, 4 greylag geese
Wetland Discovery: 1 pochard
Ramsar & sand martin hide: 2 snipe, 10 lapwing, 8 cattle egret, c 230 common gulls, 4 pochard, 1 lesser black-backed gull
Scrape hide: 1 kingfisher, 1 great egret, 7 snipe,
Arun Riverlife: 2 oystercatchers, 2 kingfishers
Sun 12 Mar
Arun Riverlife: 1 pochard, 2 lapwing mobbing a crow, 1 kingfishers – a male on perch chased off by another male
Wetland Discovery: 5 goldfinches, 19 mallards, 3 pochards, 2 wood pigeons, 1 carrion crow, 8 Canada geese, 1 kingfisher, 10 tufted ducks, 2 greylag gees, 2 chiffchaff
Ramsar and Sand Martin hide: 12 cattle egrets, 1 little egrets, 26 Med. Gulls, 8 lapwing, 1 pochard, and c700 common gulls
Scrape hide: 1 lapwing
