Lots of lapwing still on site

4 March 2023

Flock of 100+ lapwing still onsite most days, not broken up yet for spring. You will hear the occasional slide-whistle display calls when individual males taking to the air.

Mixed groups of tits in the Woodland Loop (including a coal tit) with chaffinches, gold finches and a great spotted woodpecker as well. On Friday a gold crest was spotted on the approach to the Sand martin hide.

We've continued to see an oystercatcher or two around this week nearer Ramsar hide. Fewer snipe sightied but they are still around. Fewer gulls too but 67 common gulls on Wednesday (they're not usually that common)!

A big thanks to former Reserve Manager Paul Stevens (now of Paul Stevens Ecological Services) for building and installing our new owl box. It replaces one of our older, well used owl nest box on the Wetland Discovery area. Well be watching and checking it for owlets in ringing season.

Our common tern decoys are back out on the gravel islands (photo above), to entice other terns to nest.

Fri 3 Mar

Ramsar & Sand martin hide: 164 lapwing, 1 wigeon, 15 shelducks, 1 gold crest on the bank approaching Sand Martin hide

Wood Loop: 16 blue tits, 12 chaffinches, 5 great tits, 1 coat tit, 10 goldfinches, 3 robins, 2 blackbirds, 1 great spotted woodpecker, 1 mallard, 2 green finch and 3 long-tailed tits

Thurs 2 March

Reedbed: 14 mallards, 6 blue tits, 1 wren, 2 great tits, 1 dunnock, and 2 pheasants

Ramsar hide: 110 lapwing, 2 snipe, 1 oystercatcher, 9 wigeon, and 2 cormorants.

Wetland Discovery: 8 tufted ducks, 2 pochard

Sand martin hide: 2 mute swans, 13 wigeon, 75 lapwing, 11 tufted ducks

Scrape hide:4 snipe, 5 tufted ducks

Wood loop: 1 marsh tit

Arun Riverlife lagoon: 15 pochard

Wednesday 1 March

Scrape hide: 11 Canada geese, 2 teal, 9 mallard, 11 shoveler, 2 gadwall, 5 snipe. Great egret in late afternoon

Arun Riverlife: 6 pochard

Wetland Discovery: 2 pochard, 1 kingfisher

Ramsar and Sand martin hide: 113 lapwing, 3 Med. Gulls, 67 common gull, 16 shelducks, 2 pochard, 1 mandarin duck, 3 wigeon, and 14 mandarin flying over

Tues 28 Feb

Wetland Discovery: 5 pochards

Ramsar & Sand martin hides: 19 Canada geese, 14 mallard, 5 greylag goose, 15 shelduck, 1 cormorant, 2 oystercatcher, 10 coot, moorhen 2, 52 black-headed gull, 58 lapwing, 4 shoveler, 9 pochard, 2 tufted1 wigeon, 9 teal, 4 gadwall

Scrape hide: 9 snipe