Recent Sightings 12th-14th February
Highlights - Merlin, Red-breasted Merganser, Spoonbill, Jack Snipe and Water Pipit
British Steel Hide
A very high tide forced hundreds of birds very close in front of the Steel Hide and on the the Dafen Scrapes. On the Saline Lagoons there was a good selection of waders including: Black-tailed Godwit, Knot, Jack Snipe, Snipe, Redshank. Greenshank, Dunlin, Curlew and Lapwing. Four Spoonbills were pushed up by the high tide. Lots of wildfowl including Teal, Wigeon, Shoveler, Mallard, Gadwall, and Shelduck. There were a couple of Buzzards perch on the salt marsh posts looking for an easy meal and a Merlin dashed past the Steel Hide with a prey item. Out on the estuary there was a single Red-breasted Merganser but choppy water made spotting birds difficult. There wasn't much on the Dafen Scrapes but a colour ringed Dunlin was a nice surprise. There were good numbers of Pipits scattered over the Dafen Scrapes and Saline Lagoons with at least a few Water Pipits mixed in.
Millennium Wetlands
Decent numbers of wildfowl on the Deep Water Lake which includes: Shoveler, Tufted Duck, Pochard, Teal, Gadwall, and Mallard. A Sparrowhawk and Merlin were seen from the Peter Scott Hide as was a Kingfisher and Green Woodpecker. There were Lapwings displaying over the Deep Water Lake and a Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard drumming in the trees behind the Peter Scott Hide, a sign that spring isn't far away.
