Recent Wildlife Sightings 5th - 11th February
Highlights: Pallid Harrier, Long-Tailed Duck, Spoonbill, Otter
Persistent rain and misty mornings dominated the week, but a good range of wildlife was around to entertain the hardy visitors that braved the damp.
Highlights: Pallid Harrier, Long-Tailed Duck, Spoonbill, Otter
While the weather this week was pretty miserable, the waterfowl were quite happy for their pools and lakes to be topped up by the rain, with the most abundant species seen from British Steel Hide on our weekly count being Wigeon, Teal and Shoveler. A slightly less common winter visitor, the Pintail, was also spotted this week on the Dafen Scrapes. Wading birds were less frequent, but Redshank, Greenshank and Curlew still made appearances on Saline Lagoon, as well as a pair of Ruff.
Many of the resident passerines (perching birds) also braved the wet weather, with Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Great Tit and Blue Tit regularly appearing at the feeders behind the Visitor Centre (when the squirrel wasn’t stealing their peanuts!).
The Pallid Harrier that has been present since late November swooped over the marshes for a group of birders in British Steel Hide on Friday morning, as well as being seen a bit closer around the Dafen Scrapes on Saturday morning. Sightings were also reported earlier in the week from the Peter Scott Hide. Check out some photos courtesy of My Wild Side in this post on our Facebook page.
With better weather at the weekend, birders arrived on Saturday morning to see a Long-Tailed Duck on the Dafen Scrapes. In its winter plumage, this female was not quite as exotic looking as a breeding male, but with typically just one or two birds recorded in the county each year, it still made for an exciting spot. On Sunday morning, the bird had taken a trip over to the Dafen Scrapes in view of British Steel Hide.
Good numbers of Spoonbill were also recorded throughout the week. These elegant waterbirds have regularly been seen sweeping their unusually shaped bills through the water of the Saline Lagoon this winter, with a total of 16 present on Sunday morning.
Aside from birds, there were several good sightings of Otters around the pools of the Millennium Wetlands. A group of three were seen on Deep Water Lake early in the week, currently believed to all be young. You're most likely to spot these charming mammals in the water in front of Heron's Wing hide
Featured photo credit: My Wild Side
