Recent Sightings (6th-8th June)
British Steel Hide
Recently 16 Lapwing have been seen on the NRA Scrapes, along with 2 others near the saline lagoon, with 1 of these individuals being a successful fledgling from our breeding Lapwing on the Millennium Wetlands. Other counts include 3 Spoonbill, 1 Black-Tailed Godwit, 5 Mute Swan, 28 Greylag Geese, 45 Shelduck, 17 Gadwall and 9 Shoveler. Other ducks included 8 Teal, 5 Tufted Duck and 5 Mallard. A count of 46 Curlew and 80 Starling out on the estuary was made on 6th, along with 2 overhead Mediterranean Gulls.
Millennium Wetlands
On the water, a variety of bird life can be seen. There have been 7 Pochard on Deep Water Lake, joined with 35 Gadwall enjoying the abundance of food our waters have to offer, and 2 Tufted Duck, 6 Mallard, 2 Shelduck, a Little Egret (which was seen to be the victim of some aggressive Lapwing behaviour!), Mute Swan and 326 Black-Tailed Godwit. Around 100 adult Black-Headed Gulls are still in the area, and although vegetation makes chick counts difficult, look out for the few that can be seen around the edges of the stony islands in front of the Peter Scott Hide. Recently we have also discovered the highly secretive Water Rail is around with chicks in the Reedbeds. There are also juvenile Reed Buntings to be seen in this habitat on the reserve too!
Other Wildlife
There are many insects on the wing. Sights include Large Red-Eyed Damselfly, Black-Tailed Skimmer, Azure and Common Damselfly and Emperor Dragonfly, Common Blue, Speckled Wood and Copper butterfly. Plants are blooming. In amongst the grasses look out for Meadow Vetchling and Southern Marsh Orchids and the Pond Walk is a great place to see Greater Spearwort in flower.
