Recent Wildlife Sightings 20th - 27th September

This morning on the Saline Lagoon, visitors watching from the British Steel Hide spotted a Little Stint amongst the many waders. The smallest of our waders in the UK, this lovely little bird always stands out thanks to its size! Little Stints find their way to our wetlands during their migration from Scandinavia to Southern Europe and West Africa. As they are not residents here in the UK, we only catch them briefly on their passage. Despite its small stature, the Little Stint travels far – and it does it quick too! One bird was recorded as travelling over 1000 km in just three days!

Following on from our invertebrate sightings last week, a Golden-Ringed Dragonfly was sighted by our own Ed Hearn. This month has seen an influx of dragonflies to the wetlands, but this particular species is rarely seen here! The Golden-Ringed Dragonfly stands out amongst its peers as the longest species in the UK. They are also ravenous predators, feasting on large insects, even including other dragonflies!

The Green Woodpecker spotted three weeks ago has returned to the wetlands searching for more ants to terrorise. One of three species of woodpecker in the UK, this bird LOVES ants. It uses its long bill to dig into the dirt as it searches for its favourite meal.

Our final highlight species for this week is the Cattle Egret! Three of these majestic herons were spotted during our early access event at the start of the week. Cattle Egret rarely breed in the UK, but can be spotted more regularly in the winter months. They don’t stop often at the wetlands, so it’s always exciting to see some! The Cattle Egret have a wide diet, consuming anything from grasshoppers and crickets to ticks and flies. It is for this reason that these bovine-loving birds maintain a mutualistic relationship with cattle. The Cattle Egret picks away the hard-to-reach pests from the cow’s back, and gets a tasty dinner in return!

Some other interesting sightings from around the wetland include a Sparrowhawk that has been hanging around for a few days, Grey Wagtails, and a Lesser Whitethroat as it leaves on its migration to Africa. To round out the week, we have heard lots of Water Rail calling from the reedbeds, but they have remained elusive as there has been no sight of them yet.