Sand martins & great crested grebe

At the Sand martin hide we are seeing about 20 sand martins at a go, hawking insects over the water and entering burrows on both ‘wings’ of the hide. A pair of oystercatchers seem to have settled there now, as in previous years - we haven't spotted a nest yet. There are 20+ black-headed gull nests on the right hand island.

From Ramsar hide there are still 6-8 lapwing. We have been seeing two older chicks and 2 younger chicks – the vegetation is getting higher so we don’t see four chicks everyday. We do see parents sometimes taking to the air with warning cries for their chicks.

There are lapwing at the Lapwing hide as well. We have spotted up to 5 lapwing adults mobbing a crow that came into their airspace. Males are still doing the occasional displays but we don’t know for sure if any lapwing are on nests there.


Mon 15 May

Arun Riverlife: 1 pochard, 2 lapwing

Pelican Cove: 1 pochard, 2 oystercatchers

Willow Sphere:1 pochard

Scrape hide: 1 pochard

Ramsar & Sand martin hides: 1 little egret, 2 pochards, 16 sand martins, 3 adult lapwings, 2 chicks spotted

Lapwing hide: grey heron, 6 mallards, 2 tufted ducks, 1 wren, 3 goldfinches, 4 sand martins, 1 wood pigeon, 1 gadwall, 1 shoveler, 2 greylag geese, 4 Canada gees with 3 goslings, 3 lapwing mobbing a crow, 1 brimstone butterfly

Hanger: 1 peregrine.

Sat 13 May

Sand martin & Ramsar hide: great crested grebe fishing, c20 sand martins

Thurs 11 May

Dragonfly survey: 1 banded demoiselle, 1 common blue damselfly, 3 blue-tailed damselflies, 1 azure damselfly

Wed 10 May

Butterfly survey: 3 red admiral, 2 speckled wood

Reptile survey: 3 grass snakes at location 35

Black rabbit triangle: 1 whitethoat.

Wildlife garden: 1 lesser whotethroat singing.

Scrape hide: 3 reed warblers, 2 ood pigeons, 4 greylag geese, 2 pochards, 13 Canada geese, 2 pochards, 1 teal, 2 shoveler, 2 sedge wrblers, 9 mallard ducks, 8 tufted ducks, 1 blackcap, 15 sand martins, 1 cariion crow, 1 goldfinch, 2 swallows

Sand martin hide: 2 oystercatchers, 8 tufted ducks, c20 sand martins, 3 pochard, 1 great crested grebe

Ramsar: 6 tufted ducks, 2 gadwall, 7 lapwing, 3 little egret, 2 cormorants, 1 shoveler, 1 pochard, 4 sand martin

Lapwing: 2 tufted ducks, 5 lapwing, 1 reed bunting, 1 shoveler

Wetland Discovery: 1 long-tailed tit, 1 cuckoo

Trumpeter meadow pond: 7 mandarin

Lakes and Forests: 1 tree creeper

Car park: 1 nightingale north of car park.

Lakes & Forest exhibit: shelduck, pair of pochards

Stag beetles in Wood loop: 1 great spotted wood pecker

Reedbed: 2 chiffchaffs, 2 male pochards

Long path: 1 Cetti’s warbler

Scrape hide: 18 tufted ducks, 1 shelducks, 4 gadwall and 6 coots on old trumpeters pen

Sand martin hide lagoon: 79 black headed gulls, 2 oystercatchers, 1 shoveler, 4 tufted ducks, 8 Canada geese, c20 sand martins, 11 house martins

Ramsar hde: 6 cacklingXCanada geese, 2 little egrets, 1 gadwall, 2 shovelers, 8 lapwing

Lapwing hide: 4 Canada geese, 6 greylag geese, 1 blackcap

Reedbed: 1 tawny owl chick

Arun Riverlife: swimming grass snake

Trumpeter meadow pond: 9 mandarin ducks– 1 female and 8 ducklings

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