Second kingfisher pair nesting onsite
A second pair of kingfishers seem to be nesting in artificial bank of the Sand martin hide. They have beat the sand martins to the space this year but there is plenty of room on the other side of the bank. We should be seeing sand martins moving through soon as they usually arrive in early April and we have just begun to see swallows on site.
The nesting kingfishers mean we have now closed and locked the windows in the Sand Martin Hide. The windows would usually be closed during sand martin nesting anyway, but this plucky pair of kingfishers have got in there early!
Thanks to visitor Chris Penrice for sending in this photo of a kingfisher on the cobbles near the Sand Martin hide.
Wed 6 April
Sand martin hide: 2 pairs of gadwall, 2 swallows, 3 great black-backed gulls, 2 tufted ducks, 2 pochards, 7 shoveler, 3 Med. gulls
Ramsar hide: 1 lapwing, 2 gadwall, 2 tufted ducks, 2 shoveler, 2 teal, 1 shelduck, 2 lesser black-backed gulls and 13 common gulls
Wetland Discovery: 1 pochard, 6 tufted ducks
Lapwing hide: 1 grey heron, 3 shoveler, 2 barnacle geese, 1 lapwing
Wood loop: 1 mandarin
Sussex Screen: 1 mute swans, 7 Canada geese, 3 coots, 2 shoveler, 2 pochard, 10 mallards, 24 black-headed gulls, 1 moorhen, 4 greylag geese, 7 tufted ducks, 3 wood pigeons, 1 reed bunting, 1 chiff chaff, 2 snipe, 2 Cetti’s warblers
Trumpeter pen: 1 water rail, 2 mandarin ducks
Arun Riverlife: 4 tufted ducks, 2 gadwall, 3 pochards, 1 oystercatcher, 1 lapwing, 1 shelduck, 11 tufted ducks, 10 gadwall, 1 pochard, 1 peregrine, 1 greenfinch
Lakes & Forest exhibit: 1 oystercatcher
Tues 5 April
Arun Riverlife: 3 lapwing, 2 pochard, 2 kingfishers, 1 peregrine
Scrape hide: 1 cormorant, 1 snipe
Lapwing hide: 3 lapwing
Wetland Discovery: 2 pochard
Lapwing hide: 7 snipe
Ramsar & Sand Martin hides: 24 Canada geese, 3 coots, 10 mallards, 88 black-headed gulls, 2 mute swans, 4 shoveler, 2 cormorants, 1 great black-backed gull, 2 lesser black-backed gulls, 4 greylag, 2 kingfisher, 1 pochard, 14 Med. Gulls, 2 shelducks, 4 tufted ducks, 1 Cetti’s warbler, 2 lapwing, 3 cackling geese, 40 common gulls, 2 gadwall
Mon 4 April
Lapwing hide: 2 greylag, 2 shoveler, 6 mallards, 1 coot, 2 snipe.
Ramsar hide: 7 cormorants, 1 pochard
Scrape hide: 2 pochard
Arun Riverlife: 1 kestrel, 1 lapwing, 2 pochard
Sun 3 April
Wetland Discovery: 5 pochards
Ramsar hide: 8 shoveler, 10 black-headed gull, 2 cattle egrets, 2 greater black-backed gulls, 2 lesser black-backed gulls, 6 cackling geese, 1 kingfisher
Sand martin hide: 2 oystercatchers, 3 tufted duck
Lapwing hide: 3 lapwing
Scrape hide: 1 lapwing
Arun Riverlife: 3 tufted ducks, 9 black-headed gulls, 2 Canada geese, 7 mallard, 3 coots, 1 kingfisher
