Spring migrant update
What a difference a week makes.
After a recent break of six days away, it was great to get back out on the reserve and check the progress of our spring arrivals - and I was not disappointed!
At the start of my walk, I was greeted with a distinctive bird song: “chiff chaff”, “chiff chaff”. The sound of this bird’s song has led to its common name. The chiffchaff is a member of the warbler family and is about the size of a blue tit. Chiffchaffs are summer visitors to Britain, and are some of the first migrant songbirds to arrive in the spring. They spend the winter in the Mediterranean and Africa.
As I headed around site, more chiffchaff and willow warbler could be heard singing, and by the time I reached Wader Lake footpath, the list of warbler species doubled with common whitethroat and blackcap also noted.
I popped into the Diageo Hide at the lake to check the progress of the avocets. Eight were present but none had settled on the island, although there have been signs of courtship and mating, so hopefully they will soon settle down and nest.
There was no sign of common tern, but that was no surprise as they start arriving late April/early May.
What did catch my attention was a male little ringed plover displaying over Wader Lake, as two others watched from the shore. Also flying low over the lake were at least 10 swallows.
After leaving the hide I continued my walk along the footpath and soon heard the rasping, chattering twitter of the sand martin, which were flying up stream.
Later that day, when checking the water flow of the filter reedbed, I managed to get fantastic views of a singing sedge warbler on the tops of the reeds, making that five warblers on my first day back!
The new wildlife ponds are developing well, with more than 200 common toads counted in the ponds and pool. The mating common toads and toad spawn seemed to be in every pond, and add to that all of the new frog spawn that has been laid since I was last around and it’s definitely a case of create the habitat and they will come.
Flora spring highlights include wood sorrel and primrose in full flower at Spring Gill.
John Gowland, Reserve Manager
