Today's sightings
Holden Walkway
The Tack Piece was busy with birds again this morning, and a slight increase in the number of White-fronted Geese, up to 170 birds. Several hundred Wigeon and Lapwing were present, with a mix of Teal, 14 Shoveler, 20 Shelduck and the seemingly ever present Redshank. A flock of Dunlin that had roosted on the Rushy flipped over the hedge at feed time and spend the day with the Lapwing flock.
Out on the Dumbles the Barnacle Goose flock numbered around 200, feeding out towards the river. On the river were around 50 Pintail, watched over by a Peregrine sat on the mudbank.
A Water Rail has been showing well from the Willow Hide recently, so be sure to call in and check.
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Zeiss Hide
Eerily quiet on the Top New Piece by the standards of the last week, perhaps the Goshawk was once again present. A mixed wader flock was still present though and included around 300 Lapwing, 148 Golden Plover and a few Dunlin. Duck numbers were also low with only around 100 Wigeon present.
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South Lake Hides
A great mixed flock of waders were present for most of the day including 600+ Lapwing, 50+ Dunlin, 15 Ruff and 117 Black-tailed Godwits, which were later joined by around 25 Golden Plover. A couple of Snipe were seen feeding around the edges of the scrape and 3 Oystercatchers were present. The birds also head out to feed around the Big Pen, so check for them amongst the Coot and Moorhen as you leave the visitor centre. A male Mandarin dropped in briefly and a Wigeon was also seen.
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