Wildlife update from Wader Lake...
NEWSFLASH - a seventh and eight avocet arrived 10/3/2012!
Read on for the latest news from Wader Lake, in the words of our reserve manager, John Gowland.
“At the moment, Wader Lake is definitely the star of the reserve. Hopefully all the hard work put into the habitat management of this area during the winter is paying off.
“Amazingly, the first avocets of the season arrived at around 10am on 2 March – 13 days earlier than the previous record.
“Five birds were spotted by one of our regular members and as word quickly spread, we all gathered around the CCTV camera in Waterside Cafe, which has a live feed from the lake.
"As we watched, we were treated to two more avocets arriving, making a grand total of seven – the highest adult count we’ve ever had! At the time of writing we have six remaining, which will hopefully have a successful breeding season.
“In other news, the grey heron colony has reached around 50 birds, most perched on or near their nests. This time of year is without doubt the best time to observe the herons, as the leaves on the deciduous trees have yet to appear and obscure the nests.
“Other recent highlights include excellent counts of 50+ shelduck across Wader Lake, as well as seven pairs of lapwing setting up nest sites along Wader Meadow.
“Five common snipe have been spotted regularly resting among the rushes along the edge of the lake and wigeon are feeding in the short grass on the west side, while 100+ black-headed gulls have been resting on the water and a pair of oystercatcher has been displaying.”
