Work continues
If you have visited the reserve recently you will no doubt have noticed lots of work taking place around the Tack Piece and fields to the north.
If you have visited the reserve recently you will no doubt have noticed lots of work taking place around the Tack Piece and fields to the north. At present the excavator is working on an extension to the Tack Piece scrape, adding more water area towards the new Estuary Tower along with a new island and penninsulars from the Stephen Kirk Hide. The photo above shows the extension and the view from the top of the new the new hide over the Tack Piece.
Zeiss Hide
The Bittern was seen again several times today, first seen in flight from the reedbed rides moving to the island to the south towards the Van de Bovenkamp Hide. The bird was later seen back in the rides in front of the Zeiss Hide. Out on the scrape well before high tide were two juvenile Curlew Sandpiper, 997 Teal, 4 Shoveler, 17 Black-tailed Godwit, 17 Redshank, 116 Dunlin, 13 Ringed Plover, 15+ Snipe and 4 Ruff. A Buzzard was sat on the hedge by the pillbox, and another out on the Dumbles cross fence. A flock of 12 Cranes were out on the Dumbles mid morning along with at least 5 Ruff.
South Lake
A juvenile Black Tern was roosting on waders scrape this morning along with 186 Teal, 29 Lapwing, 6 Redshank and 295 Black-tailed Godwit. The deep lake held 80 Tufted Duck, 4 Pochard, 45 Shoveler and a Little Grebe.
Martin Smith Hide
A Stoat was bouncing around on the left hand island whilst watching out on the water were a juvenile Shoveler and 6 Teal. Later in the morning a Kingfisher was showing very well on the perches.
Rushy Hide
A Green Sandpiper was on the overflow this morning in front of the hide whilst the rest of the lower pond held 398 Teal, an Avocet, a Pintail and a Grey Heron.
