Common gulls on spring passage & toads on the move
Big numbers of common gulls have been moving through the reserve with spring passage underway. Wardens counted 200 common gulls last Friday, 110 today with nine Mediterranean gulls mixed in.
Individual male lapwings have been breaking off the main flock on the large lagoon at Ramsar hide and scouting territory at the Lapwing and Scrape hides and on the Arun Riverlife lagoon. These are the usual nesting spots for breeding lapwing at Arundel and this is usual February behaviour.
The toad migration has begun with 10 males spotted crossing the Mill Road and given a helping hand by toad patrollers Lizzy and Lee this week.
Thurs 4 Feb
Arun Riverlife lagoon: 1 lapwing
Wetlands Discovery: 2 pochards
Ramsar and Sand Martin hides: 32 snipe, 2 pochards, 22 lapwing, 110 common gulls, 3 mute swans, 9 Mediterranean gulls
Reedbed: 25 mallards, 1 wren, 2 mandarins, 4 blue tits, 2 goldfinches.
Wed 3 Feb
Arun Riverlife Lagoon: 18 snipe, 1 kingfisher, 16 tufted ducks, 1 lapwing
Wetlands Discovery: 9 greylag geese, 1 grey heron.
Wet grassland: 2 lapwing.
Ramsar and Sand Martin hides: 3 pochard, 14 tufted ducks, 1 cormorant. 8 shelducks, 16 lapwing, 1 snipe.
Scrape hide: 6 teal, 2 greylag, 9 mallards, 3 Canada geese, 5 gadwall, 6 snipe, 2 shelducks, 2 moorhens.
Tues 2 Feb
Arun Riverlife:8 pochards, 1 water rail.
Ramsar and Sand Martin hides: 1 grey heron, 4 greylag, 30 Canada geese, 3 cormorant, 14 shelduck, 8 pochard, 20 snipe, 19 tufted ducks, 23 shoveler, 14 gadwall, 30 mallard, 2 coot, 1 moorhen, 8 teal, 73 black-headed gulls, 22 common gulls, 1 herring gulls, 2 Mediterranean gulls, 19 lapwing, 1 kingfisher
Wood loop: 1 nuthatch, 1 marsh tit.
Mon 1 Feb
Arun Riverlife: 5 pochards
Scrape hide: 6 teal.
Ramsar & Sand Martin hide: 41 teal, 16 snipe, 53 lapwing.
Lapwing hide: 10 teal, 2 shoveler ducks, 2 pheasants, 7 mallards, 2 Canada geese, 3 snipe, 2 lapwing, 1 coot.
Sun 31 Jan
Wetlands Discovery: 1 coot, 4 Canada geese, 70 mallards, 5 pochards, 18 tufted ducks, 10 greylag geese, 1 kingfisher, 2 wood pigeon, 1 bullfinch.
Arun Riverlife lagoon: 1 pochard, 1 lapwing
Ramsar and Sand Martin hide: 12 snipe, 70 lapwing, 12 shelducks, 3 wigeon, and 4 cormorants
Scrape hide: 1 pochard
Sat 30 Jan
Arun Riverlife: 7 pochard, 1 cormorant, 4 tufted ducks, 15 Canada Geese, 2 greylags, 16 mallards, 2 coots, 1 moorhen.
Wetland Discovery: 1 pochard.
Ramsar and Sand Martin hides: 30 snipe, 7 wigeon, 54 lapwing.
Scrape hide: 9 jack snipe.
Fri 29 Jan
Wetlands Discovery: 22 tufted ducks
Lapwing hide: 4 lapwing.
Ramsar and Sand Martin hides: 24 snipe, 1 pochard, 60 lapwings, 200 common gulls, 6 wigeon
Scrape hide: 1 lapwing, 2 snipe.
Wood loop: 3 wood pigeons, 14 blue tits, 1 robin, 3 mallards, 3 moorhens, 1 pheasant, 1 chaffinch, 1 marsh tit, 1 dunnock, 1 great tit.
Willow screen: 2 mandarin ducks.
Arun Riverlife: 8 pochards,
