Sand martins favour nest holes near the wildlife camera
On Tuesday Reserve Manager Suzi Lanaway spotted the male kingfisher taking a fish into hole 5 on the Arun Riverlife lagoon kingfisher nesting bank. The fact that the kingfisher was holding the fish’s tail inside his mouth with the head poking forward leads Suzi to feel he is feeding young.
Suzi said “If the kingfisher was holding the fish so you could see its tail it would be for its own lunch. Carrying it into a hole fish-head first means it’s for young ones.”
Video from the wildlife camera on the Sand Martin hide was recently downloaded and shows the sand martin activity through April. There was a lot of interest in the nesting holes near the speaker and in the centre of the opposite wing.
A few lone, male shelducks and shovelers about may mean their females are on eggs.
The oystercatchers are still nesting in front of the Coastal Creek aviary. More on that story here.
Also Saint Mark’s flies emerged on Sunday 9 of May and were everywhere Sunday through Tuesday!
Wildlife sightings
Wednesday 12 May
Scape hide: 1 marsh harrier male flew up from reeds at right of the hide and headed across up Arun River, 71 black-headed gulls, 9 mallards (& 6 ducklings), 2 male gadwall, 2 pairs Canada geese, 2 pairs of pochard, 1 moorhen, 1 male shelduck, 1 male tufted duck, 6 sand martins, 1 swift, 4 house martins, 1 swallow, 1 Cetti’s warbler, 1 air of greylag geese, 3 reed warblers, 1 sedge warbler.
Sand martin hide: 1 male oystercatcher, 8 male and 7 female tufted ducks, 1 male shoveler 1 male shelduck, 20 sand martins
Ramsar hide: 6 gadwall (2 pairs and 2 males), 1 male shelduck, a pair of tufted ducks, a pair of lapwing, 1 pochard
Lapwing hide: 2 pairs of lapwing plus one male, 1 grey heron, 1 male reed bunting singing, 1 male gadwall.
Wetland Discovery reed channels:1 hobby, a pair plus one male tufted ducks, 1 blackcap female.
Arun Riverlife: 1 male shelduck, 2 pairs of tufted ducks, 1 male pochard
Coastal creek: 1 female oystercatcher, 1 male gadwall
Meadow pond: 1 tree creeper
Wood Loop: 1 male blackcap singing
Reedbed: 2 tree creepers
Sussex screen: 2 pairs of tufted ducks, 1 male gadwall
Reedbed hide: 1 male reed bunting
Tuesday 11 May
Tranquil Trail path: 1 great spotted woodpecker, 1 song thrush
Ramsar hide: 7 adult greylag geese and 5 goslings, 1 air of lapwing, 5 adult and 2 gosling Canada geese, 1 cackling goose, 3 male and 2 female tufted ducks, 34 black-headed gulls, 6 male and 3 female mallards, 2 pair of gadwall
Sand martin hide: 1 swallow, 1 mute swan, 1 oystercatchers, 1 moorhen.
Monday 10 May
Lapwing hide: 3 pairs of Canada geese and 7 goslings, 2 pairs of greylag geese with 4 goslings, a pair of gadwall, 1 coot, a pair of tufted ducks, 2 pairs of lapwing – one female was sitting
Wetland Discovery: 20 house martins
Ramsar hide: 1 pair lapwing with female sitting, 10 house martins, 1 female pochard, and 1 oystercatcher.
Coastal Creek: 1 female oystercatcher sitting
Arun Riverlife: 1 pair of pochards, 1 male kingfisher – feeding young in hole 5
Sunday 9 May
Wetland discovery: 9 male and 3 female mallards, 1 pheasant, 1 wren, 3 gadwall,5 Canada geese, 2 lack-headed gulls, 2 reed warbler, 5 sedge warbler, 1 coot, 3 blackbirds, 3 tufted ducks, 1 Cetti’s warbler, 1 chiff chaff, 4 grass snakes under survey tins.
Scrape hide: black-headed gull nest on fen cut.
Ramsar hide/Sand martin hide: a pair of lapwing with female sitting, a pair of oystercatchers on left island, a pair of pochard, 1 common sandpiper, 18 black-headed gulls on nests.
Everywhere: St. Mark’s flies.
