Wildlife sightings for 10th February 2014
2 Shelduck - scrape
2 Pintail - main lake
49 Wigeon - marsh
1 Bittern - main lake
2 Jack Snipe - scrape
10 Snipe - main lake and scrape
1 Brambling - south route bird feeders
1 Chiffchaff - sheltered lagoon
1 Fieldfare - wildside
6 Redwing - sheltered lagoon
Also:
Shelduck pair seen mating on the main lake
February bird highlights: Bittern, Jack Snipe, Green Sandpiper, Golden Plover, Little Gull, Caspian Gull, Yellow-legged Gull, Brambling.
2 Bitterns have been spotted this month, mostly on the north and south shores of the main lake, with movements into the main reedbed at dusk for roosting.
Smaller numbers of Redwing have still been roosting every evening in the trees around World Wetlands and Wildside. Most of the berries on the Hawthorn, Dog Rose, Holly, Rowan and Guelder Rose have been stripped now.
1-2 Jack Snipe are present still at the start of February, taking advantage of the flooded grazing marsh along with up to 12 Common Snipe. Teal numbers remain high, their favoured feeding grounds being the exposed mud on the wader scrape and the grazing marsh, particularly during high tide when large numbers leave the river to visit the reserve instead. Shovelers remain steady at 70-100 birds, again making use of the flooded grazing marsh for loafing, feeding and roosting.
There's been some interesting Gull sightings (Caspian and Little Gulls) with many birds being moved around the country by the floods in search of feeding and roosting sites.
Early flowering plants: Red Dead-Nettle, Blackthorn, Petty Spurge, Mouse-Ear, Yarrow.
