Wildlife sightings for 9th February 2014
2 Bittern - main lake
2 Shelduck - scrape
2 Pintail - main lake
1 Jack Snipe - scrape
4 Snipe
1 Golden Plover - flew W
2 Caspian Gull - marsh and main lake
1 Little Gull, adult winter - flew over main lake then went NE, c. 9:15 a.m.
1 Yellow-legged Gull, 1st winter - main lake
1 Brambling - south route bird feeders
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.
