Out of the murk

Another sign of Spring this morning when out of the murk and the rain came a Sand Martin, our first of the year, out over the Top New Piece.

Another sign of Spring this morning when out of the murk and the rain came a Sand Martin, our first of the year, out over the Top New Piece

Martin was working in the field on the tractor when he spotted the bird, and local reports suggest more have arrived too with a flock of 17 over the lakes at the nearby village of Frampton.

Our last Bewick's Swan is still with us, Vinn. This morning he was on the Big Pen ponds near the Visitor Centre.

Rushy Hide
We'll soon be handing the Rushy over to the breeding birds but for a few more days we'll be giving a light feed along the shoreline between the hide and the Peng Observatory to give the duck a boost before they leave to migrate to their breeding grounds. Counts this morning included 163 Pintail and 21 Pochard. A pair of Oystercatcher were on the islands and 5 Avocet were on the lower pond.

South Lake
The 64 Avocet were still here this morning so the birds of the Rushy take us to 69 birds on the reserve. Most birds were feeding but some of the pairs had broken away and were having their 'conference' to decide who gets to nest on which island this year - it all looks so civilized. Other waders included 5 Redshank, 31 Black-tailed Godwit and 9 Snipe. There were several passes by a Kingfisher this morning and we've head a reasonable amount of activity all week in the area. Duck included 95 Shoveler, 22 Teal plus a single Pochard on the deep lake. Nine Cormorant were sat out on the rail and islands.

Zeiss Hide
Along with the first Sand Martin of the year other birds on Top New Piece included 280 Teal, 24 Dunlin, 23 Black-tailed Godwit, 10 Redshank and 56 Lapwing.

• Share this article