Two broods of Avocet
The Rushy pen
AVOCET NEWS at 0830 this morning a scan of the three nesting pairs revealed that one pair (back right hand island) had four chicks and were feeding in the shallows.
A second pair (front left hand island) had hatched two young which strayed a little way from the nest but the parents are still attending two so far unhatched eggs. These may prove to be infertile but could just be late hatchers.
The third pair in the middle which are fairly well hidden appear to be sitting tight.
It is a crucial time for these delicate waders but they are great parents and will defend young vigourously from predators. The warm weather will help them as they search for insects and plankton. After a initial breeding interest on the Rushy following a programme of improvements to the pools these fine pied waders chose another site and eventually laid eggs in 2012.
This constitutes the second year of actual breeding on the reserve after a pair hatched and three young near the Holden Tower and reared them on the Bottom New Piece, a second pair hatched two young at the South Lake but sadly lost them to predators. Further habitat improvements were made to the Rushy pen site which has paid off.
Other birds present here today include
40+ Black-tailed Godwit
3 Oystercatcher
5 Teal
Black-headed Gull colony
Zeiss Hide
Pintail male -scarce in summer
Teal 20
Robbie Garnett Hide
Green Sandpiper 7
Sloane Tower
Cranes 2 soaring over the site on thermals
