Great crested grebe & toad migration
On Monday and Tuesday evening the warm and damp weather started the annual mass migration of toads to breeding ponds. Reserve Manager Paul Stevens and team rescued over 200 toads (30 males in this bucket) who were crossing Mill Road and heading for the wetland reservec on Monday night. Paul and volunteers rescued another 20 on Tuesday but the temperature has dipped again temporarily halting the toad march. Toads can travel up to three miles to return to breed where they were spawned. Unfortunately some don’t survive the crossing busy roads. The toads travel at night to avoid being picked off by predators, like crows.
30 (male) toads, some of the 200 toads rescued Monday evening by WWT Arundel.
Recent highlights:
- buff-tailed bumblebees
- lapwings from Ramsar and Lapwing hide on wet grasslands
- Chiffchaffs singing
- pair of oystercatchers
- 16 snipe from the Lapwing hide
- 11 gadwall from the Scrape hide
- Teal in pairs
- 5 Hawfinch in the Woodland Loop
- firecrests near the Scrape and Ramsar hides
- kingfishers at Ramsar hide and on the Arun Riverlife lagoon
- signs of water voles eating phragmites (reed) shoots along edges of Arun Riverlife lagoon
Along the paths
- bullfinch
- kingfishers
- song thrush
- goldcrest
- firecrest
- water rail
- long-tailed tits (pairs forming)
Woodland Loop
- great spotted woodpecker (drumming)
- goldfinch
- blue tits
- coal tits
- great tits
- chaffinch
Lost Reedbed
- marsh harrier (roost, 4 sighted Sunday at evening roost
Reedbeds
- Water rail
- Reed bunting
- gadwall ducks
- great tit
- wren
- sparrowhawk
Lagoons
Ramsar, Sand Martin & Scrape
- goldcrest
- bullfinch
- teal
- shoveler ducks
- snipe
- tufted ducks
- shelducks
- little grebe
- kestrel (above)
- little egret
Wetlands Discovery
- pochard ducks
- tufted ducks
- goldcrest
- bullfinch
- kingfisher
- buzzard
Arun Riverlife
- greta crested grebe
- kingfisher
- tufted ducks
- pochard
- teal
- water rail
Wet Grasslands
from Lapwing & Ramsar hides
- snipe
- teal
- lapwing (breeding pairs arriving as flocks break up)
