Great egret & a crowd of cattle egrets
A great egret was back onsite last week making appearances at the Scrap hide through Sunday. Six cattle egrets spent the afternoon on the cobbled island opposite the Ramsar hide on Tuesday afternoon, photographed by volunteer Andy Burns.
Kingfishers are still around the nesting bank on Arun Riverlife Lagoon. There has been more lapwing activity on the wet grassland between the Scrape and Ramsar hides and the oyster catchers have been around, scouting nest sites? The team did our first butterfly survey on Tuesday - plenty were out in the morning but they seem to hide when they know we are counting! Still we recorded 27.
Wed 23 March
WeBS count (Wetland Birds Survey)
Arun Riverlife: 15 mallards, 2 coots, 2 moorhens, 8 tuftred ducks, 3 shelducks, 3 pochards, 7 Canada geese, 3 greylag geese, 1 shoveler, 2 lapwing, 1 kingfosher, 27 blackheaded gulls, 1 little grebe, 1 barnacle Canada cross goose.
Pelican Cove & outside Coastal Creek aviary: 1 mallard, a coot, 2 moorhens, 1 mure swan, 8 tufted ducks, 8 gadwall, 2 Canada Geese, 1 black-headed gull
Lakes & Forest exhibit: 103 mallards, 5 moorhens, 2 mute swans, 1 pochard
Reed swamp exhibit: 5 mallards, 2 moorhens
Old Black neck swan exhibit: 7 mallards, 2 coots
Trumpeter pen: 29 mallards, 2 coots, 1 water rail
Reedbed boardwalk: 28 mallard, 2 coots, 2 Canada geese, 1 kingfisher
Reedbed hide: 1 mallard, 2 coots, 1 moorhen
Scrape hide: 5 mallards, 2 coots, 1 moorhen, 2 tufyted ducks, 2 teal, 1 shelduck, 2 gadwall, 6 Canada geese, 2 greylag geese, 7 shovelers, 1 kingfisher, 45 black-headed gulls
Old Trumpeter exhibit: 2 mallards, 1 coot, 1 moorhen, 1 water rail
Sand Martin hide: 8 mallards, 2 coots, 1 moorhen4 shelducks, 10 Canada geese, 1 greylag goose, 71 black-headed gulls, 5 common gulls, 1 water rail
Bewick’s swan exhibit: 10 mallards, 1 moorhen
Old Tundra pen: 60 mallards, 1 coot, 2 moorhen, 2 Canada geese, 1 greylag goose, 2 oystercatchers, 3 black-headed gulls
Wetlands Discovery: 9 mallards, 2 coots, 2 moorhens, 1 tufted duck, 12 Canada geese, 2 greylag geese
Ramsar hide: 1 mallard, 3 moorhens, 3 teal, 9 Canada geese, 1 shoveler, 3 lapwing, 78 nblack-headed gulls, 225 common gulls, 2 Mediterranean gulls
Lapwing hide: 1 mallard, 1 coot, 9 moorhens, 2 teal, 2 Canada geese, 2 greylag geese, 2 shjoveler, 2 lapwings
Tues 22 March
Ramsar/Sand martin hide: 6 cattle egrets, 25 Canada geese, 7 greylag geese, 13 mallards, 2 tufted ducks, 1 teal, 106 black-headed gulls, 2 shelducks, 2 gadwall, 57 common gull, 4 coots, 2 moorhens, 3 wood pigeon, 3 lapwing
Lapwing hide: 1 lapwing
Wetland Discovery: 2 pochard
Woodland loop: 2 mandarin ducks, 1 water rail
Butterfly survey 2.30 pm - 4 pm: 27 total - 1 Brimstone, 2 small tortoiseshell, 14 peacocks, 10 commas.
Sun 20 March
Woodloop: 2 mandarin ducks
Ramsar hide: 2 lapwing, both in flight displaying
Sand Martin hide: 2 kingfishers on perch in front of the hide
Scrape hide: 1 great egret, 1 male lapwing
Reedswamp exhibit: 1 oystercatcher
Wetland Discovery: 20 mallards, 6 Canada geese, 1 coot, 1 pochard, 3 tufted ducks
Arun Riverlife: 8 pochard (4 pairs)
Sat 19 March
Arun Riverlife: 29 black-headed gulls, 2 shelducks, 2 greylag geese, 1 coot, 8 mallards, 8 tufted ducks, 2 oystercatchers, 1 pochard, 1 black cap
Wetland Discovery: 6 pochard
Lapwing hide: 1 lapwing
Ramsar hide: 8 Mediterranean gulls, 200 common gulls, 1 pochard.
Woodland Loop: 4 mandarin ducks
Scrape hide: 1 great egret
Fri 18 March
Woodland Loop: 1 nuthatch, 1 wood pigeon, 3 great tit, 4 blue tits, 1 wren, 3 moorhens, 4 pheasants, 1 water rail
Arun Riverlife: 1 kingfisher
Wetland Discovery: 2 pochards
Wet Grassland: 3 lapwing
Ramsar hide: 1 lapwing
Snad Martin hide: 2 oystercatchers
Scrape hide: 1 great egret
Arun Riverlife: 10 pochards
