Flock of lapwing & a flush of snipe
Our wardens spotted the glossy ibis back at the Scrape hide on Monday morning at 8 am. That was the last recorded sighting of it here onsite.
Monday’s warm sun also brought a red admiral butterfly out of hibernation along the reedbed boardwalk among the carr woodland. On Thursday fifty lapwing landed on Arun Riverlife lagoon briefly in the morning before taking to the air. Wardens also flushed up 60 snipe while working in the area.
The contractors are just finishing up the edging in front of the Sand martin and Ramsar hides this week so we will slowly start reintroducing water to the lagoon project over the weekend. Water levels are higher already with overnight showers making large ponds attracting coots, shoveler, mallards and black-headed gulls.
Plenty of ducks pairing up for spring, particularly from the Scrape hide. Rumours that some grey herons might be nest building out there too!
Daily sightings by WWT Reserve wardens
These sightings target site locations on a rotating basis on a morning walk-through of the site.
Wed 2 Feb
Scrape hide: 10 male and 3 female shoveler, 2 coots, 7 pairs of teal, 1 pair of shelducks, 6 male and 2 female mallards, 6 greylag geese,45 Canada geese, 1 grey heron, 1 male and 2 female gadwall, 2 moorhen
Arun Riverlife: 2 pair of pochard
Tues 1 Feb
Ramsar & Sand martin hides: 1 woodpigeon, 2 black-headed gulls, 1 pair of shelducks, 1 moorhen, 1 pair of mallards, and 1 pair of shoveler
Arun Riverlife: 3 pairs of pochards
Reedbed: 1 marsh harrier at 4.20pm
Mon 31 Jan
Scrape hide: 1 glossy ibis in fen cut at 8 am
Arun Riverlife: 14 snipe, flushed
Pelican Cove: 1 pair of pochard
Sussex screen: 1 mandarin duck
Reedbed: 1 admiral butterfly.
Sun 30 Jan
Pelican Cove: 3 pochards
Wetland Discovery: 2 coots, 6 Canada geese, 10 mallards, 1 kingfisher, 4 tufted ducks
Sat 29 Jan
Arun Riverlife: 16 Canada geese, 34 mallards, 11 shelducks, 4 greylag, 2 mute swans, 1 kingfisher, 6 pochard, 18 tufted ducks, 4 coots, 3 moorhens, 44 black-headed gulls, 1 gadwall, 4 snipe, 1 grey heron
Ramsar & Sand martin hide: 1 greenshank
Fri 28 Jan
Scrape hide: 1 grey heron, 1 cormorant, 11 Canada geese, 4 pairs of shoveler, 14 teal, 2 shelducks, 4 coots, 1 moorhen, 12 mallards, and 2 wigeon
Wood loop: 8 blue tits, 1 water rail, 4 pheasants, 3 sparrows, 4 chaffinches
Arun Riverlife: 4 pochards, 5 Canada geese, 7 male and 4 female tufted ducks, 2 greylag geese, 1 pair of shoveler, 5 mallards, 1 kingfisher
Thurs 27 Jan
Ramsar hide: 2 shelducks, 4 male and 7 female teal
Reedbed hide: 1 Cetti’s warbler, 2 mallards, 1 water rail
Reedbed: 1 firecrest, 3 blue tits, 2 wood pigeon, 1 vole, 1 blackbird, 2 robins
Arun Riverlife lagoon: 50 lapwing landed on Arun Riverlife briefly, 60 snipe flushed up on Arun Riverlife
