Lapwing pairs, oystercatcher and toad

Toads breeding in the ponds, lapwings displaying, our oystercatchers return.

4 min read • 28 February 2026

There was a noticeable shift toward early spring activity this week, with an oystercatcher returning, seen at several spots.

Their presence was consistent throughout the week, with a pair seen at the Arun Riverlife Lagoon, Pelican Cove, the Waterside Walk, and regularly around the Ramsar and Sand Martin hides. Their striking black‑and‑white plumage makes them easy to spot, and they are likely deciding where to nest this season.

Lapwings numbers are down suggesting the winter flocks are breaking up but the pairs that remain are showing courtship behaviour. By Friday, six pairs were clearly visible on the wet grassland, and earlier in the week up to 21 birds were seen displaying and scraping on the Large Lagoon. Their tumbling aerial displays and distinct “peewit” calls reinforce that the breeding season is beginning. Numbers throughout the week ranging from the low twenties to over thirty at peak times.

On Tuesday and Thursday the ponds at our entrance boardwalk were 'hopping' with toads. Males competing over females and egg laying by the larger females. Strings of toad eggs could be and some clumps of frog spawn as well. Thanks to WWT Arundel's Toad Patrol the ponds is stocked with common toads rescued from Mill Road's traffic over the past month.

Thursday brought an impressive gathering of gulls across the reserve, with the Large Lagoon hosting a remarkable 330 common gulls, creating a lively scene as they rested and fed together on the open water. Mixed among them were five striking Mediterranean gulls, their clean white plumage and distinctive black hoods sometimes confusing them with black-headed gulls.

Songbirds added further vibrancy to the reserve, especially around the Woodland Loop and reedbed edges. Great tits and blue tits were abundant, accompanied by chaffinches, goldfinches, and the occasional greenfinch. Notable sightings included a firecrest, a marsh tit, and a beautifully singing song thrush, hinting that resident birds are already beginning to set up territories. Wrens, robins, woodpeckers—both great spotted and green—along with redpolls and a goldcrest, contributed to a rich chorus throughout the week.

Overall, we are seeing an excellent mix of shifting seasonal behaviour signalling that spring is on its way.

Highlights: marsh harriers, common gulls, firecrest, goldcrest, oystercatchers, lapwing pairs

Sat 28 Feb

Arun Riverlife lagoon: 1 coot, 2 moorhen, 2 oystercatchers, 6 black headed gulls, 5 tufted ducks, 8 mallards, 14 Canada geese, 12 greylag geese,1 goosander, 2 gadwall, 2 pied wagtails, 1 cormorant, 2 herring gulls, 1 pochard

Reedbed boardwalk: 2 redpolls

Scarpe Hide: 3 pochard

Wetland Discovery Area: pochard

Ramsar and Sand martin hide: 29 lapwings, 2 oystercatchers, 2 pochard, 49 cattle egrets, 30 snipe

Reedbed: 1 marsh harrier circling reedbed at 8 am.

Fri 27 Feb

Wetland Discovery area: 2 pochard (male and female pair)

Ramsar and Sand martin hides: 48 cattle egrets, 21 lapwing(6 pairs on wet grassland), 2 oystercatchers, 34 snipe, 1 pochard, 4 cacklingXbarnacle geese

Scrape hide: 1 pochard

Arun Riverlife lagoon:2 pochards

Woodland Loop: 1 great spotted woodpecker. 11 woodpigeons, 12 great tits, 12 blue tits,8 chaffinches, 1 blackbird, 3 mandarins, 1 wren, 2 dunnock, 1 robin, 1 marsh tits, 3 moorhen, 1 nuthatch, 1 greenfinch, 1 coal tit, 1 firecrest, 2 goldfinches.

Thurs 26 Feb

Waterside walk: 1 pochard, 2 oystercatcher

Pelican Cove: 2 oystercatcher (same pair)

Lapwing hide: 2 marsh harrier

Wetland Discoery: 3 pochard (2 male one female)

Large Lagoon: 330 common gulls, 5 Mediterranean gulls, 2 oystercatchers, 4 caclingXbarnacle geese cross, 21 lapwing displaying and scraping, 6 pochards, 17 teal (12 male 5 female), 51 cattle egrets, 36 snipe, 1 Egyptian geese, 1 great white egret, 4 pochard

Pond on approach to Scrape hide: 2 bullfinches, 1 little grebe, 2 pochards

Reedbed: 23 mallards, 4 moorhens, 1 gret tit, 2 water rails, 1 robin, 2 Canada geese, 2 voots, 2 goldfinches, 1 herring gull, 1 blackbird, 1 reedbunting, 1 chiffchaff, 1 blue tit

Woodland Loop: 1 song thrush, 1 great spotted wood pecker

Front ponds: toads and a few frogs, mating competition and egg laying.

Wed 25 Feb

Arun Riverlife Lagoon: 1 little egret

Tranquil Trail: 2 redpolls, 1 goldcrest

Wetland Discovery are: 3 pochards

Ramsar and Sand martin hide: 84 cattle egrets, 24 lapwing, 1 oystercatcher, 37 snipe, 8 common gulls, 4 barnacle X cackling goose cross

Scrape hide: 1 snipe, 13 pochard, 8 greylag goose, 4 Canada goose, 1 pheasant, 29 teal, 16 mallards, 1 long-tailed tit, 1 goosander, 6 tufted ducks, 4 shoveler, 2 coots, 1 moorhen, 1 wood pigeon, 2 gadwall.

Front ponds: toads and a few frogs, mating competition and egg laying.

Tues 24 Feb

Ramsar and Sand Martin Hide: 59 cattle egrets, 1 oystercatcher, 9 greylag geese, 7 cormorants, 22 teal, 25 lapwing, 10 Canada geese, 10 gadwall, 4 coots, 2 moorhens, 18 mallards, 5 shoveler, 2 woodpigeons, 19 tufted ducks, 4 pochards, 1 shelducks, 36 snipe, 2 herring gulls, 15 black-0headed gulls, 1 Egyptian goose, 2 cackling X barnacle goose crosses, 2 2 carrion crow, 1 great tit.

Wetland Discovery: 1 pochard

Scrape hide: 10 pochard

Reedswamp exhibit: 1 pochard

Arun Riverlife lagoon: 5 pochard

Front ponds: toads and a few frogs, mating competition and egg laying.

Sun 22 Feb

Arun Riverlife lagoon: 2 pochards, Lakes and Forests 2 pochards.

Reedbed East ditch: 8 pochards

Scrape hide: 4 pochards

Ramsar and Sand martin hides: 6 pochards, 30 lapwing, 11 snipe

Wetland Dscovery Hide: 20 mallard, 3 greylag, 8 Canada geese, 2 coots, 2 chaffinches, 1 blackbird, 1 song thrush, 1 great tit, 8 blue tits, 1 wren, 3 wood pigeon.