Osprey and Hobby
With autumn upon us, species across the site are changing.
We are seeing the odd flock of martins and swallows feeding up as they gather before their epic migration.
A rather obliging osprey has been showing well over the reserve for the past couple of weeks and posing for many visitor pics. The osprey is also taking advantage of the abundant food supplies on site to help fuel its migration to warmer climes for the winter. The osprey photo above was taken by regular visitor Alec Pelling.
A hobby has also been spotted on site, maybe attracted by the swallows and martins. They also hunt dragonflies - our boat driver Clive had exciting views of a hobby in pursuit of a dragonfly on Wetlands Discovery last Tuesday.
We are getting around 100 cattle egrets in to roost in their usual spots, with numbers boosted by this summer’s abundance of young from the 34 nest we had onsite!
Most wildfowl are now in full colour following their annual moult, although teal are always a little later with this – the males are starting to regain their colourful plumage now. There are many gadwall, tufted duck and shoveler around, with teal numbers increasing, and the odd pochard, shelduck and wigeon here and there.
Highlights: osprey, hobby, peregrine, linnets, pintails, great white egret, pintails
Wed 8 Oct
Scrape hide: 42 mallards, 23 gadwall, 6 shovelers, 17 teal, 4 long-tailed tits, 1 moorhen, 1 magpie, 2 Canada geese, 1 shelduck, 1 little grebe, 1 water rail, 1 carrion crow.
The Long path: 1 green woodpecker.
Tues 7 Oct
Reedbed: 8 linnets
Ramsar and Sand martin hide: 1 Cetti’s warbler, 20 mallards, 26 gadwall, 2 Egyptian goose, 9 shoveler, 1 shelduck, 2 coots, 1 black-headed gull, 5 cormorants, 2 woodpigeons, 1 cattle egrets, 1 teal
Scrape hide: 1 pintail
Wetland Discovery area: 1 osprey
Mon 6 Oct
Lapwing hide: 1 robin, 1 dunnock, 1 Cetti’s warbler, 1 grey heron
Ramsar and Sand Martin hide: 4 lapwing
Arun Riverlife lagoon: 1 pochard
Scrape hide: 1 kingfisher, 1 snipe, 1 water rail
Wetland Discovery: 1 tree creeper
Sun 5 Oct
Wetland Discovery area: 1 woodpigeon, 1 Cetti’s warbler, 2 coots, 2 mallards
Ramsar and Sand Martin hide: 7 lapwing
Scrape hide: 1 pintail, 1 kingfisher, 1 water rail, 1 osprey perched in tree upsetting a magpie and a pair of crows.
Sat 4 Oct
Arun Riverlife lagoon: 30 mallards, 1 kingfisher, 5 tufted ducks, 2 gadwall, 7 greylags, 1 teal, 5 blue tits, 1 dunnock
Pelican Cove: 10 tufted ducks
Ramsar and Sand Martin hide: 7 lapwing, 1 great white egret, 3 cattle egrets, 28 greylag geese.
Fri 3 Oct
Woodland Loop: 2 moorhens, 6 blue tits, 1 robin, 4 great tits, 1 coal tit, 1 wren, 2 chaffinches, 1 wood pigeon
Sand martin hide: 1 shelduck, 2 sand martins
Reedbed: 2 ravens
Scrape hide: 1 great white egret, 4 teal, 2 pintails, 1 kestrel
Ramsar hide: 21 greylag geese, 1 cattle egret, 3 cormorants
Wetland Discovery: 2 swallows
Arun Riverlife: 1 osprey
Thurs 2 Oct
Ramsar and Sand Martin hide: 1 great white egret, 8 cormorants, 1 kingfisher, 46 lapwings (flew in then left down river)
Scrape hide: 1 shelduck, 16 teal, 1 kingfisher, 1 pintail
Reedbed Willow sphere: 2 great tits, 1 Cetti’s warbler, 4 linnets, 1 moorhen, 2 gadwall, 2 Canada geese, 41 mallards, 1 mute swan, 2 robins, 3 blue tits, 1 bullfinch
Woodland Loop: 1 nuthatch, 1 coal tot, 1 great spotted woodpecker
Willow Sphere: 1 snipe
Scrape hide: 2 pintails
Ramsar hide: 1 hobby, 1 green woodpecker.
Wed 1 Oct
Ramsar and Sand Martin hide: 34 lapwing, 2 wigeon, 1 shelduck
Scrape hide: 1 marsh harrier, 1 grey heron, 51 mallards, 15 gadwall, 10 teal, 16 shoveler, 2 Canada geese.
