Oystercatcher chicks
It’s been a positive week for oystercatchers with two chicks spotted on the island opposite the Sand martin hide.
Theses two likely hatched around the weekend of 24th May. Another pair is still sitting tight on a nest over on the Arun Riverlife lagoon. These islands, with their bushy plant cover, are good hiding places for the chicks.
The sand martins are lively, with lots of young birds now fledging from the nest chambers at the hide. You can see them constantly darting in and out of the holes, getting used to flying and feeding on the wing. Numbers have been high too, with around 120 birds recorded at times, which gives a real sense of how busy the colony is right now. It’s a great time to watch them, as there’s non-stop activity pretty much throughout the day.
Lapwings have been making their presence known in a different way, with plenty of defensive behaviour. Males have been seen mobbing predators like marsh harriers and crows, while a female is staying close to nesting area. It’s a good reminder of how exposed their nests can be and how hard these birds work to protect them. Even with the pressure, they’re still trying to hold their ground on site.
Mallards are continuing to do well too, with several broods spotted in different areas. There were females with ducklings on the scrape, as well as good numbers elsewhere, including around the woodland and reedbeds.
Highlights: marsh harrier, goosander,
Sat 30 May
Arun Riverlife lagoon: 1 mute swan, 1 grey heron, 2 Canada geese, 2 tufted ducks, 2 mallards, 1 oystercatcher, 5 sand martins, 1 greenfinch, 1 wren.
Lakes & Forests: 1 gadwall.
Ramsar and Sand Martin hide: c120 sand martins, 2 oystercatchers with one chick visible, 1 male lapwing.
Waterside walk: 2 mute swans with 4 cygnets.
Scrape hide: 1 male lapwing mobbing male marsh harrier, 1 marsh harrier circling the reedbed, 20 sand martins, 1 tufted duck.
Fri 29 May
Woodland Loop: 1 nuthatch, 2 mandarins, 1 jackdaw, 3 chiffchaffs, 6 blue tits, 7 chaffinches (1 juvenile), 1 great spotted woodpecker, 2 moorhens, 12 mallards, 1 blackcap, 1 Cetti’s warbler, 1 robin, 3 great tits.
Thurs 28 May
Waterside walk: 2 pochard.
Ramsar and Sand Martin hide: 1 little egret on the nest tree, 3 lapwing mobbing crow with 1 female on small island, 18 juvenile black‑headed gulls, 2 oystercatchers with 2 chicks, c80 sand martins, 1 pochard.
Scrape hide: 1 goosander, 2 swallows, 1 little egret, 2 lapwing mobbing the little egret, 3 pochards.
Arun Riverlife lagoon: 1 oystercatcher on nest on the island.
Reedbeds: 1 reed warbler, 1 mallard, 1 marsh harrier, 4 moorhens, 1 blackbird, 2 blue tits, 1 wren, 1 willow warbler, 1 robin, 1 sedge warbler, 1 Cetti’s warbler.
Reedbed Willow Sphere: 6 mallards, 6 tufted ducks, 1 gadwall, 1 pochard, 1 black‑headed gull.
Wed 27 May
Car park: 1 stock dove.
Arun Riverlife lagoon: 2 Egyptian geese, 5 tufted ducks, 1 linnet, 1 buzzard.
Lakes and Forests exhibit: 3 tufted ducks, 8 gadwall.
Woodland Loop: 2 tufted ducks, 1 great spotted woodpecker juvenile, 5 mandarin ducks.
Reedbed: 2 tufted ducks, 1 mandarin, 1 willow warbler.
Reedbed Willow Sphere: 2 tufted ducks, 1 mute swan.
Scrape hide: 4 coots, 4 mallards including 2 females with 6 ducklings, 2 male reed warblers, 1 wren, 17 Canada geese, 3 gadwall, 7 tufted ducks, 1 moorhen, 1 chaffinch, 5 pochards, 2 Cetti’s warblers, 1 lapwing, 1 wood pigeon, 1 blackbird, 4 sand martins, 1 song thrush.
Sand Martin hide: 2 oystercatchers, 4 tufted ducks, 1 shoveler, 8 gadwall, 5 black‑headed gulls, c80 sand martins.
Bewick’s Swan exhibit: 3 tufted ducks.
Waterside Walk: 1 pochard, 2 tufted ducks.
Ramsar hide: 3 lapwing, 1 shoveler, 10 gadwall, 3 cormorants, 2 little egrets, 2 tufted ducks, 1 reed bunting.
Tues 26 May
Ramsar and Sand Martin hide: 2 cormorants, 2 little egrets, 1 cackling goose, 60 Canada geese, 20 greylag geese, 1 lapwing heard calling, 16 tufted ducks, 44 gadwall, 2 pochards, 10 mallards with 10 ducklings, 6 coots, 2 oystercatchers with 2 chicks on the right island, 62 black‑headed gulls with 7 chicks in total.
