Oystercatchers return
A pair of oyster catchers were spotted feeding in the grass around Pelican Cove yesterday. The pair moved over to the rocky island on Arun Riverlife lagoon in Tuesday afternoon.
We think this is one of our regular nesting pairs - likely the pair who have nested near pond in front of the Coastal Creek aviary for past two years. We are not sure if they will nest there because of the new pathway close to previous nesting site but they are very brave - they nested in a building site one year!
A good mix of wildfowl around now - plenty of snipe still here and the lapwing flock not broken up yet. Plenty of pochard around pairing up and gadwall numbers are high.
Please Note: these sightings are from morning counts taken by our wardens. Only certain sections of the site are counted on a rotating basis. This is not a complete record of everything on site.
Tues 21 Feb
Arun Riverlife: 3 male and 2 female pochard
Wetland Discovery: a pair of pochards
Ramsar & Sand Martin hides: 21 snipe, 25 Canada geese, 5 greylag, 6 mute swans, 2 cormorant, 12 Mediterranean gulls, c650 black headed gulls, 123 common gulls, 62 lapwings, 11 tufted ducks, 7 pochard, 8 shoveler, 21 gadwall, 11 coots, 5 moorhens, 17 teal, 12 mallards, 4 shelducks, 1 kingfisher, 1 great egret (afternoon), 5 little egret (afternoon)
Scrape hide: 12 snipe, 13 shoveler, and 1 kingfisher
Pelican Cove: 2 oystercatchers
Sun 19 Feb
Scrape hide: 10 snipe
Ramsar & Sand martin hide: 84 lapwing, 1 wigeon, 100 common gull, 6 pochards, 9 snipe, 3 Mediterranean gulls
Lakes and Forest exhibit: 2 pochard
Willow screen: 2 mandarin ducks
Arun Riverlife: 7 pochards, 1 kingfisher
Long path: 2 brimstone butterflies
Wetland Discovery: 10 Canada geese, 1 coot, 5 black-headed gulls,1 moorhen, 20 mallards, 3 wood pigeon, 2 Cetti’s warblers, 11 tufted ducks, 1 dunnock, 2 long-tailed tits.
Sat 18 Feb
Scrape hide: 5 snipe
Ramsar and Sand martin hides: 12 cattle egrets, 1 oystercatcher fly over, 300 common gulls, 2 lesser-black backed gulls, 1 little egret, 33 Mediterranean gulls, 13 wigeon, 75 lapwings, 8 pochards, 14 snipe
Path crossroads: 6 bullfinches
