Sand martins & great crested grebe
At the Sand martin hide we are seeing about 20 sand martins at a go, hawking insects over the water and entering burrows on both ‘wings’ of the hide. A pair of oystercatchers seem to have settled there now, as in previous years - we haven't spotted a nest yet. There are 20+ black-headed gull nests on the right hand island.
From Ramsar hide there are still 6-8 lapwing. We have been seeing two older chicks and 2 younger chicks – the vegetation is getting higher so we don’t see four chicks everyday. We do see parents sometimes taking to the air with warning cries for their chicks.
There are lapwing at the Lapwing hide as well. We have spotted up to 5 lapwing adults mobbing a crow that came into their airspace. Males are still doing the occasional displays but we don’t know for sure if any lapwing are on nests there.
Mon 15 May
Arun Riverlife: 1 pochard, 2 lapwing
Pelican Cove: 1 pochard, 2 oystercatchers
Willow Sphere:1 pochard
Scrape hide: 1 pochard
Ramsar & Sand martin hides: 1 little egret, 2 pochards, 16 sand martins, 3 adult lapwings, 2 chicks spotted
Lapwing hide: grey heron, 6 mallards, 2 tufted ducks, 1 wren, 3 goldfinches, 4 sand martins, 1 wood pigeon, 1 gadwall, 1 shoveler, 2 greylag geese, 4 Canada gees with 3 goslings, 3 lapwing mobbing a crow, 1 brimstone butterfly
Hanger: 1 peregrine.
Sat 13 May
Sand martin & Ramsar hide: great crested grebe fishing, c20 sand martins
Thurs 11 May
Dragonfly survey: 1 banded demoiselle, 1 common blue damselfly, 3 blue-tailed damselflies, 1 azure damselfly
Wed 10 May
Butterfly survey: 3 red admiral, 2 speckled wood
Reptile survey: 3 grass snakes at location 35
Black rabbit triangle: 1 whitethoat.
Wildlife garden: 1 lesser whotethroat singing.
Scrape hide: 3 reed warblers, 2 ood pigeons, 4 greylag geese, 2 pochards, 13 Canada geese, 2 pochards, 1 teal, 2 shoveler, 2 sedge wrblers, 9 mallard ducks, 8 tufted ducks, 1 blackcap, 15 sand martins, 1 cariion crow, 1 goldfinch, 2 swallows
Sand martin hide: 2 oystercatchers, 8 tufted ducks, c20 sand martins, 3 pochard, 1 great crested grebe
Ramsar: 6 tufted ducks, 2 gadwall, 7 lapwing, 3 little egret, 2 cormorants, 1 shoveler, 1 pochard, 4 sand martin
Lapwing: 2 tufted ducks, 5 lapwing, 1 reed bunting, 1 shoveler
Wetland Discovery: 1 long-tailed tit, 1 cuckoo
Trumpeter meadow pond: 7 mandarin
Lakes and Forests: 1 tree creeper
Car park: 1 nightingale north of car park.
Lakes & Forest exhibit: shelduck, pair of pochards
Stag beetles in Wood loop: 1 great spotted wood pecker
Reedbed: 2 chiffchaffs, 2 male pochards
Long path: 1 Cetti’s warbler
Scrape hide: 18 tufted ducks, 1 shelducks, 4 gadwall and 6 coots on old trumpeters pen
Sand martin hide lagoon: 79 black headed gulls, 2 oystercatchers, 1 shoveler, 4 tufted ducks, 8 Canada geese, c20 sand martins, 11 house martins
Ramsar hde: 6 cacklingXCanada geese, 2 little egrets, 1 gadwall, 2 shovelers, 8 lapwing
Lapwing hide: 4 Canada geese, 6 greylag geese, 1 blackcap
Reedbed: 1 tawny owl chick
Arun Riverlife: swimming grass snake
Trumpeter meadow pond: 9 mandarin ducks– 1 female and 8 ducklings
