Sand martins success
Spend some time at the Sand Martin hide to watch the sand martins flying in and out of the burrows in both arms of the artificial nesting banks.
Most afternoons there seems to be quite a few. You can see them in the air over the hide and over the water hawking insects. You can see many martins at the Scrape hide flying over, as well.
A great white egret has been at the Scrape hide for the past few days, up to 11 cattle egrets in the trees between the Ramsar hide and the Snd martin hide. Some have ben seen carrying nesting material.
A few tufted ducks onsite with recently hatched ducklings.
Highlights this week: On Wed 25 June we had a linnet in the Wildlife Garden and a whitethroat at the Lapwing hide. A common tern was at the islands of the Sand Martin hide on Monday but the black-headed gulls weren't too happy and mobbed it.
Mon 30 June
Lapwing hide: 1 Cetti’s warblers, 2 mallards
Ramsar and Sand Martin hide: 7 cattle egrets
Scrape hide: 1 great white egret, 1 black swan
Sun 29 June
Ramsar and Sand martin hides: 1 common tern being mobbed by black-headed gulls, c60 sand martins, 11 cattle egrets, 2 little egrets, 1 great white egret – all spread out in the trees between Ramsar and Sand martin hide.
Wetland Discovery area: 3 mallards, 2 chiffchaffs, 2 goldfinches, 1 song thrush, 2 blue tits, 1 mute swan
Sat 28 June
Arun Riverlife lagoon: 14 black-headed gulls, 7 mallards, 8 gadwall, 1 tufted duck, 14 Canada geese, 1 pied wagtail
Ramsar and Sand martin hide: 10 black-headed gulls – at least 10 juveniles spotted, 5 cattle egrets – 1 carrying nesting material, 4 oystercatchers – 2 fledglings still being fed by 2 parents.
Scrape hide: 2 fledged juvenile tufted ducks, 1 adult tufted duck with a one new duckling, 2 black-headed gulls
Willow Sphere: 1 female tufted duck with 2 ducklings, 2 black-headed gull juveniles.
Fri 27 June
Woodland Loop: 3 juvenile mandarin ducks, 5 chaffinches2 jackdaws, 7 blue tits, 5 great tits, 1 coal tit, 1 blackbird, 1 great spotted woodpecker, 1 dunnock, 1 chiff chaff, 1 blackcap.
Thurs 26 June
Reedbed: 20 greylag geese, 9 Canada geese, 29 mallards, 4 tufted ducks, 14 black-headed gulls, 1 teal, 1 shoveler, 1 coot, 1 blackbird, 1 female tufted duck with 3 ducklings
Ramsar and Sand martin hide: 14 cattle egrets, 1 pochard, 4 oystercatchers- parents and 2 chicks
Wetland Discovery: 1 pochard
Scrape hide: 1 tufted duck, 1 gadwall, 1 pochard, 4 teal
Wed 25 June
Arun Riverlife lagoon: a pair of tufted duck, 4 gadwall ducks
Pelican Cove: 1 oystercatcher
Lakes and Forest exhibit: 1 mandarin duck
Meadow Pond: 1 mandarin duck
Woodland Loop: 1 great spotted woodpecker, 2 mandarin ducks
Reedbed Willow sphere: 10 tufted duck, 1 mandarin duck
Old Trumpeter swan pen:1 cattle egret
Scrape hide: 4 black-headed gulls, 1 song thrush, 2 chiffchaffs, 3 coots, 17 mallards, 1 gadwall, 2 mandarin ducks, 1 wren, 1 blackcap, 4 tufted ducks, 3 wood pigeons, 1 Canada goose, 1 reed warbler, 15 sand martins, 1 chaffinch, 2 cattle egrets, 1 dunnock
Reedbed: 1 water shrew
Wildlife garden: 1 linnet
Sand martin hide: 1 great white egret, 2 cattle egrets, 12 gadwalls, c60 sand martins, 3 oystercatchers, 1 mandarin
Ramsar hide: 16 gadwall, 2 cormorants, 2 tufted ducks, 1 reed bunting, 2 little egrets, 1 kestrel
Lapwing hide: 1 whitethroat
