Secretive Snipe
These camouflaged waders are more numerous than they appear!
There are a lot of snipe on the reserve, although they are difficult to see with their excellent camouflage.
However, when I have to walk out onto Arun Riverlife, there are around 100 snipe hiding in the rushes, as well as around 50 on the wet grassland. Thanks Alec Pelling for the snipe image above.
Goldcrests have been showing well on almost any tree you care to look at, these tiny birds are a joy to watch flitting around buds.
Lapwing have also been flying in in good numbers. We have also had up to 13 wigeon on site, dotted amongst the numerous teal and shoveler.
Highlights: lapwing, wigeon, teal, shovelers, great white egret, siskin, bullfinches
Thursday 8 January
Scrape hide: 1 chiff chaff, 2 little egret and 1 reed bunting at the pond on approach to hide, 9 teal on the water at the hide.
Reedbed: 5 blue tits, 4 blackbirds, 1 great tit, 9 long-tailed tits, 40 mallards, 4 moorhen, 1 coot, 1 Cetti’s warbler, 2 wood pigeon
Long Path: 1 mandarin in the ditch.
Wetland Discovery area: 1 siskin, 1 water rail
Waterside Walk: 1 goosander
Lapwing hide: 9 lapwing
Ramsar and Sand Martin hides: 9 lapwings, 6 shelducks, 2 black swans, 31 teal.
Wednesday 7 January
Scrape hide: 1 robin, 7 Canada geese, 2 mallards, 1 jackdaw
Reedbed: 3 snipe
Scrape hide: 2 great white egret at the pond on approach to hide
Wildlife garden: 2 redpoll
Tuesday 6 January (site frozen over)
Ramsar and Sand Martin Hide: 1 robin, 2 lapwings, 50 Canada geese, 5 shoveler, 20 teal.
Monday 5 January (site frozen over)
Lapwing hide: 2 pheasants, 1 blue tit, 1 blackbird, 1 snipe
Tranquil Trail: 2 bullfinches
Sunday 4 January
Waterside walk: 3 bullfinches
Scrape hide: 3 snipe
Longpath ditch: 1 snipe
Reedbed: 2 bullfinches
Wetland Discovery: 40 mallards, 3 coots, 2 robins, 2 tufted ducks, 3 wood pigeon, 1 wren, 3 great tit, 1 gold finch, 3 blue tits, 1 blackbird, 1 bullfinch
Ramsar and Sand Martin hide: 1 great white egret, 1 cattle egret, 12 lapwings, 1 common gull.
