Recent Sightings 17th November 2025
The following sightings were taken from the reserve at Castle Espie during a rising tide. The bird of the week this week is the Mistle Thrush. This bird is the largest songbird in the UK, it is the same height as a kestrel. It looks similar to the Song Thrush, with a speckled belly and a brown head and back, but it is more greyish-brown in colour and is noticeably bigger. Mistle Thrushes got their name from their love of mistletoe berries, their Latin name Turdus viscivorus translates to ‘thrush that devours mistletoe’! These birds will also eat invertebrates, seeds and other berries such as Yew and Holly and they will chase other birds away from these trees in the winter.
Estuary - visible from the Brent Hide and the Limekiln Observatory
Brent Goose 146, Eider Duck 8, Mute Swan 1, Great Crested Grebe 54, Red Breasted Merganser 6, Common Gull 4, Black-headed Gull 4, Cormorant 9, Oystercatcher c.300, Hooded Crow 6
Main lake - visible from Sensory Garden and Visitor Centre
Mallard 28, Cormorant 1, Teal 7, Moorhen 1, Tufted Duck 2, Sparrow Hawk (female flying over) 1, Peregrine Falcon (female flying over) 1, Lapwing (flying over) 5, Whooper Swan (flying over) 2, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Robin, Blackbird, Long-tailed Tit
Shingle Bank - visible from Sensory Garden and Visitor Centre
Mallard 56, Cormorant 1, Gadwall 2, Teal 7
Wadermarsh - visible from Wadermarsh lookout and Brent Hide
Little Egret 1, Moorhen 4, Wigeon 5, Greenshank 17, Redshank 19, Gadwall 24, Teal 36
Freshwater Lagoon - visible from Brent Hide and Crannóg
Mallard 2, Tufted Duck 1, Moorhen 2, Coot 1, Jackdaw 2, Blackbird
Saline Lagoon - visible from Limekiln observatory
Little Grebe 5, Little Egret 1, Blackbird, Redshank 1
Brickworks
Robin, Woodpigeon, Wren
Limestone Lake
Kingfisher 1, Bullfinch, Moorhen 1
Peninsula Saltmarsh
Black-headed Gull 1
Peninsula Field
Long Tailed Tit, Meadow Pipit, Robin
Woodland
Wren, Coal Tit, Great Tit, Raven 1, Long-tailed Tit, Magpie 1, Goldcrest, Dunnock, Chaffinch, Blue Tit
Sensory Garden
Great Tit, Bullfinch, Goldfinch, Blackbird, Chaffinch, Robin, Blue Tit, Dunnock, Coal Tit, Mistle Thrush, Jackdaw 2, Pied Wagtail
