Recent Sightings 6th April 2026
The following sightings were taken from the reserve at Castle Espie during a rising tide. The bird of the week is the Tufted Duck. This diving duck is very distinctive, both males and females have yellow eyes, the males are black and white, and females are brown. Both have a tuft on the top of their heads, but in males this is more prominent. Tufted ducks breed in lakes and reservoirs across the UK, and birds from Scandinavia and Russia overwinter here in internationally important numbers. Females will lay up to 11 eggs, some of which may be laid in the nests of other Tufted Ducks, literally not keeping all their eggs in one basket. Female Tufted Ducks will rear all the hatched young from their nest, so ‘egg dumping’ means they can save energy by having another female raise some of their ducklings, but they may also be raising ducklings which are not their own! These ducks will eat insect larvae, molluscs and pond weed that they dive to reach, and the hatching of ducklings often coincides with the emergence of insects from their larval stage so that they have plenty of easy prey available on the surface of the water.
Estuary - visible from the Brent Hide and the Limekiln Observatory
Black-headed Gull 49, Black-tailed Godwit 231, Brent Goose 98, Common Gull 4, Curlew 1, Herring Gull 8, Hooded Crow 2, Lesser Black-backed Gull 2, Redshank 2, Shelduck 32
Main lake - visible from Sensory Garden and Visitor Centre
Little Egret 5, Mallard 11, Teal 7, Tufted Duck 4
Shingle Bank - visible from Sensory Garden and Visitor Centre
Shelduck 2
Wadermarsh - visible from Wadermarsh lookout and Brent Hide
Black-headed Gull 1, Gadwall 1, Greenshank 1, Redshank 4, Teal 2
Freshwater Lagoon - visible from Brent Hide and Crannóg
Black-headed Gull 4, Gadwall 2, Little Grebe 1, Mallard 9, Moorhen 2, Teal 2
Saline Lagoon - visible from Limekiln observatory
Black-headed Gull 16
Brickworks
Goldfinch, Jackdaw, Linnet
Limestone Lake
Moorhen 1, Woodpigeon
Peninsula Saltmarsh
Little Egret 1, Mallard 1
Peninsula Field
No birds seen
Woodland
Blackbird, Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Collared Dove, Goldcrest, Great Tit, Robin, Song Thrush, Woodpigeon, Wren
Sensory Garden
Long-tailed Tit, Mallard 3, Pied Wagtail, Robin, Song Thrush, Woodpigeon, Wren, Collared Dove
