Dancing Great Crested Grebes, swooping Sand Martins, and a family of four Otters!
Spring is stirring across the wetlands!
There’s a fizz in the air this week as the wetlands ramp up the colour, song and sky‑dancing drama. If you’ve been craving that first rush of spring, now’s the moment to lace up your boots and head for the winding trails between our hides; there’s magic everywhere you look.
Wildlife sightings from 28th February to 6th March 2026
Highlights: Great Crested Grebe, Otters, Brimstone and Comma butterflies, Sand Martins, Chiffchaff
It didn't take too long for a second Great Crested Grebe to drop onto Deep Water Lake this year, joining the bird that arrived last week. The pair have wasted no time. They’re already performing their elegant, heart‑stopping courtship dance: mirrored head shakes, buoyant rushes and weed‑offering rituals that sparkle on the morning light. It’s one of nature’s most breathtaking performances, so don’t miss it! Over the same waters and the Saline Lagoon, pairs of Lapwing are looping and tumbling in spirited display, their glossy greens and purples flashing with every twist.
On 2 March, the graceful Pallid Harrier showed again (spotted by Bernie Beck), a fleeting, thrilling cameo that had hearts racing and binoculars glued.
The reserve team’s counts on 4 March were nothing short of spectacular: a sweep of 606 Black‑tailed Godwit rippled across the site, while a lone Bar‑tailed Godwit quietly worked the edges of Freshwater Lagoon. On Saline Lagoon, 290 Redshank stitched the shoreline with their busy calls, and a single Green Sandpiper tip‑toed the margins of Freshwater Lagoon. Meanwhile, 205 Black‑headed Gull have surged onto Freshwater Lagoon, their hoods darkened to their trademark rich chocolate as breeding season beckons.
Elsewhere, the Millennium Wetlands carried the clear, upbeat notes of five calling Chiffchaff, adding to that feel‑good soundtrack of the season. And it wasn’t just birds enjoying the sunshine: regular visitor Sara Williams was treated to four Otter on 4 March (what a sight!), plus a basking Comma butterfly and a fresh, lemon‑bright Brimstone zig‑zagging along the hedges.
On 5 March, visitor Christine Castle picked out a smart Meadow Pipit from the Steel Hide, and later a creeping Treecreeper busily spiralled up bark between Heron’s Wing Hide and the Peter Scott Hide, proof that the woodland edges are every bit as exciting as the open water. And then came another true herald of the incoming season: twenty swooping Sand Martin scissoring over Freshwater Lagoon, snatching early insects and writing joyous arcs across the sky. First wave migrants are in!
Whether you’re drawn by the theatre of dancing Great Crested Grebes, the sheer spectacle of massed Black‑tailed Godwit, or the zippy cheer of returning Sand Martin, the wetlands have something to make every step sing. Bring your binoculars, pause at the hides, and keep your ears open along the paths: the wetlands are bursting to share their stories with you.
Thank you to observers Bernie Beck, Sara Williams, Christine Castle and volunteer Steve Chambers for their brilliant sightings. If you have any sightings you'd like to share, please email us.
