Return of the Twite
A flock of 83 Linnet visited the Dumbles scrape over lunchtime today, once again they brought the Twite with them. This finch flock was typically mobile and nervous but stayed around for 15 minutes or so, they also briefly visited the Tack Piece. All the birds in this area flushed, probably in response to a raptor and moved off at 1332hrs.
Phonescoped image of the Twite (centre) with three Linnet. Pics by SWP.
Rushy Hide
One of the highest counts of Pochard this winter with 159 males and 43 females among the Tufted Duck, Pintail, Mallard and Shelduck. Over 100 Bewick's Swans were also present at dawn. Three Snipe along the West shore of the lower pond and a couple of Redshank about.
Martin Smith Hide
The Jack Snipe showed a few times plus a variety of duck species spent the day here.
Tack Piece
About 80 E. White-fronted Geese grazed here this afternoon, the rest may have remained in the Ox Piece where they all began the day. Two Peregrines hunted over the Tack Piece and briefly mobbed a Grey Heron that spent part of the morning in the top of the oaks. c500 Wigeon, 100 Teal and smaller numbers of Shoveler and Pintail were also using the scrape as cover from these birds of prey. A flock of c70 Dunlin, 1 Ruff and 400 Lapwing were not allowed to settle. It became busier with birds as the day progressed.
Holden Tower
A few Skylark were still feeding in the scrape but the Wigeon flock increased to 400+ birds. A single Barnacle Goose was grazing in the saltmarsh hollow near the cross fence, it's been here since the weekend so probably arrived during the freeze up. So far it hasn't joined the flock of 240 naturalized birds, maybe one to watch as it could be a genuinely displaced vagrant.
Willow Hide
Three Water Rail under the feeders.
South Lake
Two Black-tailed Godwit, 5 Snipe and a handful of Shoveler were among a few hundred Lapwing on the wader scrape. Great Cresred Grebe, Pochard 10m 3f, 7 Cormorants and low numbers of many other duck species were on the deep lake.
Zeiss Hide
120 Teal, 200 Lapwing, 5 Snipe, 13m and 3f Pochard, 2 Cormorants, 1 Ruff and 4 Great Black-backed Gulls on the floods. Drumming Great spotted Woodpecker in the Spinney.
Kingfisher Hide
Two Gadwall, 20 Ruff, 3 Snipe, 600 Dunlin, 240 Barnacle Geese, 200+ Canada Geese and 200 Teal on the field and flood. Bullfinch and Song Thrush noted from the hide.
Grounds and general
Singing Greenfinch in the car park birches, near In Focus shop and Duck Decoy boardwalk.
