Sightings and news to week ending 16 November

*The Internal Drainage Board will be on site over the next few weeks performing essential ditch maintenance. Apologies for any disturbance. 

*Following on from yesterday (12 November), please note that we will be tractor topping on Top New Piece today (13 November), we may also have a work party at the Kingfisher Hide, clearing views and setting up for fence repairs. 

Sunday 16 November

Tack Piece

Amazing to see well over 7000 birds on the field and floods, three newly arrived Bewick's Swans and a first winter Curlew Sandpiper of note among the flocks of Dunlin, Golden Plover, Lapwing, Curlew, Redshank and Ruff, Teal, Wigeon, Pintail, Shoveler, Canada, Barnacle and Greylag Geese + 2 Marsh Harriers, Skylarks and Linnets. 

Saturday 15 November

South Lake

260 Lapwing, 9 Dunlin, 1 Grey Heron, 7 Cormorant, 3 Snipe, 87 Teal, 28 Gadwall, 40 Tufted, 10 Pochard, 52 Shoveler, 3 Shelduck, flocks of Starlings and Wood Pigeon

Martin Smith Hide

3 Snipe and 1 Cettis on the scrape. 52 Black Tailed Godwit, 10 Ruff, 500+ Golden Plover, 100+ Dunlin, 31 Curlew and 3 Crane on the Tack Piece

Dumbles

274 Teal, 85 Wigeon, 38 Dunlin, 170+ Lapwing, 2 Marsh Harrier, Ross’s Goose with Barnacle flock, singles of Greater Black-backed Gull and Cormorant

Robbie Garnett Hide

240 Teal, 553 Wigeon, 7 Pintail, 4 Shoveler, 300+ Lapwing, 200+ Golden Plover, 150+ Dunlin, 53 Black-tailed Godwit, 22 Redshank, 2 Ruff, single Spotted Redshank

Zeiss Hide

flock of Fieldfare and Redwing in trees towards Van de B hide, 2 Shelduck, Cetti’s and Water Rail heard, 2 Ruff, 318 Lapwing, 26 Dunlin, 30 Canada Geese, 1 Bittern.

Kingfisher Hide

3 Roe Deer on Four Score, 2 Little Grebe, 5 Gadwall, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Sparrowhawk. Water Rail heard and flocks of Redwing and Fieldfare around.

Decoy Hide

15 Shoveler, 4 Gadwall

Friday 14 November

Rushy

33 male 3 female Pochard, 131 Tufted Duck, 54 Lapwing, 1 Cormorant, 1 Redshank, 17 Shelduck, 2 Pintail

Robbie Garnett Hide 

400+ Teal, 19 Redshank, 6 Shoveler, 6 Gadwall, 300+ Wigeon, 2 Curlew

Long Ground Pool

2 Shelduck, 3 Shoveler, 3 Tufted Duck.

Pillbox Pool

12 Teal.

Estuary Tower Scrape

23 Wigeon, 166 Teal.

Dumbles

Peregrine, Golden Plover are on the estuary mud.

Zeiss Hide

640 Teal, 30 Wigeon, 14 Shoveler, 4 Pintail. 6 Black-Tailed Godwit, Bittern in flight towards Van de Bovenkamp. Buzzard on hedge sitting out the rain

Hogarth Hide
106 Teal, 2 Snipe , 2 Shoveler

South Lake
28 Shoveler, 154 Teal, 47 Tufted ducks, 1 Pochard. 276 Lapwing , 2 Black-Tailed Godwit, Great Black Back Gull , hybrid Herring/Lesser Black Back

Thursday 13 November

Estuary Walkway

One Blackcap, three Chiffchaff, one Song Thrush and two Goldcrest.

Dumbles

From Estuary Tower, one Raven, 158 Barnacle Geese, 350 Lapwing, two Crane, one Peregrine, 370 Dunlin, 120 Golden Plover, one Little Stint, 38 Linnet, Skylark, one Buzzard and two Marsh Harrier.

Tack Piece

From Martin Smith Hide, two Snipe and one Cetti's Warbler and from Robbie Garnett Hide, 450 Wigeon, one Snipe and 32 Redshank.

Rushy Lake

123 Tufted Duck, one Ruff, 51 Pochard, one Wigeon, Pintail, Shoveler, Shelduck and Teal too.

Top New Piece

From Zeiss Hide, 68 Dunlin among the Lapwing, one Sanderling, 12 Ruff, 13 Black-tailed Godwit, 103 Wigeon.

Kingfisher Scrape

From Kingfisher Hide, one Little Grebe, two Shoveler, four Gadwall, two Water Rail heard. On the Bottom New Piece, one Curlew, Lapwing and Dunlin Flock and one Ruff.

Wednesday 12 November

Dumbles

From Estuary Tower there were Dunlin, Lapwing, Canada Goose, Barnacle Goose and Greylag Goose flocks, two Marsh Harriers seen, Curlew were out on the river and Golden Plover flew over.

Tack Piece

From Robbie Garnett hide, 41 Redshank, one Spotted Redshank, one Ruff among the Lapwing flock on the field, Wigeon, Teal and Pintail too.

Top New Piece

From Zeiss hide, one Water Rail, one Great Egret, 887 Teal, 53 Wigeon, 133 Canada Geese, one Pink Footed Goose, five Barnacle Geese and two Marsh Harrier. From Van de Bovenkamp hide, one Bittern was spotted in the reeds.

South Lake

From Discovery hide, 68 Tufted Duck, eight Pochard, 37 Shoveler, 354 Teal, Snipe, 24 Black-tailed Godwit, 167 Lapwing, two Common Gull, one Lesser Black-backed Gull and one Greater Black-backed Gull too.

Tuesday 11 November

Decoy Wood

Great Spotted Woodpecker calling

Estuary Tower

2 Marsh Harriers hunting across the reserve. 20 Cranes on the Dumbles but they flew across the estuary. Lapwing numbers are building with Dunlin arriving as well. Pink-footed and Ross's Goose with the Canada/Barnacle Geese.

Estuary Walkway 

2 Fieldfare

Tack Piece

Busy with flocks of Canada and Greylag Geese, Teal, Wigeon, Lapwing, Redshank with a few Shoveler and Pintail among them. The hedges along the path are busy with Chiffchaffs, Goldcrests with the tit flocks and a calling Cetti's Warbler. One Spotted Redshank seen from Robbie Garnett Hide and 13 White-fronted Geese too.

Martin Smith Hide

5 Snipe

Monday 10 November

South Lake

Two Mediterranean Gulls, 23 Black-tailed Godwit (includes a colour ringed bird- Orange over Dark Green (R) above and white over orange darvic with Z (L), Little Grebe, 153 Lapwing, 108 Shoveler, 378 Teal and 10 Cattle Egret earlier today. The Temminck's Stint paid a visit as well.

Estuary Tower over high tide

Three Little Stints and 6 Sanderling among at least 924 Dunlin, the small waders roosted in the grass but moved out to the foreshore saltmarsh as the tide dropped, 2 Bar-tailed Godwit, 53 Great Black-backed Gulls, 3 Ruff, 684 Lapwing, 3 Grey Heron, 28 Curlew, 51 Wigeon, 183 Barnacle, 134 Greylag, 479 Canada Geese plus the Ross's, Pink-footed, Snow x Bar-headed and two Barnacle x Canada Goose hybrids. Both Linnet and Skylark in the grassy areas with Snipe.

Tack Piece

Fourteen Russian White-fronted Geese arrived late morning from the canal/south eastern fields, 195 Greylag, 30 Skylark, 101 Canada Geese, 11 Shoveler, 14 Pintail, 38 Redshank, Spotted Redshank, 369 Lapwing, 12 Ruff, 321 Teal, 598 Wigeon, 1578 Golden Plover and a Merlin along the fence today.

Top New Piece

Bittern seen from the Zeiss Hide again, 2 Marsh Harriers on and off, 209 Teal, 2 Stonechat flycatching from reeds before the rain set set in.

South Finger

Singing Song Thrush, 5 Reed Bunting, 4 Chiffchaff, 3 Goldcrest, Redwing, Cetti's Warbler from the pathway or viewing areas.

WeBS Count totals for today

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