I can't believe we are into the middle of June already, the year is going quickly and our wader breeding season is almost over! In the last blog I highlighted that we have had our highest numbers of breeding waders ever this year, with 26 pairs of lapwing and 5 pairs of redshank. This is excellent news, however unfortunately it looks like we will only fledge 2-3 young. The bad weather throughout May is undoubtedly the cause of this, with wind, rain and cold temperatures causing widespread loss of chicks. It's such a shame that this has happened, but we are encouraged by the numbers of pairs attempting to breed and have our fingers crossed for a better productivity next year.
Redshank. Andy Hay (rspb-images.com)
Despite the bad weather, we are pleased to report that the tree sparrows are doing well. Most of the boxes are occupied and the birds fledged 40 young off the first broods. Many are now busy with second broods, so hopefully there will be plenty more to come. Tree sparrows can have up to four broods a year, so their breeding season can continue well into August.
Other nice bird records from the site recently include a group of five wheatear that were hanging around for a couple of weeks at the end of May to the beginning of June, shelducks on the wet grassland fields, yellow wagtails and little egrets.
Little egret. Ben Andrew (rspb-images.com)
Our volunteers have been busy as usual, with breeding wader surveys and more fencing work on the job list for this month.