It is still looking very promising out on the marshes for our lapwing population this week, with three juveniles very close to fledging in the field with the viewing platform on Wednesday. A further three young are about two thirds grown in this field and doing well. The other fields are starting to prove a bit of a challenge for surveying as the grass gets longer and the ever more mobile chicks start to explore further away from the wet scrape edges! 11 of our four-legged grass cutters have been deployed into this area, now the young are bigger and safe from trampling, in order to get the grass under control. This will make seeing the fledglings easier, as well as start to get the habitat in good condition for next breeding season.
Yellow wagtail, skylark, meadow pipit, linnet and reed bunting are all still obvious on site and can still be seen and heard singing and collecting food for young. I saw a brood of young mallard doing well on one of the deep ditches on Wednesday, tree sparrows still busy in the height of the breeding season in the hedgerows and four little egrets feeding on some of the wet areas across the site.
Our volunteers have been busy this week checking the predator fences - a weekly job, vital for ensuring continued success for our lapwings, completing some well needed paint jobs, sprucing up the site entrance and discovery domes with some grass cutting and clearing and monitoring our breeding birds. Thanks as always to everyone involved - great job!
Linnet - lovely little birds. RSPB (rspb-images.com)