There has been lots of excitement this week with the arrival of a male smew! First there was one red-headed smew, then a juvenile joined her, and Monday last week saw the arrival of a third female and a male.
They were first spotted from Lin Dike hide and have since given us a right old run around by switching between Lin Dike and Village Bay almost daily. If you are coming to the reserve in hope of seeing them your best bet is to pop into the visitor centre and we’ll be able to let you know where on the reserve they were last reported.
Pair of smew, Mike Langman (rspb-images.com)
One lucky visitor has recorded a fairly epic visit in the recent sighting book. They took a walk along the Coal Tips trail and spotted two peregrine, a buzzard, sparrowhawk, willow tit, goldcrest AND a stoat.
I think I need to get up on the Tips more frequently!
The Coal Tips trail, take by Sally Granger
Other notable sightings this week include an Egyptian goose near to Cedric’s pool, two bittern seen flying over the reserve and a raven over Lin Dike. There have also been seven pintail out on the flashes and a Cetti’s warbler was heard singing near Phalarope pool.
Pintail, Ben Hall (rspb-images.com)
As usual there have been plenty of marsh harrier sightings, and there have been several sightings of siskin around the visitor centre and on the boardwalks so do keep an eye out for them.
We will have to keep my eyes peeled on Saturday ;)