As the water has gone down since last weeks flooding, our sightings have gone up! The reserve is now completely accessible, and clean up is well underway, which means more sightings to report from our lovely visitors.
The first siskin of this winter was spotted in the Wildlife Garden this week. They are regular winter visitors to the reserve, with larger numbers coming in from Europe. Bullfinches, long tailed tits, nuthatches and willow tits have all been seen on the feeders around the visitor centre and at Pickup.
Siskin - Chris Gomersall (rspb-images.com)
Whooper swans, pink footed geese and water rail have been seen over the Flashes. Keep a close eye out for water rail around the Flashes and Pickup. Although winter brings in greater numbers of these birds, they are still secretive and can be tricky to spot, more often heard than actually seen.
Water rail - Mike Richards (rspb-images.com)
The Kingfisher screen is living up to it's name these days! The flood water has cleared away the pond weed that had built up on the surface of the water, which is making it a much more attractive spot for kingfishers to perch. Several have been spotted on the sluice gate, making for some fantastic photo opportunities.
Kingfisher - John Bridges (rspb-images.com)
- Laura