We've been spoilt lately by the variety of wildlife which has chosen to visit us at Fairburn Ings. I spent a good ten minutes watching a wren from the boardwalk, buried away in the reeds but belting a song out like it was the size of a swan! Two minutes later a quiet rustling in the grasses turned out to be a common toad, followed by a pair on the opposite side of the boardwalk, and then another pair, and then another...! Thank you to everyone who's contributed to our sightings book in the visitor centre, it's great to hear about what you've all seen out and about.
Today we've had two Siskin on the visitor centre feeders - a male and a female, with the male being described by one visitor as 'bright as a budgie'! We've also seen a Mediterranean Gull out on Main Bay. These gulls usually mix in with a flock of Black-headed Gulls on the south and east coasts, and look rather similar, except that a Mediterranean Gull has much more of a black head than a Black-headed Gull, which actually has a chocolate brown head (and the dark brown doesn't actually cover the whole head, either...).
Pickup Hide had a few mentions in the book yesterday, with a female Pintail, Oystercatchers (making their metal detector-like sounds), a Redshank and a Little Egret all being mentioned. I've seen Little Egrets from Pickup a few times over the past week or so, and they still seem so elegant and gentle to watch; I'm just wondering how I can try to be like them...! And Oystercathcers are definitely one of my favourites; they're so amusing to watch! I can't believe they can balance with the huge size of their beaks, and because of the sounds they make, they just sound so excited when they find something to eat - I do have a bit of a soft spot for them. A Redshank was also seen on the flashes, which are the pools either side of the road down by the Lin Dike car park.
Also seen here on Tuesday was a Ringed Plover and a Black-necked Grebe! Black-necked Grebes are a rare sight indeed, so of course I'm extremely jealous of anyone who's seen this! These small grebes have wonderful golden tufts of feathers on their face, contrasting wonderfully with a black head and neck.
A Mediterranean Gull was seen from Bob Dickens Hide yesterday, and along the Riverbank Trail we had reports of a Goosander and a Chiffchaff - Chiffchaffs are normally only here in the summer, although the UK does have a few year-round. A lot of the signs of warmer weather have been popping up recently, with bees, butterflies and toadspawn all being seen around the reserve.
Georgina Collins