Monthly Sightings Summary - July 2023

Usually July is considered one of the quieter months in the birdwatchers calendar. This appears misplaced however as lots of breeding activity is being recorded and migrant waders, terns and hirundines are already passing through. To back this up the reserve was graced by a couple of rarities including a WHITE-WINGED TERN and White Stork. The former is a rare vagrant from central Europe at its nearest but its range stretches right over to the pacific ocean. The tern, a smart summer-plumaged adult, delighted local birders who packed into the hide at Moore Lake. The bird fed on the wing at length and occasionally rested on one of the nearby islands. It stayed till the following morning but moved on after that.

White-winged Tern - Henry Cook

Our attention turns to the outcome of the breeding season in July. Despite the setbacks caused by avian influenza throughout the gulls and terns, a number of pairs managed to successfully nest on both Moore Lake and Ferry Mere. It was really nice to see chicks begging from the safety of the floating rafts and being fed by adults. For the first time in as long as any of the team can remember, a pair of Little Ringed Plovers bred successfully at the reserve. We kept fairly quiet about these earlier on in the season as they are classified as schedule 1 breeding birds, given the highest level of protection. It is a bittersweet story as whilst it was lovely to see the chicks, best described as fluffy balls on legs, they were gobbled up by crows after only a few days. Fingers crossed they try again next year and have better luck. The nice weather in June looks to have helped the first broods of warblers have a good outcome. The worsening weather in July though might be putting dampeners on to second brood attempts. Birds seen during the month included:

• Yellow-legged Gull - reported on 2nd
• White-winged Tern - found on 3rd on Moore Lake and stayed till 4th
• Tree Pipit - calling over Ferry northern shelter on 4th
• Garganey - still on 6th
• Ruff - on Ferry on 8th
• Black Tern - on 11th
• Common Shelduck - on Ferry on 11th
• Raven - over on 14th
• White Stork - on Ferry scrapes on 20th, an un-ringed bird, likely a long-staying bird which spends most of its time at Smithy Fen
• Ring-necked Parakeet - one reported flying over the busway on 23rd, a rare reserve bird
• Red-crested Pochard - eclipse male moved to Moore on 23rd
• Cattle Egrets - peak of 8 on 27th
• Yellow Wagtail - 8 around Orchard and bean field to south on 28th
• Cuckoo - juvenile bird at Holywell towards the end of the month, being fed by Dunnocks

Juvenile Cuckoo being fed by Dunnock - Henry Cook

If you have any images or sightings that you'd like to share in our monthly blogs, please send them to fendraytonlakes@rspb.org.uk and we'll try to include them