Paul and I conducted the monthly Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS) yesterday morning. Although fairly quiet there were some nice waders and a distinct taste of the coming autumn, with the return of a winter duck species. Here are the results….
57 mallard
54 teal
28 tufted duck
14 gadwall
125 coot
5 moorhen
25 mute swan
11 great crested grebe
5 little grebe
13 little egret
5 grey heron
3 snipe
2 greenshank
1 green sandpiper
1 common sandpiper
3 kingfisher
3 common tern
2 black-headed gull
And the return of….5 wigeon. Winter is on it’s way. So nice to hear the lovely whistling calls of this species out on Phase 1- one of the joys of autumn and winter.
But summer isn’t letting go just yet. Clouded yellows are still numerous across the site – look for them from the viewing screen or from the car park on Cottage Lane. Common blues seem to be having a rather good second generation – the best place for this species is the public footpath on the eastern boundary and thanks to volunteer Stuart Carlton for finding an incredible count of at least 50 small tortoiseshells feeding on a patch of creeping thistle by our containers yesterday afternoon. Lovely to see this species in abundance after large declines in recent years.