I completed the monthly Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS) this morning, the first of the 2013-14 season and as I walked around site in nearly 30C and blazing sunshine, I thought of the contrast between today and December 2012’s WeBS, when the site was full to the brim with flood water and visibility was poor due to frequent blizzards! Never happy with the weather!
Today’s results are as follows….
68 mallard
57 tufted duck
3 teal
2 pochard
26 mute swan
23 canada goose
8 greylag goose
139 coot
3 moorhen
9 great crested grebe
1 little grebe
4 grey heron
10 little egret
5 cormorant
14 common tern
13 black-headed gull
49 lapwing
6 oystercatcher
3 green sandpiper
1 common sandpiper
3 kingfisher
Other highlights from today include 2 grey partridge on Phase 3, a flock of recently fledged goldfinches also on Phase 3, numerous burnet moths on Phase 1 – although only 1 sat still for long enough for me to ID it as a six-spot burnet and a mass emergence of common darters on Phase 2, there must have been 30-40 individuals flying around together.