After much anticipation, here are the WeBS count totals for March:
Green sandpiper
2
Snipe
Avocet
10
Black headed gull
335
Common gull
Herring gull
7
Lesser black backed gull
3
Greater black backed gull
Canada goose
47
Greylag goose
Coot
98
Gadwall
13
Great crested grebe
11
Lapwing
5
Little grebe
Mallard
27
Moorhen
Mute swan
Whooper swan
88
Pochard
1
Wigeon
36
Shelduck
18
Teal
44
Tufted duck
180
Shoveler
20
Goldeneye
Little egret
Oystercatcher
Dunlin
Ringed plover
Great white egret
Egyptian goose
Cormorant
23
Water pipit
Not a bad selection of birds for a windy March morning. Since this WeBS count was carried, avocet numbers have risen to a Langford record of 25 birds! All of them feeding on Silt Lagoon 5, which is viewable from the public footpath leading from the car park to the Beach Hut. Silt Lagoon 4 has the bench looking out across it and it's the lagoon currently being used by Tarmac (you can see the levels of silt building up in it) and so Silt Lagoon 5 is the next one along. Avocet numbers are fluctuating, with 25 being the highest count so far, but please let us know if you see even more than this.
Pair of shovelers with their ridiculous bills glistening in the sunshine ©Stuart Carlton ... [@StuartCarlton48 on Twitter]