Apologies for a rather delayed report on our November Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS) - a busy schedule and a few days away in London are to blame! However, we should be back on track now, so here are the results of the latest WeBS count, conducted by volunteer Stuart Carlton on Thursday 13th November -
185 tufted duck
60 mallard
50 teal
25 gadwall
25 shoveler
5 pochard
2 goldeneye
16 mute swan
3 graylag goose
1 Canada goose
80 coot
1 moorhen
1 water rail
3 little egret
2 grey heron
1 bittern
110 lapwing
5 snipe
1 green sandpiper
5 great crested grebe
6 cormorant
120 black-headed gull
11 lesser black-backed gull
10 common gull
Also on site in the last week....
Merlin and peregrine have been fairly regular from the visitor trails, tree sparrows have been sighted regularly at the wild bird seed crop opposite the car park (very exciting!), curlew and dunlin have been on the Phase 1 islands viewable from the Beach Hut, there is a large flock of fieldfare and redwing feeding in scrub at the south western side of the Cromwell Trail, barn owl has been frequent on Phase 1 and the public footpath past the silt lagoons and up to 4 water rail have been vocal and very showy on the Phase 1 islands and silt lagoons.
Please continue to look out for bitterns - there are at least two birds on site, if not three. Any reedy area has the potential for bittern and they have been seen widely across the whole site from the northern end of the visitor trails, to the silt lagoons, to the islands south of the Cromwell Trail to Phase 2.