Yesterday Paul and I conducted the monthly WeBS count. It’s getting quieter now, as the majority of winter wildfowl have moved off, with wigeon, goldeneye and whooper swan gone now. However there are a few pintail, teal, pochard and shoveler hanging on and of course resident and summer migrant species are starting the breeding season.
Here are the results –
114 tufted duck
40 mallard
24 teal
18 gadwall
17 shoveler
8 pochard
4 pintail
29 mute swan
41 greylag goose
24 canada goose
4 Egyptian goose
12 shelduck
110 coot
2 moorhen
17 great crested grebe
1 cormorant
4 little egret
1 grey heron
9 lapwing
4 oystercatcher
4 dunlin
2 common snipe
1 redshank
Also on site was my first reeling grasshopper warbler of 2014, my first house martin of the year and a nice group of 16 yellow wagtail and 1 white wagtail on the bund between Phases 2 and 3.