Snow, wind, rain, mud, Stuart and Tony had it all on Sunday whilst carrying out the January WeBS count. The number of species they picked up during the survey hopefully made up for their Himalayan expedition-like conditions:
Mute swan
13
Mallard
50
Gadwall
90
Wigeon
230
Teal
106
Tufted duck
80
Greater black-backed gull
Black headed gull
138
Coot
61
Cormorant
20
Heron
2
Shelduck
4
Shoveler
6
Goldeneye
8
Lapwing
Greylag goose
Little grebe
1
Moorhen
3
Redshank
Black-tailed godwit
Pochard
Snipe
A marsh harrier was also on site, with this species having been seen on a regular basis right through the winter period. Keep you eyes open for them flapping lazily and low over the reedbed looking for their lunch... normally being pursued by a few aggravated crows.
Excitingly the starlings seem to back roosting at Langford on a regular basis now, with the increasing water levels no doubt making them feel a bit safer when they go down into the reeds to sleep at night. It's always tricky estimating the numbers, but there must have been 5000+ on Monday evening when I filmed the short and noisy (it was super windy) and initally blurry video below. Feel free to pause the video at an appropriate moment and try and count them for yourself!!
As mentioned in the previous blog posting, please note that the car park will be closed between 5th and 9th of February.