We are still flooded! The fourth time this winter. This current, on-going event is not as dramatic as the previous 3 inundations, but water is spilling in from Slough Dyke (which follows our western boundary) and water levels are now about a metre above where we'd ideally have them at this time of year. It means that sections of the Visitor Trail are still submerged and so we remain closed, as we have been since last October!! I'm vaguely hoping this is an anomalous year, however with the prediction being that winters will become milder and wetter, combined with rising sea levels, maybe what is now anomalous may become annual?! ... time will tell.
Just prior to Flood Event 4 (the re-return of the returning flood), Langford's hardy band of WeBS volunteers donned their wellies and headed out into the mild, but wet February air. The whole site is covered by the count and so it gives us a very good idea of the range of species on site and how many there are of each. If we so wish, we can then use these figures as an index to track how popular Langford is with for wetland birds. This is speculation, but it might be the case that the repeated flood events have stripped a lot of the food out of the reedbed and the deeper water has also made feeding conditions trickier for some species, explaining why the 2023/24 winter hasn't necessarily been the best from a wildfowl perspective. Other factors including short-stopping may well have played a role too. None-the-less, egrets have been loving the post-flood feeding opportunities, with cattle egrets regularly being seen just off-reserve to the north-east and at least 4 great white egrets have been fairly reliably seen stalking the reedy margins and can easily be viewed from the perimeter footpath.
Here are the records from the February WeBS count:
P1
P2
P3
Total
Black-headed gull
3
2
6
11
Canada goose
4
22
29
Coot
13
12
10
35
Cormorant
17
32
Goldeneye
26
34
Little egret
1
8
Mallard
83
93
Tufted duck
95
140
124
359
Gadwall
5
39
44
Great crested grebe
Great white egret
Pochard
Curlew
Grey heron
Greylag goose
Oystercatcher
Shoveler
Teal
67
Wigeon
98
Oystercatchers are often the first sign of spring at Langford, with the change of the season also marked by recent records of cowslips in flower, a bittern booming, a chiffchaff singing and a brimstone butterfly on the wing. In terms of unusual birdlife, as well as the great white egrets, which are now actually becoming 'common' at Langford, we had brief visit recently from a lone Bewick's swan. Excitingly the first Langford woodlark was also recorded recently, albeit briefly! The 217th bird species recorded at Langford since quarrying began back in 1989.
Bewick's swan photographed by James Wilkinson: