This morning our volunteers Rob Werran, Nick Shimwell and Craig Brookes completed the monthly Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS). Many thanks to the guys for doing this - here are their results -
501 teal
167 tufted duck
114 mallard
63 wigeon
26 pochard
12 gadwall
8 goldeneye
3 pintail
2 shoveler
2 smew - both redheads, they are mobile, but the best place to look for them is looking south from the new viewing screen.
8 mute swan
1 greylag goose
5 shelduck
160 coot
9 moorhen
4 little grebe
3 water rail
5 grey heron
1 little egret
28 cormorant
9 snipe
1 jack snipe
52 black-headed gull
6 common gull
3 great black-backed gull
1 lesser black-backed gull
1 herring gull
Also this week, I have had the first flowering coltsfoot and cowslips of the year and several bird species singing including a lovely mistle thrush on the western boundary heard from the Cromwell Trail yesterday. Spring is not far off!