With lapwings displaying, frogs in the ponds and blossom on the trees it’s high time for a sightings update and a look forward to the season ahead.
March began with the skylarks singing on the wetland trail and frequent sightings of short-eared owls. Throughout the month bramblings have been joining large flocks of chaffinches at the cafe bird feeders and almost managing to blend in.
The first frogs arrived on 9 March and their numbers seem to be rising daily, on our Easter lapwing trail yesterday we had one team spot 23 and lots of frogspawn.
Not a day goes by without an encounter with a lovely red squirrel (or 3) in the woodlands and picnic area. Bats are starting to appear in the evenings and a pipistrelle even did a few test flights in the courtyard one lunchtime last week.
Goldcrests and treecreepers have been spotted in the woodlands and there is lots of activity around nest boxes. If you are on the reserve and see a nest being used please let us know as with over 100 boxes it’s great to have extra help with monitoring what’s going on.
Wintering pink footed geese have begun making their way back to Iceland and Greenland but there are still big groups migrating through and some groups which may decide to stay with us for the summer. The last official count on Feb 22 was 144 pinkies but last week we had over 800.
On the wetlands we are getting regular sightings of snipe, little grebes, great crested grebes, pintails and goldeneyes. Flocks of over 80 curlews have been flying over the reserve and a few are looking like they might be interested in nesting here alongside the lapwings, who have been delighting people with their tumbling displays.
Swallows are due back soon with the first ones arriving on April 15 last year, I wonder who will be the first to spot one this season...
Photo credits; "Lapwing displaying" and "snipe" - Alex Gillfilan; Frogs under the larches - Anna Jemmet; Pink footed geese - Paul Ashcroft; Swallow - David Veitch