It was a quiet start at the reserve this morning. There are some contractors replacing a fenceline to the north of swamp lochan, but they didn't appear to be disturbing the wildlife at all.
A flock of around 150 lapwing were still sitting on mud on the north shore of swamp lochan as the large posts were being driven into the ground not too far behind them. In amongst the flock there is still a greenshank, only one seen this morning, but there have been two around. This mud is a good spot to look for snipe, and is likely to attract other waders to stop off on their way past, so worth a look.
The mallards were also peacefully hanging about in groups, with a few wigeon and a couple of teal seen at swamp too. One of the male wigeon is quite well marked, and I notice a few of the mallard are beginning to get a splash of colour too.
The male marsh harrier was reported seen yesterday, and anytime now we could have other marsh harriers moving in from elsewhere, so please check wings carefully and if you see wing tags put as much detail as possible into the sightings book, or report it through the bto website.
There were also 2 osprey seen yesterday, and again there will be birds beginning to move around as they start migration now, so keep an eye out for large plastic rings on the left leg.