Iain's been allowed to go on holiday for the weekend so I'll round up this week's sightings (most of which have not been seen by me) in his place.
Most recent sighting first and we've had our first White-Tailed Eagle of the year over the low ground this morning- Yellow 3, a female from the ESSE project . She spent about half an hour on the low ground and was still around at 5pm today, although perched up in a field and very hard to spot. Our eagles often tend to hang around for a few days so we'll be keeping an eye out in case she returns. We've not seen Yellow 3 on the reserve before but we'll try and get a bit more info about where she's been since her release in 2010 and let you know more in a future blog.
The other main highlight of the week has been the Avocet that appeared on Tueday morning on the pools outside the visitor centre. We've also had a couple of repeat sightings of the Common Crane which seems to be hanging around the same area of dense reed and may be on the reserve a lot more than we're actually seeing. The Visitor Centre and Tower Pool Hide seem to be the best vantage points for a glimpse of the Crane, although Fen Hide may be worth a visit too.
We're finally getting a few more spring visitors on the reserve. No Osprey as yet (although they're reported in the area) but we've had the first two (possible three) Marsh Harriers during the week and this weekend has seen the first Sand Martins appearing over the loch and the first Swallow around the visitor centre. The Black-headed Gull colony outside the centre is still growing steadily and some of the birds are now mating and nest-scraping on the island. No Common Tern as yet, but hopefully it won't be too long before the first ones arrive.
The last of the winter geese from further south are now starting to move through on their way to Iceland and we're once again seeing the occasional Barnacle Goose and White-Fronted Goose in with the Pink-feet. Goose numbers still seem to be in the thousands (the goose count tomorrow will be interesting). There's still at least one Short-Eared Owl visiting the reserve as well.
The Ruff is still about, usually on the Starnafin Pools or the low ground, often with the odd Redshank. Oystercatchers are everywhere and there's some nice flocks of Ringed Plover on the beach and in the lagoon.
oh goody! just what we need for a goose count!