Sightings highlights 20th March-27th March

This last week in March has seen the noticeable start of wader movement through the valley, with 11 species recorded this week. A grey plover dropped in on Sunday and stayed until the Monday. Ringed and little ringed plover numbers are increasing, with 9 and 3 being the maximums. Up to 10 dunlin have been scurrying around the Jubilee waterline and a single black-tailed godwit stayed for a couple of days. Snipe and oystercatchers can be seen most days, snipe almost anywhere if you look hard enough and oystercatchers on the north pit. Green sandpipers have been hiding in the quite corners of Jubilee and the North where the vegetation is a bit longer and the edges siltier. Both lapwing and redshank are displaying and pairing up. The male lapwings have been busily scraping, showing their females how good a nest maker they are, as the girls look on what can only be described as indifferently! Fingers crossed this is the start of another year of decent spring passage and that the breeding waders continue to increase. It’s also at this time we see our wildfowl numbers drop as the ducks that are left are generally our breeding ones, but there are still pintail, goosander and goldeneye swimming about.

Other migrants in have been the continued arrival of chiffchaffs and sand martins, they are heard or seen most days. Plus white wagtails have been spotted among the pieds on the wetlands. The wagtails quite enjoy feeding around the ruts the contractors have made! It may look a mess for now, but at least the wagtails appreciate it! The cetti’s warblers have been particularly vocal this week. When you walk over the canal bridge and look over Fisher’s Mill, there is a cetti’s that will sing in the open briefly, and standing at the view point is a really good vantage to see him from.

Bumblebee queens are buzzing down the bridleway, prospecting mice holes and other holes in the soil. On sunny days there has been quite a few bumblebees out and about. I think the bees I've spotted are buff-tailed and white-tailed. They are so quick its hard to get a decent view, but I have seen the queen buff-tails down the bridleway today! Plus we found a solitary honey bee, which nearly got squashed on the bridleway. It had been a ‘busy bee’ because on it’s legs were yellow balls of pollen.