The reserve is alive to the sound of many different species of migrants that have arrived in numbers over the last few weeks. Listen out for the song of the male Sedge Warbler with its loud repetitive mixture of varied and fast chattering phrases. Many have arrived from Africa over the last week.
Image credit: Jeremy White
Chiffchaffs seem to be everywhere on the reserve at the moment and their distinctive ‘zip-zap, zip-zap, zip-zap’ call is often the first sound you hear when you get out of your car on arrival at the reserve. Although some of this species from northern Europe will winter in Britain, most arrive from the Mediterranean region and West Africa in late March and April.
Image credit Kirsty Lindsay
Swallows, Sand and House Martins have also been regular recent sightings. These three species have each made the mammoth migration flights from sub-Saharan Africa on their individual journeys back to the UK.
Image credit: Ieuan Evans
Over the last week, Whitethroats have been recorded by several of our regular visitors. The male birds, who generally arrive from Africa before the females, have been both seen and heard. Their song is a jumble of unmusical phrases and is one to listen out for.
A delight down on the foreshore recently was a short eared owl flying past captured by one of our volunteers!
I know many of our visitors are keen to see or hear the elusive Bittern and now is a great time to do just that! The male continues to boom this month and has been heard frequently. Hopefully they will have another successful breeding year here at The Wetlands.
After a very busy Easter week, Gwen the Canada Goose has finally found all her eggs! She has chosen to nest on one of the platforms on ‘The Scrape’ outside the café. She’s been sitting for several days now, and the gander is very protective of her. This area of water will be a very busy place at the time of our blog next month.
Image credit: Kirsty Lindsay
The woodland areas of the reserve resound throughout the day to the beautiful sounds of our native songbird species. The songs of blackbirds, song thrushes, robins and wrens provide the perfect soundtrack to a relaxing walk at this exciting time of year.
Now for the return of the bird we’ve all been waiting patiently for… You guessed it, the cuckoo is back! 3 lucky visitors have heard it this week (20th) over by the hide. Just in time for our bittern and cuckoo experience on Sunday. This bird won’t stick around for long as they find a mate, the females will lay in the nests of reed warblers and dunnocks and then off they go again.
Butterflies are around in abundance. It is lovely to see some colourful insect flying around in the sunshine again. Brimstone being the first to return followed closely by orange tip, peacock, small tortoiseshell and speckled wood.
We look forward to welcoming you again soon.
Avocet, Bar-tailed Godwit, Bearded Reedling, Bittern, Blackbird, Blackcap, Black-headed gull, Black-tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Canada goose, Carrion crow, Cetti's warbler, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Collared dove, Coot, Cormorant, Cuckoo, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Fieldfare, Gadwall, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Hobby, Grey Plover, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Kestrel, Kingfisher, Lesser Black-backed gull, Lesser Redpoll, Linnet, Little Grebe, Little Owl, Long-tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Marsh Harrier, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Nuthatch, Oystercatcher, Peregrine Falcon, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pochard, Raven, Red Kite, Redshank, Redwing, Reed Bunting, Reed Warbler, Robin, Rock Pipit, Sand Martin, Sedge Warbler, Shelduck, Short-eared Owl, Snipe, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stonechat, Swallow, Teal, Tufted Duck, Water Rail, Wheatear, Whitethroat, Wigeon, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren,
Bank vole, Grey squirrel, Mink, Otter, Rabbit, Stoat, Weasel.