I’m hoping that lots of you took part in our big garden birdwatch and saw some great birds and other wildlife in your gardens. Hopefully you also managed to submit your results without difficulties, but for those of you who experienced ‘technical issues’ we’re really sorry - of all the weekends for us to have problems with our website this was probably the worst! If you haven’t yet submitted your results you can still do so on the website for the next two weeks.
The same technical issues meant that we were unable to keep you updated on our big garden birdwatch challenge, so here’s a little catch up...
We’re congratulating Mel and the cafe team on a resounding victory (4 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss). The marsh tits failed to put in an appearance at either feeding station during any of our counts (there’s always one who doesn’t want the limelight). More co-operative were nuthatch, great spotted woodpecker and coal tit who visited the feeders regularly.
Out and about around the reserve, there are plenty of ducks enjoying the floodwaters with 10 species being reported on Saturday: shelduck, wigeon, teal, mallard, pintail, shoveler, gadwall, tufted duck, pochard and goldeneye. The presence of some of the diving ducks, and in particular the pair of goldeneye– not a first for the reserve but certainly a very unusual sighting – is evidence if any was needed of the depth of the water at the moment. The number of pintail is astonishing, with several hundred of these handsome ducks showing off on the North Brooks.
The flooding will have made life tricky for small mammals, like mice and voles, and for the birds that eat them. Although a sign of the tough times for our wildlife, we have been enjoying fantastic views of hunting kestrel, with female birds hunting regularly close the visitor centre and directly in front of Hanger View. Imagine trying to hover and then dive accurately in these blustery conditions!
This photo of a male kestrel was taken by volunteer Chris. How can you tell that it is male? Take a look at the head - in the male it is grey whereas the female has a streaked chestnut cap.
If you are reluctant to venture too far from the centre in the rather unpleasant conditions that have been forecast, as well as enjoying the birds on our feeders, take a look from the big window and you could see our flock of linnets enjoying the arable plot in the field overlooked by the visitor centre. Both the linnets and a stonechat can be seen perching along the fenceline.
After almost a week of being able to complete the entire circular wetland trail (albeit encountering muddy patches en route), Friday’s rain has caught up with us and on Saturday afternoon water came pouring over the river banks again. Once again, parts of the trail are underwater with Nettley’s hide being underwater and the Winpenny section of the trail is impassable. For the time being, I’d suggest Jupp’s View and Hanger View is your best option for a walk, taking in both the wetland and woodland birds.