Good morning,
I just wanted to share some of the recent wildlife highlights over the last couple of days:
There has been a few wader species: black-tailed godwit, ruff, avocet, dunlin, ringed plover, common sandpiper, golden plover, and lapwing.
Wildfowl have been showing well: wigeon, teal, pintail, shoveler, pochard, shoveler, mallard and gadwall.
There have been a few bird of prey sightings too: red kite (flying over), peregrine (two of them - they rest on the pylons and then fly over the Aveley Flash scaring up all the waders and ducks), marsh harrier, barn owl (in the box), kestrel and sparrowhawk.
This kestrel was giving John Humble the eye! Great shot, thanks John!
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In the woodland the firecrest and goldcrest are still being seen. There is a variety of woodland birds too like robin, blackbird, song thrush, great tit, blue tit, greenfinch, goldfinch, chaffinch, dunnock and great spotted woodpecker.
Check out his fabulous picture by Tony O'Brien - goldfinch about to be 'attacked' by a peregreenfinch!
From the foreshore we've seen water pipit and common seal.
Around the reserve the bearded tits, linnits, stonechat, weasel and stoat in ermine.
Weasel by Mark Vale