Yesterdays early wonder round revealed a greenshank on the Draper scrape along with the common sandpiper that arrived a couple days before that, nice! However later in the day we had a bit of excitement with a call from one of our regular visitors to let us know there was a wood sandpiper from the Gadwall hide, so thanks Neil for the call! I managed to nip down and get a look and a few quick digi scoped images and the greenshank had moved over to the same area. Also spotted yesterday were shoveler, shelduck, hobby, peregrine, sparrowhawk, common tern, garden warbler, cettis, blackcap, chiff chaff reed and sedge warblers, and cuckoo. A check first thing this morning revealed the wood sandpiper and greenshank was still present along with a second common sandpiper and little ringed plover.
The grasshopper warbler is still reeling occasionally and can be heard best from the path as you approach the warbler hide. Since hearing my first cuckoo at Rye Mead a single male has been about most days often quite vocal. We have 3 lapwing chicks on the Draper scrape that are now about a week old and 2 pairs of redshank on site so we are looking forward to seeing some chicks from them.
The kingfisher chicks are now a week old with, with a piece of egg being removed from the nest last week a sure sign of hatching. One tawny owl chick is left in the box on the pylon with the other 2 having venture in the surrounding trees.
Wednesdays sunny day bought out a good variety of insects offering my first small coppers and red admirals of the year along with holly blue, small tortoishell, peackock, brimstone, large white and orange tip. Also had lovely red headed cardinal beetle on the chives in the wildlife garden along with a number of young crickets, although i am not sure of the species.