On Wednesday, we went out in the ranger to monitor the breeding birds on the central wet grassland. Although we do seem to have lost a few chicks here and there, generally things are looking quite good. We have 7 fledged Avocets from 3 nests, with another 7 well feathered. There are 14 part grown Avocets and 3 birds are still sitting on eggs. Ed managed to take this picture with his bridge camera of two well feathered Avocets.
The Lapwings were quite a surprise. Along with the 15 fledged lapwings, there are 17 part grown or well feathered birds, and another 8 nests had hatched with 18 new chicks wobbling about. One chick was so wobbly it must have just emerged from the egg before we arrived. There are also 3 Oystercatcher chicks and two broods of Redshank.
But it’s hard to concentrate on counting wader chicks when there are 4 male Ruff prancing around the place in all their ruffed up glory. This is something I never thought I’d see, and it is quite something. The males literally dance with little jumps into the air like little Michael Flatleys, but better looking. The colours are so impressive. One bird is mostly red, another white, and two are mostly black but with sheens that you find on birds such as Lapwing.
A distant shot of one of the Flatley Ruff.
The big question is.............where are the females ? If these males have been successful in their attempts to impress the females, and lets face it, we were impressed, will pregnant females choose to stay here or carry on their migration to their tundra breeding grounds ?