As Josh was talking about thistles in his last blog here is a photo of some.
Lockhart saw this Linnet on thistles on Saturday. For the next few weeks there will be lots of seeds from thistles and other weeds so the seed-eating birds - Gold Finches most noticably - do not need to visit the feeding stations quite so often. The finches will be seen in the coarse vegetation eating these seeds and are less interested in the food we provide - I have noticed less nyger seed being eaten on the reserve.
Other birds search for food in mud.
A couple of Snipe
And a Lapwing.
The storm surge of last December had damaged the pumps which provide our water so making control of the mud rather difficult. But his weekend some water was once again being pumped to us, and with luck, we will be able to control the levels to give these birds lots of food-rich mud.
The CommonTerns have now fledged and it seems there is a little confusion as this offering of food is a courting ritual.
The photo I don't have is of the White-winged Black Tern which has been showing well today from the Visitor Centre and Paddy's Pool hide, but follow the link to get a look - including shots from today.
Thanks to Lockhart for these photos.
Not all of the reserve is visible to the public, and for obvious reasons this includes our workshop area, but at about 0830 hrs yesterday our Swallows fledged and we can report four healthy youngsters which should be seen well from the cafe balcony.
Peter