Bird Sightings - March 2011

Springtime has arrived on the reserve with the arrival of the early summer migrants. The first warblers were a chiffchaff (16^th.), blackcap (19th.) and willow warbler (26^th.). In the last week of the month there were large numbers of sand martin flying over the lake, a few house martin and the first swallow to be noted (26^th.).

Other visitors were dunlin (19^th.), wheatear and little ringed plover (26^th.), meanwhile several winter visitors could still be seen including up to 30 goosander, 3 goldeneye, small flocks of redwing and fieldfare and a flock of about 50 waxwing that stayed a couple of days. An unusual sighting that stayed around was a barnacle goose.

The oystercatcher pair has settled on the main island together with about a dozen feeding starling, and 40 lapwing, which are becoming territorial and showing signs of aggression. A snipe count in the marsh area (11^th.) produced 49 common snipe and 5 jack snipe.

Other notable sightings were siskin and lesser redpoll, willow tit, pied and grey wagtail, bullfinch, goldfinch, small groups of long-tailed tit, coal tit, reed bunting, buzzard, song and mistle thrush, green and great-spotted woodpeckers and up to 5 grey heron.

Water birds on the main lake included about 30 gadwall, 15 wigeon, 10 pochard, 36 tufted, 10 shoveler, 14 teal, 4 little grebe, cormorant and a pair of great-crested grebe.

At Swan Pool there were sightings of 8 skylark, meadow pipit and a raven.