Hi,

A combination of sporadic heavy showers, strong gusts and the month’s highest tides always had the potential to spice things up on the reserve. They certainly did when 3x juvenile Arctic Terns were spotted from the Breakwater Hide (6th). The reserve also played host to some late passage birds around the Breakwater Hide which took the form of 1x Whinchat, 2x Wheatear and 5x Chiffchaff (8th).

The Breakwater field wetted up nicely following the heavy rain creating excellent conditions for large numbers of foraging and roosting wetland birds with 200+ Wigeon (9th), 47x Pintail (9th), 7x Shoveler (9th), 18x Shelduck (10th), 4x Bar-tailed Godwit (10th), 6x Black-tailed Godwit (10th) and 555x Curlew (10th) to name a few.

A Common Lizard was spotted basking on a small grass heap next to the Wetland Trail Boardwalk (Many Thanks to Liam Olds who took this photo on the reserve earlier in the year).

Highlights from the monthly WeBS count undertaken on the 10th October included, 342x Barnacle Geese (Saltmarsh), 276x Mallard, 745x Teal, 4x Red-Breasted Merganser (Saltings Hide), 6x Grey Heron, 12x Little Egret, 84x Lapwing, 1x Ringed Plover (Marian Mawr Hide), 4x Dunlin (Ynys Feurig Hide), 1x Little Stint (Ynys Feurig Hide), 7x Redshank (Ynys Feurig Hide), 1x Common Sandpiper (Domen Las Hide), 208x Oystercatcher and 2x Snipe (Wetland Trail Boardwalk).

This Canada Goose sighted from the Saltings Hide during the week was ringed at Windermere in the Lakes District back in 2013.

Other interesting sightings this week included, 1x Great Crested Grebe (Breakwater Hide, 9th), 1x Peregrine Falcon (Saltmarsh, regular), 1x Merlin (Penrhyngerwin, 8th), Kestrel (Visitor Centre and Wetland Trail, daily), 4x Grey Plover (Breakwater Hide, 8th), 2x Green Sandpiper (Saltings Hide, 6th), 1x 1st winter Mediterranean Gull (Breakwater Hide, 7th), Rock Pipit (Saltings, daily) and 1x Blackcap (Visitor Centre Pools, 8th).

The Robin’s delightful song can currently be heard from most of the treed areas on the reserve (Many Thanks to Liam Olds for the photo).

Cheers,

Adam