NEW TRAFFIC REGULATION ORDER – MARSH LANE, HAMPTON IN ARDEN
Please note that with effect from 20th January 2021 Marsh Lane, Hampton in Arden will be gated just north of the railway bridge which accesses the Marsh Lane Nature Reserve car park, to the west of Siden Hill Wood. The gate is going to be locked overnight. Solihull Council have deemed this has become necessary due to frequent problems of anti-social behaviour, fly-tipping and other forms of environmental crime at Bradnocks Marsh.
The closing/opening times will be as follows:
- 1st April – 30th September 9 p.m. to 7 a.m.
- 1st October – 31st March 6 p.m. to 8 a.m.
Covid-19 (Coronavirus) – Updated 15th April 2021
The Reserve remains open. Members have been helpful and responsible during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Please continue to co-operate by:
- Remembering social distancing – 2m minimum between people.
- No more than three people, per hide at any one time, subject to (1) above.
- For the time being, please leave two hide flaps open permanently, one on each side, to allow for air flow.
- A spray and cloth has been put into the six main hides so that if people wish to, they can wipe down doors, flaps, shelves etc.
- A mask is preferred for people using hides.
Can all visitors please ensure they follow HM Government guidance in respect of hand sanitisation and social distancing, and ensure they avoid the Reserve if they or any family members (or anyone else you may be in contact with) are showing any symptoms associated with Covid-19.
Work Party Dates
Subject to the Government lifting the lock-down restrictions, the proposed Work Party dates are:
10th April 2021 2 p.m.
22nd April 2021 – Please note there will be a work party on site and thus some disturbance in the morning on both pools.
Link to bird ringing group – http://www.westmidlandsringinggroup.co.uk/nhs/4594917630
Updates
21st April – final paragraph added.
16th April – final paragraph added.
15th April – final paragraph added.
Work Party Dates – addition added being 22nd April 2021.
12th April – Final paragraph added.
11th April – Final paragraph added.
10th April – Third paragraph, seven Sand Martins changed to Seven House Martins.
30th April 2021
Mostly overcast, cold northerly.
There seemed to have been an influx of Sedge Warblers overnight with seven seen between the Causeway and River Hide, two more along the Causeway itself and one in song with both a Reed Warbler and a Whitethroat by Oak Hide. There was a Garden Warbler singing along the Causeway.
Five Yellow Wagtails appeared in front of Car Park hide briefly at 7.30am with a single in amongst the cattle on the flood plain a little later.
Common Sandpipers were seen on each pool, the number increasing to four in the afternoon
22 Common Terns, (the best count of the year so far), an adult Mediterranean Gull and seven Little Egrets were other counts of note. A Hobby showed in the evening.
Orange-tip with egg on Cuckoo plant – 30th April 2021 by Stef Fraczek
29th April 2021
Sunny and wintry showers and cold northerly.
A male Yellow Hammer visited the Car Park feeders this morning and a pair of Wigeon and a pair of Teal continue to linger. The Oystercatcher pair on Railway Pool, on the island in front of Oak Hide, have at least one chick and other counts included 12 Common Terns, one Common Sandpiper, four Little Ringed Plover, eight Little Grebes, two Great Crested Grebes and singles of Shelduck and Mediterranean Gull, 140 Sand Martins, five Swallows,two House Martins and a Peregrine. Nine Little Egret were a good count for this time of year.
A very late Common Gull was seen in the afternoon along with two Common Sandpipers.
28th April 2021
Overnight rain, slowly clearing from 8.30 am with a cold north-easterly wind.
In a general movement of Arctic Terns through parts of the Midlands today, 11 flew through at 8 am and may have been part of the flock that was seen earlier at Earlswood. Three Black–tailed Godwits arrived shortly after and lingered for about 45 minutes, disappearing briefly in the same period and shifting from Railway to Car Park Pool.
On the flood plain there were two Yellow Wagtail and a White Wagtail north of Car Park Pool, a Hobby came through at 9.15 am and Cuckoo and Garden Warbler were also seen. In the early afternoon a pair of Siskins visited the car park feeders.
A female Goosander with 8 ducklings was seen on the river north of Car Park Pool in the morning.
The Yellow Wagtail count increased to seven mid-morning and to at least nine in the evening and there was a movement of hirundines all day with at least 45 Swallows, 25 Sand Martins, six House Martins and three Swifts. The Mediterranean Gull also put in an appearance.
A Lesser Whitethroat, the first of the year, sang along the Causeway and there were three Common Sandpipers seen in the evening with a Common Tern numbers reaching ten.
27th April 2021
Cold and mostly overcast
What was presumably yesterday’s male Whinchat moved to the fence line east of the A452 before being seen briefly by the cottages but disappeared later on.
Five Dunlin flew through at 10.00am and there was a new Garden Warbler in song by the back gate.
The overcast conditions brought in the hirundines and there were 16 Sand Martins and a House Martin on Car Park Pool around 10.00am but by the evening this number had changed to at least 70, 60 Sand Martins and 10 Swallows.
An adult Mediterranean Gull was present over the lunchtime period.
26th April 2021
Mostly sunny, cold east/north easterly.
A male Whinchat was found in one of the hedge lines on the flood plain north of Car Park Pool this morning, although it subsequently proved elusive.
Yesterday’s Curlew moved between the flood plan and Car Park Pool and there were at least three Yellow Wagtails amongst the cattle, also on the flood plain.
A Garden Warbler sang along the Old Road where there was at least one Whitethroat and a second on the railway embankment.
Three Swifts flew over, there were five Little Egrets, five Little Ringed Plover and two each of Common Sandpiper, Redshank and Wigeon.
25th April 2021
Cool start, sunny but with a cold easterly wind.
Yesterday’s Curlew was still about for much of the morning at least and, at one stage, was joined by a Whimbrel with both birds on the pools together.
The first two Hobbys of the year were over Car Park Pool and left to the east at 12.08.
Singles of Yellow Wagtail, Grey Wagtail and White Wagtail were on the flood plain and there were also three Yellow Hammers and two House Martins in the same location. Depending a bit on overlap, there could have been as many as 35 Yellow Wagtails so far this year which is an extremely good count.
Waders comprised two Common Sandpipers, five Little Ringed Plovers and four Lapwing chicks hatched out from a nest in front of Oak Hide.
There was still a pair of Wigeon and a drake Teal, plus three Little Egrets and two Whitethroats, one by Railway Hide and one along the Old Road.
24th April 2021
Cool start, still and warm as the day progressed.
A Curlew arrived early on Car Park Pool this morning and then moved to the flood plain where it spent most of the day.
The flood plain also yielded six Yellow Wagtails.
The warm weather brought out butterflies and also the first Odonata with a Large Red Damselfly along the Old Road. Butterflies included at least 11 Orange Tips, three Green Veined Whites, four Peacocks, two Small Tortoiseshell, four Speckled Woods and a Holly Blue.
Other bird counts were as follows: eight Mute Swans, 35 Greylags, seven Canadas, a pair of Wigeon, two male Shoveler, a male Teal, eight Mallard, 47 Gadwall, 63 Tufted Ducks, nine Moorhen, 28 Coot and the first brood of the year, three on Reedbed, two Great Crested Grebes, three Little Grebes, two Herons, two Little Egrets, four Cormorants, 21 Lapwing, eight Oystercatcher, four Little Ringed Plover, one Common Sandpiper, one Snipe, 900 Black–headed Gulls, nine Lesser Black–backed Gulls, five Herring Gulls, seven Common Terns, two Ravens, nine Buzzards and at least four Whitethroats.
All photographs below by Steve Pattison
Little Grebe
Redshank
Male Blackcap
Curlew
23rd April 2021
Cool start, light south-easterly wind, temperatures up to 15 degrees.
The day started with two Common Sandpipers, five Little Ringed Plovers, a drake Wigeon, a drake Teal and three different Cetti’s Warblers (a male singing on the causeway and a pair by River Hide).
A little later on a male Redstart was found in the Old Road game crop and then relocated to the favoured location of the species, the hawthorns along the river just north of Car Park Hide. Is this the third bird that we have had this spring or is it a lingering male? By way of reminder, the first was a male on the 4th and 5th, with another male on the 12th and then the third today. Although some birds have been held up by the cold wind, it does seem unlikely that the bird has lingered this long or if it was the same bird, the long gaps in between.
The finding of the Restart was followed then by three Yellow Wagtails on the flood plain, followed by a Whimbrel, briefly, on Car Park Pool which came and went throughout the day.
The first Lesser Whitethroat of the year was in song by River Hide. As if that was not enough, in the mid-afternoon period a presumed female Goshawk was seen over Siden Hill Wood by two reliable observers, Paul Hide and Glen Giles; it then dropped over the back of the wood and was not seen again. It represents the second record for the Reserve and, at this time of year, was presumably a juvenile.
Ringing records around the causeway yielded singles of Blue Tit, Robin, Reed Warbler, a new female Cetti’s Warbler and a Goldcrest plus four new Blackcaps, three Sedge Warblers, two Reed Buntings and a re-trapped Reed Bunting from 2017.
22nd April 2021
A cold start but with light winds and little cloud cover, the day warmed quickly to 14 degrees.
The first Common Whitethroat of the year was seen just to the right of Oak Hide this morning and there were five Reed Warblers, ten Common Terns and a Common Sandpiper.
A Stonechat was reported calling, but was not seen, at the Dragonfly Pond, an out of season record. At least five Orange–tip butterflies were seen along the Old Road.
Four Little Ringed Plovers and six Oystercatchers made up the other counts.
21 April 2021
It was comparatively mild overnight due to cloud cover and the moderate north-easterly wind had dropped. It became brighter in the early afternoon.
There was a good passage of Yellow Wagtails this morning with birds dropping in to feed on the flood plain amongst the feeding cattle there. Three initially quickly increased to become 11 by 11.30 am, thought to be six males and five females. Reed Warblers had increased to five (four in the Reedbed and one in the north causeway bay) but only one Sedge Warbler was audible this morning from the Reedbed area.
Yesterday’s Common Tern count was not replicated with only three on site along with two Redshanks, six Little Ringed Plovers, three Little Egrets, a Shelduck on Railway Pool, a total of five singing Willow Warblers and a mixed group of 30 Sand Martins and Swallows at the north end of the car park and on the flood plain.
Between 12.50 and 13.00 the long-staying Whooper Swan, which has been present at Packington for much of the spring, came into Car Park Pool briefly before flying off east.
In the evening, the Common Terns began to reappear with 11 at 7 pm., presumably the birds coming in to roost.
20th April 2021
Cool with temperatures rising to mid-teens, very light easterly wind.
The Common Tern count continues to increase with 14 today.
Two Yellow Wagtails were on the flood plain, there were three Sedge Warblers noted but just a single Reed Warbler. Waders and wildfowl comprised two Redshanks, two Common Sandpipers, three Little Ringed Plovers, the pair of Wigeon, a drake Teal, a drake Shoveler and five Little Egrets.
Again there were plenty of butterflies with two Green–veined Whites, five Small Whites, ten Orange–tips and three Peacocks.
Heron in flight – taken from Reedbed Hide 20th April 2021 – Photograph by Bob Breach
19th April 2021
Cool start, sunny, light easterly wind.
There was a female Wheatear, initially just south of the Dragonfly Pond, which later relocated to Patrick Bridge this morning.
Common Terns had reached nine in number and there were two Sedge Warblers and two Reed Warblers today.
Cetti’s Warblers are singing from different places and there were birds in the causeway and at the south end of the Reedbed with a Water Rail also in the also Reedbed. Six Little Egrets was a notable count for this time of year.
The warm weather during the day, brought out four Orange–tips, four Peacocks, one Comma, one Small Tortoiseshell, two Speckled Woods and also an Orange Underwing moth.
A small clump of Cowslips have been in flower now for a few days on the south edge of the car park and the Lady’s Smock is beginning to come into flower in various places, particularly in the ditch from the causeway gate to Oak Hide.
There was also a Brimstone butterfly there.
18th April 2021
Again cool start, mostly sunny.
There was an adult Peregrine flying over the Reserve this morning and Common Terns had again increased, this time to eight. A pair of Redshank, including the colour-ringed bird was present along with one Snipe and a Jack Snipe, the latter briefly at the south end of Railway Pool near the large sunken stone.
There was again just a single Reed Warbler in the Reedbed and a Yellowhammer at the car park feeders. 20 Mute Swans were on site, a significant count for this time of year.
Other counts comprised two Little Egrets, five Shelduck, three Willow Warblers, three Blackcaps, Bullfinch and Sparrowhawk.
17th April 2021
A cool start, sunny and light easterly wind.
Today’s extensive counts were as follows: nine Mute Swans, 28 Greylags, ten Canadas, five Shelduck, a pair of Wigeon, 33 Gadwall, four Mallard, six Shoveler (four males), four Teal (three males), 55 Tufted Ducks, two Great Crested Grebes, three Little Grebes, three Little Egrets, one Heron, nine Coromorants, one Water Rail (Reedbed), ten Moorhens, 33 Coots, 12 Lapwing, four Little Ringed Plover, eight Oystercatchers, one Snipe (Marsh), 500 Black–headed Gulls, nine Lesser Black-backed Gulls, six Common Terns, one Reed Warbler in the Reedbed, Cetti’s Warblers (one at the west end of the causeway and a second by River Hide), two Coal Tits (back gate copse and Siden Hill Wood), one Meadow Pipit (south over the phone mast), one Yellowhammer at Patrick Bridge, one Yellow Wagtail on the flood plain, a pair of Bullfinches in the back gate copse along with three Blackcaps and a Willow Warbler around the causeway area; one Peacock, one Orange–tip.
16th April 2021
Frosty, cool northern wind, mostly sunny.
There was a Green Sandpiper on Car Park Pool at 8.30 am this morning along with two Redshanks, three Common Terns and three Little Grebes.
The Great Crested Grebes were mating today. The female Wigeon was still with the male and the Reed Warbler was again singing in the Reedbed. Common Terns were up to five and there were a pair of Grey Wagtails on the flood plain.
Redshanks – Car Park Pool – 16th April 2021 – Photograph by Stephen Taylor
The pair of Redshanks included the bird with the colour-rings.
Yellow Wagtail – right of Oak Hide – 16th April 2021 – Photograph by Stephen Taylor
In the later morning, Common Tern numbers had risen, there was a Yellow Wagtail in front of Oak Hide, a male Goosander on site and two Sand Martins went north.
Stoat on the Old Road – 16th April 2021 – Photograph by Stephen Taylor
15th April 2021
Frosty start, mostly sunny, cool light north easterly
An early morning ringing session was concentrated around the reed bed, causeway and central stream. A pair of Cetti’s Warblers were ringed around the Reedbed area with the ringed male from the north causeway bay being re-caught. A third bird was in song opposite Oak Hide.
Other birds ringed today were seven Blackcaps, one Sedge Warbler, two Chiffchaffs, three Reed Buntings, three Dunnocks, a Blackbird; and there were re-traps as follows; one Reed Bunting, one Chiffchaff and one Long-tailed Tit. All of the re-traps were ringed in 2020.
Other birds today included the first Reed Warbler of the year to the right of Reedbed Hide. Common Tern numbers were up to four, there was a Peregrine, five Little Egrets, three Shelduck, two Ravens and a Common Sandpiper.
The male Wigeon remains but there was no sign of the female and a pair of Great Crested Grebes were together and were occasionally seen displaying.
14th April 2021
Frosty start, light cool northerly wind, mostly sunny.
There were three Common Terns present this morning.
At mid-day there were four Yellow Wagtails and a White Wagtail in the field just north of Car Park Pool as viewed from the Old Road and a Red Kite was again over Car Park Pool at a similar time.
Both the Yellow Wagtails and the Red Kite came and went during the afternoon but the White Wagtail disappeared quickly to be replaced by five Pieds.
Other counts today were as follows: one Great Crested Grebe, six Little Grebes, two Little Egrets, seven Shoveler, nine Teal, two Wigeon, two Shelduck, one Pochard, 19 Lapwing, eight Oystercatchers, six Little Ringed Plovers, six Snipe, two Common Sandpipers, three Common Terns, a Peregrine and a Kingfisher.
13th April 2021
Frosty start, light cool northerly wind, mostly sunny.
A Red Kite flew over the Reserve to the north at 11.55. Additional birds included at least three Common Sandpipers, two Redshank, two Common Terns, three singing Willow Warblers (back gate copse, causeway and the Old Road), five Little Ringed Plovers and a Coal Tit in the back gate copse. A single Snipe was seen on Railway Pool and presumably the same Red Kite was over Hampton in Arden in the early afternoon.
12th April 2021
Frosty start, light cool northerly wind, mostly sunny.
A Yellow Wagtail was a brief visitor to Railway Pool this morning, prior to 8 am, but did not linger. A male Redstart was again seen from the metal gate looking west across the flood plain to the Hawthorn bushes just north of Car Park Pool. This is at exactly the same location as the one in early April but that has not been recorded for a week.
The first Sedge Warbler of the year was singing on the crop field side of the Reedbed at 1.30 pm and there were two Common Terns on Car Park Pool in the afternoon. The lingering pair of Wigeon were back on the grass on the river side of Car Park Pool and there were still five to six Shoveler on Railway Pool. A Mistle Thrush was in song at the back gate, along with a Greenfinch.
Three Common Sandpipers were seen today, two on Car Park Pool and one on Railway Pool with one earlier on the river, but it may have been one of the three subsequently seen. A Kingfisher was also recorded. Six Little Ringed Plovers included five on Car Park Pool and one on Railway Pool. A Water Rail was seen from the causeway hide and two male Orange-tips were noted as the weather improved.
11th April 2021
Cold north-westerly wind, sunshine and wintery showers.
Despite the occasional showers it remains very dry. The morning started with two Water Rails in the north causeway bay with another one seen on the edge of the Reedbed in the afternoon.
There was a singing Goldcrest along the causeway all day and a Kestrel hunting over the Dragonfly Pool.
A Red Kite moved south at 11.45 with probably the same bird seen mid-afternoon over Balsall Common.
On the pools there were six Shelduck, a Common Sandpiper, a Common Tern, seven Teal and five Shoveler, but no sign of yesterday’s Wigeon. A male Peregrine flew through Railway Pool at 2.30 pm, dispersing the Gulls. There were three Little Egrets there. On the crop field there were at least 30 Linnets, 12 Chaffinches, two Reed Buntings and seven Stock Doves, with five further Stock Doves flying over and one singing by the south-west pond.
Two Sand Martins moved north at 2 pm and a pair of Kestrels could be seen distantly interacting at the north end of the flood plain. At least six Buzzards were in the air at any one time and, finally, 40 increasingly late Fieldfares flew over heading west at 3 pm.
In the afternoon, there were seven Little Ringed Plovers and six Little Egrets.
Water Rail – North Causeway Bay – Photograph by Alan Rich
10th April 2021
Frosty and sunny start, then cloud, wintery showers and an increasing north-easterly wind.
A productive day started with two early Yellow Wagtails, progressed to a Marsh Harrier and a Curlew, followed later by an Osprey at 4 pm and a male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker at 6 pm.
In more detail, the two Yellow Wagtails were only briefly seen prior to 8.30 am. Birders standing on the car park picked up a female Marsh Harrier moving north over the wood which circled at the north end of the flood plain before moving purposefully off to the north again.
There was a Common Sandpiper on the Car Park Pool islands, 50 Linnets, a female Yellowhammer and ten Chaffinches in the crop field, a Peregrine south-east over the tip field at 11.30 am, two Grey Wagtails by the underpass and 15 Swallows, two House Martins and a Sand Martin at Patrick Bridge. There were a further seven House Martins over Railway Pool.
A Curlew visited Railway Pool briefly, mid-morning and there was a third Yellow Wagtail on the Car Park Pool islands in the late morning.
Eight attended the afternoon work party. Some spraying was undertaken to try and eradicate the islands of dock; the spray includes a blue dye. Most of the work was involved in translocating Yellow Flag from in front of Car Park Hide to populate the bays below Oak Hide and in front of Railway Hide. Some lucky members of the work party picked up an Osprey moving north-east at 4 pm, the second in a week. At the very end of the work party at 6.15 pm, a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker called from the oak tree just north of the car park and then flew over the car park landing further south in the top of the tree on the Old Road before continuing away to the south.
Other counts comprised five Mute Swans, 16 Greylags, four Canadas, two Shelduck, a lingering pair of Wigeon, 25 Gadwall, eight Shoveler, nine Mallard, four Teal, 64 Tufted Ducks, one Great Crested Grebe, four Little Grebes, four Little Egrets, four Herons, seven Cormorants, seven Moorhens, 34 Coot, 14 Lapwing, eight Oystercatcher, five Little Ringed Plover, 800 Black–headed Gulls, three Herring Gulls, 12 Lesser Black–backed Gulls and the singing Cetti’s in the Reedbed. There were also seven Snipe spread across the site with three dropping into the Marsh at 10 am, one similarly alighting on the shore line between Railway Hide and Oak Hide at 10.30 and a further four around the Dragonfly Pool.
9th April 2021
Showery, cool, south-westerly wind.
The showers probably contributed to a few more interesting birds today with three Yellow Wagtails, 41 Meadow Pipits, 16 Swallows, two Sand Martins and a House Martin present on or over the flood plain with a male Wheatear in the early afternoon. Another Yellow Wagtail went east over the car park mid-morning and the first Common Sandpiper was present on the pool margins. A Green Sandpiper was again seen along the cleared section of the concrete road.
A Redshank, two Willow Warblers (Causeway and along the Old Road), a male Goosander and 25 Linnets in the crop field made up the other records.
8th April 2021
Light overnight rain, mostly cloudy, slightly warmer with the wind swinging around to the south-west.
Today’s star bird was an Osprey which flew over east at 4 pm and was later seen at Packington. A pair of Wigeon continued to linger on site and there were at least six each of Teal and Shoveler. A pair of Mediterranean Gulls were present briefly and there was a singing Mistle Thrush by the back gate and a pair of Linnets around the causeway. A Sand Martin and two Lapwings seemed to head purposefully south and there were, later in the afternoon, 12 Swallows along the Old Road. At least six Little Ringed Plovers were present.
7th April 2021
Cold and frosty start, mostly sunny, cold northerly wind.
Three female Goosanders were present on Car Park Pool in the early morning but they soon departed and a male flew north over Car Park Pool at 11.45.
Eight Meadow Pipits were in the fields south of the phone mast, five Snipe were present around the Dragonfly Pond and there was still a lingering pair of Wigeon, principally on Car Park Pool.
Two Ravens were again present around Siden Hill Wood, there was a Willow Warbler singing on the causeway, a pair of Treecreepers in the back gate copse, 30 Linnets in the crop field, a Green Woodpecker around Railway Pool, a Cetti’s Warbler on the causeway in good song and 18 Stock Dove on the Aero field.
Counts around the pools comprised four Little Egrets, five Shelducks, six Little Ringed Plovers, six Oystercatchers, two Shelduck and a Great Crested Grebe.
6th April 2021
Cold, northerly wind with snow showers.
There was not a great deal of change in the birds today in the inclement weather. There were six Little Ringed Plovers, nine Oystercatchers, two adult Mediterranean Gulls, a drake Pochard, four Little Egrets and four Shelduck on site, with a Treecreeper in the back gate copse and two Sand Martins north over Car Park Hide at 3.15 pm. A pair of Collared Doves were present at the entrance gate cottages.
5th April 2021
Blustery and cold northerly wind, sunny all day, but feeling cold.
The male Redstart was again in the river-side willows, seen briefly from Car Park Hide before relocating back to the north of the pool.
Six Little Ringed Plovers, two adult Mediterranean Gulls (including the white ringed bird), three Little Egrets, eight Oystercatchers, four Wigeon and nine Cormorants made up the other counts.
4th April 2021
A cool northerly wind, but wall to wall sunshine all day after a frosty start.
A male Redstart was found in the hawthorns on the flood plain, just north of Car Park Pool and opposite the first gate, on the left north of the Dragonfly Pond. This is a favoured haunt of the species in both the spring and autumn and occasional Chats can also be found here.
There were four Ravens on the flood plain, three Little Egrets, three Little Ringed Plovers, four Shelduck, two adult Mediterranean Gulls, a female Goosander and a Redshank all on the pools.
As the afternoon progressed, those watching the Redstart picked up two Red Kites, high over Hampton in Arden, after probably one of those had been seen east of the A452, perched in a tree on the Berkswell side. A Green Sandpiper was flushed, by accident, from the stream long the concrete road, where a Willow Warbler was singing in the Weeping Willow.
A total of five adult Mediterranean Gulls and the first-summer were counted in the evening when a Ringed Plover was a brief addition to the year list. Two Siskins were seen in the back gate copse and two Cetti’s Warblers were chasing each other along the causeway with another heard by the Packhorse Bridge.
Little Grebe – Photograph by Alan Rich
3rd April 2021
Overcast start, bright, cool north-easterly wind, sunny intervals in the afternoon, remaining dry.
The Common Tern was back on site but is apt to go on fly-abouts and is yet unsettled on territory. Hirundines included two House Martins, ten Swallows and five Sand Martins.
Wildfowl and other counts comprised 55 Greylags, 13 Canadas, seven Wigeon, eight Teal, 46 Gadwall, 16 Shoveler, eight Mallard, five Shelduck, 35 Tufted, the male Tufted/Pochard hybrid, one Great Crested Grebe, seven Little Grebes, 12 Cormorants, one Little Egret, five Herons, ten Moorhen, 43 Coot, ten Lapwing, five Little Ringed Plovers, eight Oystercatchers, 875 Black–headed Gulls, 14 Lesser Black–backed Gulls, three Herring Gulls, a Water Rail in the Reedbed, eight Snipe, two Cetti’s Warblers (causeway and Packhorse Bridge), two Ravens and 50 Linnets in the crop field.
In the afternoon, a female Goosander was present on site, three Bullfinches were counted and a Muntjac showed well along the causeway.
2nd April 2021
Sunny all day, 10 to 12 degrees but cool north-easterly wind.
There was a beautiful male Yellow Wagtail on Car Park Pool briefly this morning and the first House Martin of the year and five Sand Martins over the pools.
A Willow Warbler sang in the back gate copse together with two Blackcaps.
Two adult Mediterranean Gulls were with the increasing Black–headed Gull numbers on Railway Pool.
Other bits and pieces included four Little Egrets, the Tufted/Pochard hybrid and a Snipe on Railway Pool.
Later in the day the Common Tern reappeared on Car Park Pool, the Blackcap along the Old Road towards the Dragonfly Pond was in song and there were Treecreepers heard both there and in the back gate copse.
1st April 2021
Overcast, north, north-easterly wind, strength 3-4.
Today’s undoubted highlight was an Otter, photographed by Steve Pattison, in the north causeway bay in the early morning, probably feeding on amphibians there.
This is the second occasion Steve has photographed Otters in the early morning.
Fishing Otter north Causeway – Photograph by Steve Pattison
In the cool conditions there were 35 Sand Martins and six Swallows feeding over the water. A Willow Warbler sang by the car park and the Common Tern was present again. Six Little Ringed Plovers and six Oystercatchers were spread between the two pools and there was an adult Mediterranean Gull on the Railway Pool islands again.
Three Little Egrets were feeding on the Blythe by Patrick Bridge, there was a Water Rail in the north causeway bay, the Tufted/Pochard hybrid was on Railway Pool, along with three Shelducks and there was a flock of 50 Linnets in the crop field.