After drought affective the water levels to such an extent that Nel's Hide at Rimmer's Marsh was closed for a few weeks, the warden's rain dance has worked! We have had some hefty downpours this last fortnight and he reports water levels rising faster than expected and more and more birds using the marsh. Nel's Hide will be opening today and daily from approximately 9am - 5pm for the foreseeable future. However if we cannot cover the locking / unlocking rota the hide may be open later and close earlier or indeed may not get opened. If you can offer to open or lock Nel's Hide please contact graham.clarkson@rspb.org.uk
This morning there were 460 Goldfinches feeding on thistles and 590 Starlings probing around, suggest large numbers of juvenile birds flocking and a juvenile Peregrine over could be trying his luck.
210 House Martins, 35 Swallows & a Swift were swooping for insects.
The warden reports that Lapwing breeding numbers were lower than in previous years at 62 pairs, nest and chick productivity was low. He suggests could be because of the record low water levels and increased fox predation. Clearly the llamas will have to work harder next year!
Black-headed gulls successfully fledged 10 young form the island on Rainford's lagoon, the first time they've raised young at Marshside for many years.
Yesterday there were up to 390 Black-tailed Godwits, and 175 Lapwings on the reserve with a further 860 Lapwings on the salt-marsh. Juveniles around included Shelduck and Shoveler. 370 Greylags are helping keep the sward on the marsh in good condition! A single Common Sandpiper, 7 Curlews, 3 Oystercatchers and a Hare were the only other things of note.
At 8 a.m. today 800 Black-tailed Godwits were scattered across Sutton's Marsh and then onto the salt-marsh by a juvenile Peregrine, a second juvenile Peregrine was perched out on the salt-marsh completely oblivious to all the action! There were 12 Snipe amongst the Godwits, evidence of autumnal movement.