Browse by tags

Another extraordinary day of swallow and martin passage - the photos below give you some idea of the numbers sheltering/resting in the rain this morning. The first is of a gateway on the north brooks - there were several similarly 'loaded' with birds -, the second the fence next the waste water...

Hundreds of swifts overhead/passing through all day yesterday. This morning at 08.00, masses of swallows and house martins hawking over the flood (probably 1000 over the whole site) and still many swifts. Nightingales and song thrushes in good voice around the trail, just-fledged rooks in the tree tops...

First swifts and lesser whitethroat of the year here yesterday, nightingales singing/showing well, 9 or 10 crossbills on the heath, common sandpiper on the brooks. Black-tailed godwits, whimbrel and oystercatcher seen in the last couple of days. Still a handful of wigeon, 30-40 teal, a few gadwall and...

Juvenile little stint from Jupp's view this lunchtime, along with 5 dunlin, 4 black-tailed godwits and 8 or 9 ruff. Other waders today reported include curlew sandpiper, green sandpiper and common sandpiper. Plenty of teal and increasing numbers of wigeon present on the north brooks. Still a few...

Still a selection of passage waders on the north brooks - greenshank, green sandpiper, common sandpiper and little ringed plover present this morning. Several lesser whitethroat, whitethroat, willow warblers and chiffchaffs in the scrub around the trail. Yesterday an adult male and juvenile female...

It was cool and felt like autumn this morning and the birds rather reinforced this - 5 black-tailed godwits and at least 8 green sandpipers on the north brooks were no doubt heading south. Plenty lapwings, ca. 130 greylags geese, a few teal, shelduck, mallard and mandarin also present. Large numbers...

The last week has seen a range of passage waders coming through - green sandpipers and little ringed plovers inevitably the most common (at least 6 of each on any given day), plus greenshanks (2), black-tailed godwits (2), dunlin and common sandpiper (2 or 3 each). Hobby, peregrine, sparrowhawk and buzzard...

More rain over the last few days has re-filled most of the pools on the north brooks and put a few splashes on West Mead - should bring in a few passage waders over the coming weeks. At least 1 green sandpiper is already here. Nightingales are feeding fledged young around the trail and still singing...

Hobbies - at least 2, possibly more, were putting on a fantastic show hunting dragonflies over the north brooks yesterday (best seen from Nettley's hide or Jupp's view). A marsh harrier was also seen hunting the brooks. Spotted flycatchers can be found nr Jupp's view and on the edge of the...