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Recent sightings

• 25 May 2012

  What’s that big, hot yellow thing in the sky?

  Water level update – 42dm!!

  Last blog the water level was happily sitting at 50dm, but with this glorious week of no rain the water is slowly going down and the sedge beds are slowly reappearing! I’m still being rather cautious though as we all know how the weather can change quite dramatically. Example being, Thursday last week it was raining and the thermometer was at a chilly 2 degrees, Thursday this week it was brilliant sunshine and a scorching 24 degrees!!

  Anyway, on to the grebes: between slapping on the factor 50 sun lotion, it has been great watching them at the loch this week. It’s amazing to see how the warm weather can affect the birds, plants and trees. The loch and surrounding area look like a different place compared to last week. The birch trees lining the loch are now in leaf, the grasses, bog myrtle and heather are looking much more lively and life on the loch has erupted again!

  On Monday I was struggling to count how many Slavonian grebes we had on the loch! I counted at least 5 pairs and possibly another 2 more birds!! It was exhausting stuff, as the sedge beds still need some time to improve and thicken up, the grebes where spending a lot of time diving out in the middle of the loch so counting and pairing them up took quite a bit of time and patience.  The sedge bed in front of the hide is definitely the most active and has yet again provided some great views of territorial behaviour amongst the grebes for the public. We still have two pairs holding territory in there and occasionally another two pairs try to muscle in. When i walk into the hide and see eight of one of the rarest birds in the country right there in front of you, chattering away and chasing after each other, I feel like a very lucky reserve assistant! Even more brilliant are some promising signs of nest building by one of these pairs in the sedge bed, on Wednesday i saw two birds bring nesting material into the sedge. Fingers crossed this carries on and we could have our first nest of 2012 at Loch Ruthven!

   The other three pairs have been showing well in front of the artificial sedge bed opposite the hide. They are showing a lot of interest in this sedge bed and continue to chase each other around it. Another week of dry warm weather please and hopefully some more pairs will be hold territory and maybe building nests!

  Myself and Kate attempted the first full loch survey for Slavonian grebes this morning. The weather reports looked good with no wind and not too bright. We met at the loch at 4.45am surrounded by very thick mist that didn’t move a millimetre for the 2 ½ hours we waited for the weather to improve! Needless to say we’ll have to put off the first full loch survey for when we can see from one side of the loch to the other.

   Recent sightings.

  Mute swans, greylag geese, mallard, tufted duck, teal, widgeon, red breasted merganser, little grebe, cormorant, black headed gull, common gull, curlew, oystercatcher, lapwing, buzzard, red kite, common sandpiper, cuckoo (heard and seen!), skylark, meadow pipit, wheatear, reed bunting, willow warbler, grasshopper warbler (heard), great  tit, blue tit, long-tailed tit, song thrush, robin, chaffinch.

  Cat Owen-Pam

  Reserve Assistant

  Posted by Kate Horsfall

• 18 May 2012

  Who stole our sedge beds!!

  With the persistent, heavy rain we’ve been having recently this has really affected how our sedge beds have grown up this year. It seems the cold weather, coupled with the high water level has temporarily halted our sedge beds from growing into the thick, robust sedge beds the grebes need to nest in. As you can see from the graph below the water level this year has had the opposite trend to the previous two years. Slavonian grebes will start nesting when they have tall thick sedge beds available, at the moment the sedge beds at the loch are under quite a bit of water with only the tops of the sedge to be seen.

   

  This had not put off the grebes from using the loch though, in the last two weeks I have seen pairs performing the ‘penguin dance’, this is when both birds rear up out of the water, touch their chests together and shake their heads. I have also seen pairs perform the ‘weed rush dance’, which is where a pair of birds both collect weed in the beaks, come together side by side and whilst rising slightly out of the water they move quickly rushing through the water for up to 10m!! These are amazing spectacles to see and although the water level is high and hiding the sedge beds it’s really encouraging to see the grebes are exhibiting some marvellous breeding behaviour.      

  Although the sedge beds are looking a bit sorry for themselves we have seen some territorial behaviour between the grebes too. Two pairs of grebes have been seen swimming and chasing each other in and out of the artificial sedge bed on the other side of the loch. The artificial sedge bed was created in the late 90’s to provide extra nesting habitat for the grebes. Throughout this period of high water level this sedge bed has faired better than the others, it has maintained it’s height and thickness to hopefully provide adequate nesting habitat.     

  The sedge bed in front of the hide is still a busy place too! Two pairs have been regularly seen swimming amongst and patrolling in front of the sedge. Occasionally a third pair will try and sneak in but the resident pairs, whilst they seem to be happy with the other pair’s presence, will not tolerate this new pair. There has been some ferocious fighting between these birds and so far the two pairs seem to have won. At the east end of the loch we have seen up to five pairs vying for territory amongst the sedge beds and at the west end  we have seen two pairs and two singe birds swimming near the sedge beds.

  From the hide we have been watching a great tit building a nest in a nearby nest box, they have been busily collecting moss and when it’s quiet you can here it pecking away at the hole on the box (must be a bit of a tight fit!) 

  Recent sightings

  Little grebes, teal, wigeon, tufted duck, mallard with chicks, red breasted merganser, mute swans, greylag goose, oystercatcher, lapwing, curlew, common sandpiper, cormorant, heron, black headed gulls, common gulls, jackdaw, hooded crow, carrion crow, raven, buzzard, red kite, sparrow hawk, osprey, cuckoo (heard), swallows, swifts, sand martins, house martins, willow warbler, grasshopper warbler (heard from the car park), chaffinch, robin, blue tit, great tit, song thrush, reed bunting, meadow pipit, wheatear. And while driving on the local roads I have been very lucky to see a black grouse and a bunch of 15 golden plovers!!     

  Cat Owen-Pam

  Reserve Assistant

  Posted by Kate Horsfall

• 4 May 2012

  Spring is back!

  Well another week means another completely different week of weather. It started off a bit drizzly but over the past couple of days it has been glorious sunshine! And this seems to have woken the Slavonian grebes!

  The water level is starting go down after last weeks heavy rain and this is starting to expose the sedge beds again. It has been a slow start to the year, and although we have at least 4 pairs regularly showing at the east end of the loch, they are still all to establish territories in the sedge beds. The hide has been a great place to watch them this week. On Tuesday morning all four pairs where fighting for territory in the sedge. It was an incredible sight and could be ferocious at times as they chased and pecked each other with their beaks. At the moment there seems to be just the one pair holding territory in the sedge bed in front of the hide, but every now and then you see another pair hovering around the back of the sedge hoping they haven’t been spotted! Last year this sedge bed held four pairs so there really should be room for a couple more pairs to squeeze in.

  On Monday I saw two pairs fighting and calling between each other in the sedge bed at the far eastern tip of the loch. I was really surprised and happy to see this as we haven’t seen any activity in this sedge bed all year and there were no nesting attempts there last year. This sedge bed is pretty exposed to the elements and one of the main threats to Slavonian grebe nests is flooding through wave action, as the wind gets stronger this causes waves on the loch to destroy nests and even wash eggs or chicks into the water. If it’s particularly windy early on in the year this will discourage the grebes from nesting there altogether! So with these calm couple of weeks we’ve had it has been really encouraging to see the grebes back in this part of the loch, let’s hope they stick around!

  If you’re visiting the loch I’d really advise you to hang around in the car park, from here I have heard cuckoo and grasshopper warbler (first I’ve heard this year!), it’s also a great place to spot osprey flying over too! Whilst walking to the hide there has been a pair of bullfinches by the path every day this week, lesser redpoll in the birch tree’s lining the path and common sandpiper can be heard whistling as they fly around the edge of the loch. And this is all before you’ve got to the hide to see the fantastic Slavonian grebes and our stunning pair of red throated divers who are visiting the loch at the moment.    

   Recent sightings

  Greylag goose, mallard, tufted duck, teal, wigeon, little grebe, common sandpiper, longtailed tit, coal tit, great tit, robin, black bird, bullfinch, grasshopper warbler, willow warbler, oystercatcher, common gull, black headed gull, lapwing, sand martins, cuckoo, great-spotted woodpecker (heard drumming).

  Cat Owen-Pam

  Reserve Assistant

  Posted by Kate Horsfall

• 27 April 2012

  Wet wet wet!

  It has been a wet week here at Loch Ruthven. The water level in the Loch has risen drastically over the last couple of days which has submerged some of the sedge beds and has also turned the first section of the path muddy. The path will be returned back to it’s former state soon when contractors can access the site once this wet weather has passed. Luckily the condition of the path improves once you get to the loch so you can still get to the hide to get some terrific views of the grebes. Along with the rain the weather has also continued to be cold which has slowed down the onset of spring and so has slowed down the growth of the sedge beds into our glorious Slavonian grebe breeding habitat. Lets hope we have some balmy weather soon!

   We still have four pairs and a couple of single Slavonian grebes at the east end of the loch. There have been some amazing views of a pair of grebes right in front of the hide this week. They are very territorial and chase away any other bird (grebe, teal or tufted duck)! And we had views of them mating on a ‘platform’. The platforms are weedy islands which they build themselves by dragging bits of dead water weed and piling them up amongst the sedge to create platforms which they mate on. It has been great to see this breeding behaviour right in front of the hide, it’s reassuring to know that during this wet, cold weather the grebes are still going about their normal business.

  The other three pairs at the east end have still been swimming in and out of the sedge beds investigating possible territories amongst the sedge. A couple of pairs have been displaying in front of the sedge beds and there has been a lot of birds calling to each other, with the still mornings we’ve had the call carries right across the loch. Today, watching in the hide with a couple of visitors, we had five grebes all in view through the scope! Amazing!!

  Let’s hope that we have some dry days soon so the water level can go down a little to expose some of these sedge beds and the grebes can start nesting!

  Other brilliant bird sightings have been; osprey fishing right in front of the hide! Sandpipers bobbing on the rocks by the beach and a beautiful pair of red throated divers. Even through the rain it has been a great week at Loch Ruthven!

    Recent sightings.

  Common gulls, black headed gulls, mute swans, little grebes, mallard, tufted duck, teal, wigeon, red breasted merganser pair, red throated diver pair, common sandpiper, redshank, golden plover, oystercatcher, lapwing, curlew, osprey, kestrel, siskins, reed bunting, great tit, coal tit, long tailed tit, treecreeper, robin, blackbird.

  Posted by Kate Horsfall

• 19 April 2012

  Oh how the weather has changed!

  Where as in the last blog I wrote about the unseasonably mild weather with temperatures in the early 20’s, I had sat by the loch during the intensive sedge bed watches in my t shirt looking forward to the warm (dare I say it ‘hot) spring. These past couple of weeks we have had 4 inches of snow at Loch Ruthven, temperatures down to freezing and I have been wearing as many layers as I could whilst still be able to operate a telescope!!

  I was concerned as to how the grebes would react to this sudden change in climate, but when visiting the loch after the snow I was relieved to see the same number of pairs and single birds as there where the previous week. Luckily the weather has stayed calm so visitors have had some excellent views of the grebes swimming and diving amongst the sedge. A pair has been regularly using the sedge bed in front of the hide, and chasing away any other approaching bird. These birds have given some amazing close up shots for photographers and visitors to the reserve. 

  So far this week we have had four pairs and three single birds at the east end of the loch and two pairs and two single birds at the west end. The grebes have been calling regularly to each other and are still to establish their territories, swimming in, out and around the sedge beds. Numbers are still fluctuating so I’m hopeful to see more birds on the loch in the coming weeks as we still have a few unattached grebes out there!       

  I saw my first common sandpiper and wheatear of the year last week, the sandpipers can be seen at the loch edge. Keep an eye out for their typical ‘bobbing’ stance as they perch on the rocks. I have also seen my first osprey of the year! Magnificent birds, I have heard the common gulls commotion at there presence before I have noticed the osprey flying over the loch. There have been sightings from the hide of them catching fish in the loch and I saw one catch a fish at the west end of the loch today, an amazing sight!!!  

  Recent sightings

  Osprey, mute swans, greylag geese, mallard, buzzards, wigeon, teal, tufted duck, goldeneye, little grebe, red-throated diver, cormorant, red breasted merganser, oystercatcher, lapwing, common sandpiper, curlew, common gull, black-headed gull, lesser black-backed gull, sand martin, wheatear, mistle thrush, meadow pipit, pied wagtail, redpoll, siskins, great tit, blue tit and chaffinch.

   

  Posted by Kate Horsfall

• 12 April 2012

  The grebes are back!

  My name is Cat Owen-Pam and I’ll be the Slavonian grebe and Central Highlands Reserve Assistant for the coming twelve months. I am just coming to the end of my fourth week at Loch Ruthven. It has been a busy and enjoyable four weeks, and I am thoroughly looking forward to getting ‘stuck in’ to the survey season and learning as much as I can about these beautiful birds.

  With the milder winter we’ve had this year the loch thawed by mid February. The grebes seemed to know about this and caught us all off guard by turning up at the end of February, with the first sighting on the 28^th and two birds seen the next day! Up to three birds were seen regularly with the first pair spotted on the East end (the end where the RSPB reserve is) of the loch on the 19^th March. Last year the Loch was completely frozen until mid March with the first pairs arriving in early April!

  The intensive sedge bed monitoring started at the beginning of last week. This involves watching each sedge bed in turn and recording the breeding behaviour of the grebes onto maps. With the unseasonably mild weather this seems to have encouraged more birds onto the loch. Numbers this week have been good with peak counts of eleven birds (four pairs and three single birds) being very active at the east end of the loch, and seven birds (three pairs and one single) at the west end. It has been fascinating watching the grebes interacting and displaying to each other, and confusing at times when ten birds have suddenly erupted from the sedge beds whilst I’ve been trying to keep track of them all!!  Arriving at the loch earlier on in the week when it was particularly still, and hearing them call to each other was a fantastic early morning welcome from them. With plenty of time until the sedge beds grow into prime nesting habitat for the grebes, let’s hope that there are more birds set to arrive at the loch!  

  Other sightings over the past few weeks have included; buzzard, whooper swans, mute swans, greylag geese, wigeon, teal, mallard, tufted duck (pair), goldeneye, red-throated divers (one pair and one single bird still in winter plumage), little grebes, common gulls, cormorants, woodcock, meadow pipits, jackdaws, great tits, long-tailed tits, reed buntings and chaffinches.     

  Posted by Kate Horsfall

• 8 September 2011

  Last Chance to See!

  So, it’s that time of year again, when our grebes start to lose their bright and colourful breeding plumage, leaving behind a duller version of themselves. During the breeding season, both the males and the females can be recognised by their bright and colourful plumage, which they need in order to attract and impress a mate, and possibly to keep a hold of their breeding territories as well. Towards the end of their breeding season (late July – early August), the grebes start to change into their winter plumage. It starts with the body feathers, and is most noticeable on the head, as it starts to lose the golden crest, and the neck and breast become more speckled with white feathers. Once the adults have finished breeding, they fly off to more secluded lochs, where they complete their body moult and undergo a full wing moult, becoming flightless for a short time whilst all of their flight feathers are replaced. When they have finished their moult, they are black and white all over, with none of the colour that they have during the summer. The grebes change into this more cryptic plumage so that they can be camouflaged throughout the winter, helping them to avoid predation. If you have visited the reserve over the past few weeks, you may have noticed this transition in most of the adult Slavonian Grebes on the loch, but now they are heading off to their moulting lochs, where they will complete their transition into winter plumage, before disappearing off for the winter. But don’t despair! We still have some grebes left! There is still a pair of Slavonian Grebes with at least 1 chick hanging around at Loch Ruthven, and the adults are both still in pretty good breeding plumage, but they are the last ones, so if you want to see a breeding plumaged Slavonian grebe this year, now is the time!! The adults will stay at Ruthven for a little while longer whilst they feed up their chick, until it’s big enough to survive without help from the parents, so it’s also your last chance to see Slavonian Grebe chicks until next year, so why not pop up for a quick visit!

  There are also a couple of juvenile Slavonian Grebes still floating around the loch and feeding, but they are looking very similar to the adult grebes in winter plumage! There is a poster in the hide which may help you to distinguish between the juveniles and winter adults, so you know what you’re looking at! Apart from the grebes, there are lots of Mallards and Tufted Ducks around, with the males in their eclipse plumage at the moment, as well as both adult and juvenile Little Grebes still with 1 young chick, the Osprey has been fishing at the loch quite regularly and was seen catching a large fish a few days ago, plus lots of Blue Tits, Coal Tits, Great Tits, Treecreepers, Robins, Blackbirds, Bullfinches, Siskins, and even Redpolls moving around through the woodlands in fairly large numbers, so keep your eyes peeled when walking up to the hide and back, and you should see some interesting birds!

  Recent Sightings

  Greylag Geese (flocks at the West end), Mallard (males in eclipse), Tufted Duck (males in eclipse), Slavonian Grebe (at least 1 pair with 1 chick still present), Little Grebe (3 pairs plus juveniles and 1 chick), Grey Heron 2, Buzzard, Osprey, Pheasant, Oystercatcher, Common Gull, Black-headed Gull, Wood Pigeon, Swallow, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Robin (some singing), Jay, Jackdaw, Hooded Crow, Rook, Willow Warbler, Blue Tit, Coal Tit, Great Tit, Treecreeper, Chaffinch, Bullfinch, Siskin, Redpoll sp.

  Sarah West
  Slavonian grebe reserve assistant

  Posted by Kate Horsfall

• 23 August 2011

  some late arrivals!

  Hiya folks! Sorry that I haven’t blogged about the goings on at Loch Ruthven for a little while, things have been a bit busy both at the reserve and in the office.

  Well, I guess the biggest news that I have to tell you all, is that I have written up the maps from our most recent full loch survey, which show that we have eight, that’s right, eight large Slavonian Grebe chicks! These chicks (which are really too big to be called chicks now, so I’ll call them Juveniles instead), have now lost their stripy heads and fluffiness, and have most of their black-and-white feathering, can dive and feed all by themselves (without any help from mum and dad), and I’ve even seen a couple of the Juveniles flying short distances across the water! I’ve never been so proud!! In addition to this, whilst attempting to survey these chicks and take notes on their behaviour, I have noticed that there is another, slightly smaller, slightly fluffier, more stripy-headed, younger Slavonian Grebe chick hanging around near the hide and diving for food, only occasionally being helped by mum and dad. The nest cameras that we have in place showed that there was a nest that hatched a few days after the full loch survey was completed, so I am relatively certain that this chick wasn’t one of the eight that we saw during the survey, which brings our total up to nine! Nine!

  But wait, there’s more! A few weeks ago I was sitting in the hide, when all of sudden I happened to notice an adult Slavonian Grebe going back and forth into the sedge bed in front of the hide, carrying pond weed and other nesting materials! “No!” I thought, “Surely they can’t just be starting to build a nest again now! It’s August!” But as it turns out, they weren’t building a new nest from scratch, they were just building up their current nest after all of the rains and flooding that we’ve had recently. Then, when I was in the hide last Thursday (18^th August), I noticed an adult Slavonian Grebe taking food into the sedge bed! A short while later, both adults came out of the sedge and (after a few moments of staring), I noticed that one of the adults had two very tiny, cute, fluffy little chicks on its back! Hooray!! These chicks can be seen in the sedge bed in front of the hide, but are usually hidden under the wings of one of the adults. However, they do pop their heads out every so often as the other adult brings in small fish and invertebrates for them to eat! So, including these two new chicks, we now have eleven! Unfortunately though, it is quite possible that these two young chicks may not survive, as the rest of the Slavonian Grebes at Loch Ruthven and elsewhere are getting ready to migrate off for the winter, and most will be gone by September, so these chicks need all the food they can get so that they can grow quickly and be healthy and independent before their parents leave!

  In addition to this, there is a pair of Little Grebes in front of the hide that have just one very small chick with them, so please don’t get confused when recording your sightings in the book in the hide! There is still the poster up in the hide to help you with the identification of these two species, as the chicks look quite similar at this age.

  Here are some photos of the young chicks just in case you don’t get a chance to come down and see them in the flesh. Sorry about the quality, they were taken looking down the scope! I’ll put them in the Gallery as well, so that you can see them a bit better.

   

  You can just about see the chicks poking their stripy heads out from under the adult’s wings.

   

  And here you can see the chicks on the water, about to be fed by one of the parents.

   

  Recent Sightings

  Greylag Geese (flocks at the West end), Mallard (gathering in large groups), Tufted Duck (juveniles in front of hide), Slavonian Grebe (9 large juveniles plus 2 small ones, as well as several adults), Little Grebe (3 pairs plus juveniles and 1 very small chick), Grey Heron 2, Buzzard, Osprey, Pheasant, Oystercatcher, Common Gull, Black-headed Gull (some juveniles flying around), Wood Pigeon, Swift, Swallow, House Martin, Sand Martin, Meadow Pipit (adults and juveniles), Pied Wagtail (adults and juveniles), Robin (adults and juveniles), Jackdaw, Hooded Crow, Rook, Willow Warbler, Grasshopper Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher, Blue Tit (family groups), Coal Tit (family groups), Long-tailed Tit, Treecreeper (with juveniles), Chaffinch (with juveniles), Bullfinch (family group), Siskin, Redpoll sp.

  Sarah West
  Slavonian grebe reserve assistant

  Posted by Steph Elliott

• 25 July 2011

  young birds everywhere...

  It’s getting to that time of the year now where most nests of most bird species have hatched out, and there are cute little chicks running/swimming/flying around everywhere, learning from their parents how to sing properly, feed themselves, and generally how to be an upstanding individual of that species. And this is exactly what is happening at Loch Ruthven right now! From juvenile willow warblers and coal tits in the woodland, to meadow pipits on the moorland and, of course, juvenile Slavonian grebes, little grebes, mallards, tufted ducks etc. etc. etc. on the loch itself, there are plenty of juvenile birds of several different species to be seen all over the reserve! But it’s not just young birds that can be seen at the moment, the reserve is really alive with wildlife right now! With butterflies and moths fluttering by, dragonflies and damselflies buzzing around, beetles and bumblebees everywhere, brown hares and roe deer hiding in the trees, and the plant life blooming with vibrant flowers, the reserve really is full of life and colour at this time of year. Now let’s just hope that the weather stays nice for a little while at least, so that we can all enjoy the reserve in the lovely, warm sunshine!

  The past few weeks have been pretty busy for me, as I have been out looking for Slavonian grebe chicks every day, counting butterflies for the Big Butterfly Count (please join in if you can), keeping an eye on the few nests that we have left, dealing with the rain and floods which have affected the height of the water at the loch, and completing our third full loch survey! That’s right, last Friday, Stuart Benn and I completed our third full loch survey of the season! We met in the car park at 5.30am, prepared ourselves to get very cold and wet, and then set off, walking on opposite shores around the entire edge of the loch and recording all of the birds that we saw and heard that day, but paying special attention to the Slavonian grebes and the number (and size) of the chicks that they had with them. After spending a very long and difficult three hours wading through the cold, cold waters of the loch (which were up to my waist at one point, due to all of the rain we’ve had recently!), getting stuck in the mud (no Kate to help me out this time, unfortunately!), nearly falling over several times, getting my survey map soaking wet, and realising I’d forgotten the van keys, we finished the survey! Success! At first glance (I will be able to confirm this when I look at the maps properly), it looks as if we have seven or eight Slavonian grebe chicks, all quite large, and some even as big as their parents, meaning that they are much more likely to survive this season and hopefully come back for the next one! Even bigger success!! In addition to this, we still have a few nests left to hatch, which (if successful), might boost our numbers even more! Exciting!!

  In other news, I have been on the lookout for butterflies recently, waiting for a sunny day so that I can do a short survey of our butterfly species on the reserve for the Big Butterfly Count, a national survey looking at the abundance of different species. The survey only takes 15 minutes, can be done anywhere, and they provide you with an ID sheet if you’re not too hot on your butterfly ID, so join in if you can and help this national survey! On my count I saw green-veined whites, speckled woods, small heaths, common blues, and even a small pearl-bordered fritillary! In addition to this, I have noticed a large black and yellow striped Dragonfly flitting around the reserve quite close to the car park, which I identified as a Golden-ringed Dragonfly – so beautiful! Keep an eye out and you may well see some of these beautiful insects fluttering and buzzing their way around the reserve! I hope that you all enjoy the loch as much as I do, and I’ll keep you updated on the happenings on the reserve as often as I can! 

  Recent Sightings

  Mute Swan, Greylag Geese (37 seen at the West end), Mallard (also gathering in large groups), Teal 1, Wigeon 1 pair, Tufted Duck 40, Slavonian Grebe (7 or 8 juveniles seen), Little Grebe (3 pairs plus juveniles), Red-throated Diver, Grey Heron 2, Buzzard, Osprey, Red-legged Partridge (on farms surrounding the West end of the loch), Pheasant, Oystercatcher, Common Sandpiper, Curlew, Common Gull, Black-headed Gull (some juveniles flying around), Wood Pigeon, Swift, Great-spotted Woodpecker, Swallow, House Martin, Sand Martin, Meadow Pipit (adults and juveniles), Pied Wagtail (adults and juveniles), Robin (adults and juveniles), Hooded Crow, Rook, Willow Warbler, Grasshopper Warbler (heard reeling on survey), Sedge Warbler (heard singing on survey), Blue Tit (family groups), Coal Tit (family groups), Long-tailed Tit, Treecreeper (with juveniles), Chaffinch (with juveniles), Bullfinch (family group), Siskin, Reed Bunting.

  Sarah West
  Slavonian grebe reserve assistant

   

  Posted by Steph Elliott