I just about squeezed in my WeBS count this morning before the heavy rain arrived, just got a little bit damp as I headed back to the car. Quite a few changes in the park where the Hay has been cut and the Spit has had a hair cut since my last visit.
I'm not sure what affect the cutting on the Spit had as their were 3 small Oystercatcher chicks last time, now there is just one well grown youngster with the 2 adults. I was pretty sure there were Common Tern chicks on there too but they may have been developed enough to fly by the time the cutting took place. There were certainly a few juveniles around this morning, perched on various bits of hardware around the lakes.
It was fairly standard stuff this morning although the Pied Wagtail numbers were good with a number of juveniles on site and the Coot numbers were impressive with 2 more new broods and 3 older broods as well as 19 adult birds. I also spotted one of the adult Coots with nest material so maybe still time for another brood! It's been an exceptional year for Coots in the park.
The resident pair of Mute Swans have moved onto the river with their 7 cygnets.
Black-headed Gull 1
Buzzard 2 Minimum count, possible family party in the area.
Common Tern 12 One dead bird floating in the lake, no rings.
Coot 19 Broods of 3 and 5 small chicks and 3,3 and 1 older chicks not included in count.
Cormorant 3
Grey Heron 1
Kingfisher 1
Lapwing 1
Mallard 31
Moorhen 2 Broods of 1 and 2 well grown chicks not included in count.
Mute Swan 2 Pair with 7 well grown cygnets. One of the adults is Orange 744.
Oystercatcher 3 2 adults and one juvenile.
Pied/White Wagtail 11 Rarer species
Total number of species: 13, Individuals: 89
Other birds of note:
Stock Dove
Reed Warbler
Sedge Warbler
Chiffchaff
Green Woodpecker
House Martin (best count of 37)
Swallow (a few feeding before the rain arrived)
