It was noticeable from arrival at the lake side that the Common Terns were much more aggressive this month. I was being dive bombed and any passing Corvid was chased off. The vegetation is so thick on the island I can't see any Tern chicks but I'm sure they are there. The pair of Oystercatchers are still on site with their fully grown offspring but they had a surprise for me at the end of my survey when 3 young chicks came out of the vegetation on the island!
There were a lot a Mallards on site , not unusual at this time of year when they are going through their moult. There were also three females with small ducklings, probably the last ones this year.
I finally got to see all of the Mute Swan cygnets and was surprised to see 7 of them. I had thought there were 6 max which just goes to show how thick the vegetation is on the island this year. The Black Swan was also present, hanging around with the Mute Swan family which seemed to tolerate it quite happily.
There are a lot of Coots present with five family groups, having 5,1,1,2 and 1 young, and at least one pair still nesting. I've not seen this number breeding here before and I wonder if it is due to the increased vegetation on the island.
Black Swan 1
Common Tern 14
Coot 12
Grey Heron 2
Grey Wagtail 3
Mallard 94
Moorhen 2
Mute Swan 4
Oystercatcher 3
Pied/White Wagtail 2
Total number of species: 10 Individuals: 137
It was also nice have a Little Owl calling from the west side of the park when I arrived. Another highlight of the morning was the Hornet Mimic Hoverfly seen while I was walking along the river on the east side of the park. It's the first one I have seen and was a very impressive beasty!
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