The reliable birds include up to 14 brambling on the feeders and the willow tit now back in D woods again. A pair of amorous treecreepers have been seen by several observers showing hope for breeding this year. All pictures below courtesy of HVWG:
This mistle thrush was establishing itself in the treatment works compound again - again hopefully another good breeding year:
The two red-head smew have been regular on Watton NR, and a nice returnee is the drake pintail which has been seen pretty much everywhere on site. Around 5 goosander regularly roost on D res, and there are plenty of goldeneye:
The teal are looking good and doing their best to impress:
And there are usually a bunch of redshank on South Marsh East:
Nice news is the return of oystercatchers again to the Marsh:
This tell-tale artillery piece betrays the lesser spotted Tony McLean:
To see what he got from the 'other side' click here - including some x-rated oystercatcher pics and a full review of the new Watton Hide!
Lincoln RSPB visited on Sunday - with the highlight for most being 5 lesser redpoll on the alder trees of the Lagoons. We have had reports of 80 siskin on Monday which make up the bulk of the flock.
'Spring-watch' continues - one of the best signals is the flowering of coltsfoot on the reservoir ditches. Les Bardwell has been keeping tabs on its emergence for 20 years; Prior to last winter the plant had been progressively flowering earlier until it got to the point where it was appearing 3 weeks earlier than in 1990 with a succession of mild winters. Last winter it returned to its March flowering date and this winter we are a mere 2 weeks early (Library pic):
Another signature of Spring was found by Bernie from InFocus optics on Sunday - the first herald moth of the year (Pic from last year):
The practical team are doing their best to get the site sorted before the migrants return and the vegetation starts growing. Here Pete is helping construct a new otter holt before the brambles cover it:
Other reserve news includes the completion of the underpinning and maintenance work on South Marsh West hide, with the team moving onto D res North hide next. The path to Watton hide is now repaired so the access is closed off the drain bank again now.
