Recent Sightings 5th - 12th February
Highlights: Otters, Glossy Ibises, Snipe and some early signs of Spring
British Steel Hide
Sightings from the British Steel Hide this week have included some nice flocks of waders including up to 250 Lapwings and a similar number of Black-tailed Godwits. A flyover flock of 25 Golden Plover was an unusual sighting for the area. 30 Redshank, 5 Greenshank and a Spotted Redshank were counted on the 11th and are have regularly been seen feeding on the saline lagoons. A Kingfisher was spotted here as well this week and as well as up to eight Spoonbills. Colour-ringed Gulls spotted have included a Herring Gull ringed as a chick on the Isle of Man and a Black-headed Gull that was ringed in London eight years ago!
Millennium Wetlands
A pair of Glossy Ibises have been the avian highlight this week with the pair commuting back and forth between the Deep Water Lake and a small horse paddock that can be viewed from the coastal path just south of the main entrance to the site. Two Otters were seen hunting in front of the Heron's Wing Hide at around 11am on the 12th Feb, one of the first reported sightings in a few months, an encouraging sign! Counts of up to six Snipe have been roosting on the cut area of reed in front of the Peter Scott Hide and have been providing good photographing opportunities. Some reassuring signs of Spring have been recorded this week too with drumming Great Spotted Woodpeckers, singing Great and Blue Tits and male Lapwings starting to become territorial around the cockleshell beds on the Deep Water Lake.
