Burton Mere Wetlands : 19th April 2017
After a bit of a break from birding due to having a (non-birding) visitor staying with us, we managed to get back out on the 19th for a day at Burton Mere Wetlands. One way and another we seem to have missed early spring this year so this was a chance to catch up with things and we managed to get seven year ticks including a great view of a Cetti’s Warbler.
We started out at the main reception hide where we could see some Barnacle Geese (year tick) and Black Swans over in Shotwick fields. It was an incredibly clear day though not a particularly sunny one. It was low tide – in fact the low tide was officially 0 metres ! There was a single Ruff looking like it was getting into breeding plumage and lots of Avocets.
Walking down to the Marsh Covert hide we could hear lots of Reed Warblers in the reedbed but sidn’t see the Little Gull that has supposedly been around there recently. Neither did we see the the single Spoonbill that has been roosting in the Little Egrey / Grey Heron roost. There were Swallows (year first) and Sand Martins and in the bushes we saw a vouple of Blackcaps and heard even more.
Down at Inner Marsh Farm there were four Spotted Redshanks among a large group of Black tailed Godwits. There were also a fair number of Avocets.
Up at the fort there was surprisingly little to see – perhaps because the tide was so low but walking back towards the reception hide we did get Buzzard, Kestrel and Sparrowhawk, the last, briefly. Near where the toilets are I managed to get a good view of a Cetti’s Warbler – one of several we heard during the morning. A single Reed Bunting and a Great Spotted Woodpecker made for a trio of year ticks.
Back at reception and out the other side, near the blind we saw a single Linnet perched atop a gorse bush; it was so unconcerned with us that we got withing about 8 feet of it at eye level and it did not fly off.
So the total “year ticks” for us were Barnacle Goose, Cetti’s Warbler, Reed Warbler, Linnet, Swallow, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Sparrowhawk. A nice addition to a bit of a slow start to the year. We now stand at 114.
Bird Sightings : Burton Mere Wetlands : Reception Hide
| Species | Count |
|---|---|
| Avocet | 60 |
| Barnacle Goose | 2 |
| Black Swan | 2 |
| Black-headed Gull | 40 |
| Black-tailed Godwit | 50 |
| Blue Tit | 6 |
| Canada Goose | 40 |
| Chaffinch | 4 |
| Chiffchaff | 2 |
| Coot | 14 |
| Dunnock | 2 |
| Goldfinch | 4 |
| Great Tit | 4 |
| Greylag Goose | 10 |
| Jackdaw | 6 |
| Lapwing | 30 |
| Mallard | 20 |
| Moorhen | 10 |
| Mute Swan | 2 |
| Pied Wagtail | 1 |
| Robin | 2 |
| Ruff | 1 |
| Shoveler | 20 |
| Skylark | 1 |
| Teal | 20 |
| Woodpigeon | 4 |
Bird Sightings : Burton Mere Wetlands : Environs
| Species | Count |
|---|---|
| Blackbird | 4 |
| Blackcap | 2 |
| Buzzard | 3 |
| Carrion Crow | 20 |
| Cetti’s Warbler | 3 |
| Goldfinch | 8 |
| Great Spotted Woodpecker | 1 |
| Great Tit | 6 |
| Grey Heron | 8 |
| Jackdaw | 20 |
| Kestrel | 1 |
| Linnet | 1 |
| Little Egret | 10 |
| Long-tailed Tit | 2 |
| Magpie | 4 |
| Pheasant | 2 |
| Reed Bunting | 1 |
| Reed Warbler | 4 |
| Rook | 20 |
| Sand Martin | 6 |
| Song Thrush | 1 |
| Sparrowhawk | 1 |
| Starling | 10 |
| Swallow | 8 |
| Tufted Duck | 8 |
| Wren | 2 |
Bird Sightings : Burton Mere Wetlands : Marsh Covert Hide Hide
| Species | Count |
|---|---|
| Black-tailed Godwit | 1 |
| Canada Goose | 8 |
| Coot | 4 |
| Little Grebe | 1 |
| Mallard | 4 |
| Moorhen | 2 |
| Redshank | 2 |
| Teal | 10 |
Bird Sightings : Burton Mere Wetlands : Inner Marsh Farm
| Species | Count |
|---|---|
| Avocet | 20 |
| Black-headed Gull | 20 |
| Black-tailed Godwit | 60 |
| Coot | 4 |
| Moorhen | 4 |
| Shoveler | 8 |
| Spotted Redshank | 4 |
| Teal | 4 |