A clear sunny day today, already 12c when I started out rising to 20c this afternoon. As posted previously the emphasis today was on breeding birds with no migrants at all. As last week all the cygnets, goslings, ducklings etc still on view and new this week were Little Grebe and Moorhen chicks. 13 Lapwings were present but still no chicks seen as with Redshank and Oystercatcher but I did locate a third pair of Oystercatchers. Coot chicks seemed to be everywhere and when I totted them all up there were 26 broods present. Mostly 2's but some large broods as well, 3 broods of 5 and 2 broods of 6. In total there were 50 non breeding birds, 26 pairs and 83 chicks! Next week hopefully should see the first Gadwall, Pochard and Tufted Duck young. Could be a lot of Tufteds as I counted a huge 134 today. Full list:- Grey Heron 2, Mute Swan 4 + brood of 3, Canada Goose 46 + broods of 6, 6, 6, 6 & 3, Grey Lag Goose 7 pairs + young, Cormorant 2, Great Crested Grebe 6, Little Grebe 25 + brood of 2, Mallard 14 + broods of 10, 7 & 2, Gadwall 17, Shoveler 2, Pochard 4, Tufted Duck 134, Coot 102 + broods (2x6, 3x5, 5x4, 4x3 & 12x2), Moorhen 4 + 1y, Avocet 1, Lapwing 13, Oystercatcher 6, Redshank 2, Black Headed Gull 433, LBB Gull 3, Common Tern 3+, Buzzard 1, Green Woodpecker 1, Kingfisher 1, Swift c150, House Martin 10, Swallow 1, Reed Warbler 3, Sedge Warbler 3, Whitethroat 7, Blackcap 8, Willow Warbler 8, Chiffchaff 7, Lesser Whitethroat 1.
After Bolton I went onto Old Moor for the newly hatched Avocet chicks. I saw 3 broods of 3 and 1 brood of 2, fantastic. Also seen were 8 Common Terns, 4 LRP's and 1 Mediterranean Gull.
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Cheers Nige, forgot about the 8 Common Terns. Also a couple of drake Teal and ten drake Pochard loafing on Wader Scrape, which hopefully bodes well breeding-wise.
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