Breeding waterfowl

Lade - warm, dry, sunny and windy, mostly westerly - I`ve spent a fair bit of time this week concentrating on the breeding waterfowl across the Lade complex. Coot and Mallard have had a bumper season, particularly the former with scores of cootlets all over the place from about 30 pairs and a good crop of ducklings from at least 10 pairs of the latter. So far two pairs of Tufted Ducks have produced young and there could still be more to come from this late breeder, while a single brood of Shoveler was the first for several years. Two pairs of Mute Swans both failed to fledge any young, although a pair of Egyptian Geese nested successfully for the first time. The picture was more mixed for grebes with around 15 pairs of Dabchicks with young, but not a single hatched Great Crested Grebe until today when three stripey juvs were seen on an adult in the willow swamp, with hopefully more emerging as the month progresses. Moorhens have also been seen with young on the water and Water Rails have been heard throughout the spring and summer, so have probably bred too.

 South lake island has been taken over by juv Herring Gulls this week, resulting in few wader sightings apart from the resident Oystercatchers. Around 220 Curlews were counted to roost on the Desert yesterday where they disturbed a lone Snipe, something of a scarcity here. The warblers have largely fallen silent with the ending of their breeding season and small numbers of Willow Warblers continue to filter through on a daily basis; today one was also seen in the garden.

  Due to increased tourist activity on the beach the passage waders have been highly mobile, but has included a count of c300 Dunlins and single figures of Sanderling, Ringed Plover and Barwit this week. Worthy of mention, and a testament the great distances some of these tiny sandpipers travel, concerned a colour-ringed Dunlin noted by David Scott on Greatstone beach on 24th July: it was ringed as a juvenile by Mid-Wales Ringing Group on 8th October 2018, a mere 387 km from the ringing site!

  The garden moth trapping has been disappointing of late due to brisk overnight winds, but did include a very dark specimen Willow Beauty depicted below. The coming nights though look far more promising weather wise. A Hedgehog was also noted in the garden yesterday evening, the first for five years.

                    Willow Beauty, dark specimen

                    Bay Curlew flock coming to roost

  Elsewhere around the peninsula the Black-winged Stilt and a sprinkling of waders are still present on ARC, but what with all the viewing restrictions there and elsewhere on the bird reserve its a pretty depressing scene, particularly as we`re approaching peak wader passage period. Another look at the sea this afternoon from the boats was again devoid of seabirds in a brisk westerly.