It's been too long since I updated, so I'll keep this as a brief summary of the summer, which will be long remembered as a proper scorcher. The relentlessly hot weather quickly led to a parched landscape and - best of all - the lowest water levels seen on the patch for years. Ashton's rapidly disappeared to savannah status, but Neumann's became gloriously mud fringed, just like in the olden days.
So, instead of the summer doldrums we actually had some excellent local birding in July and August. Ok so not exactly the halcyon days of the 80s and 90s, but uncharacteristically rewarding for the time of year and most enjoyable too. Highlights as follows:
Great Egret - one in early July lingered for weeks, favouring the northern end of NF and giving wonderful views at times. A second was apparently present a couple of times, although I didn't see two birds.
Little Egret - up to three birds pretty much constantly present through the summer.
Garganey - Greg found an adult female on 18th July which began a series of records, with this bird lingering for weeks before being joined by two juveniles on 2/08. Finally, I found an adult male on 25/08 which also lingered for a couple of weeks.
Barn Owl - ok not related to the hot summer but a highlight to confirm breeding in the DHM box. Two juveniles were rung on 25/07, assisted by my kids :)
Black Tern - one on 26/07 found by Mark, then I found one on the Mere on 28/08. Two more were seen by others in early September and yet another in late September, so a good run.
Greenshank - 2-3 birds daily in late August and early September.
Wood Sandpiper - one found on 06/09 (a good day locally!) lingered for a couple of weeks.
Spotted Redshank - my first on the patch in a very long time was present all day on 05/09.
Ruff - one appeared on 12/09 and lingered until month's end.
Golden Plover - one with the lapwing flock on 22/09. Surprising how scarce this species now is on patch.
Little Stint - not quite as rare as the previous days' spot'shank, but a great find by Luke on 06/09. It lingered for several days and showed very well at times. Lovely bird.
Curlew - the summer roost built up to around 75 birds at it's peak. Whilst that is doubtless an important number locally, at the same time in the 90s flocks of 800 were not uncommon. I tried multiple times to see if there were any juveniles and could only ever find a single bird. Surely we're not going to let these wonderful birds disappear?
Other Waders - in keeping with local and national numbers, common waders were worryingly scarce. the number of Dunlin never rose above 5. Add the two Ringed Plover and a single Little Ringed Plover which lingered for weeks and that's about your lot. Serious declines surely - sad times.
Winchat - one on Ashton's on 05/09.
Water Rail - whilst resident and an annual breeder, the views from Pods Hide of adults and juveniles were excellent this year.
Others also recorded Marsh Harrier, Hobby, Osprey, Willow Tit, Little Gull, Ruddy Shelduck, Med Gull, Turnstone, Redstart, Tree Pipit and Wheatear over July to September.
The low levels also allowed us to get a working party together to remove encroaching vegetation. Stilt island is rarely accessible, so this was the main focus and we cleared the island almost completely. Hopefully that will ensure it's continued use by breeding birds for a little longer. Being honest, though, a comprehensive management effort is needed and I'm keen to get involved if I can. Lots of ideas, lots of talk, too little time...
