Richard and I did the Castlemartin Corse WeBS count today.
The upper
section had 8 Black Tailed Godwit, 2 Little Egret and 4 Pintail along with the usual duck
species. Across the whole site we totalled 125 Wigeon, 46 Shoveller, 150 Teal and 48 Mallard. A flock of 350 lapwing kept lifting and settling. Two Marsh Harriers could be
seen hunting across the reedbed further down.
The walk down to hide lifted 86 snipe.
The two Mute Swans and juvenile Whooper who have been hanging out near the hide recently have gained a friend in the form of an adult Whooper Swan. A female Tufted Duck and 10 Little Grebe along with a lone Moorhen were also observed. For the second time recently I have briefly seen the water rail that has taken residence in the bramble patch in front of hide, this time bombing under the hide for cover! Richard also found a 1CY Marsh Harrier resting in the willows, so we had 1 Adult female and 2 1CY birds today. Richard also spotted a flock of 18 Curlew which had lifted from the lower section of the corse, this number increased to a total of 26 as we saw several smaller groups of birds throughout the rest of the count. The only bird noticed for its absence was the usual Grey Heron!
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| Adult Whooper Swan |