Report from 1 to 2 June 2023

We are now in summer, as the weather attests, and bird activity is diminishing. Marsh Warblers and Cetti’s Warblers are stil singing, but Blackcaps and Nightingales are starting to quiet down. This is normally a rather uneventful period, although this week it was enlivened by a couple of unusual appearances: first a Black Tern, then four Pochards – four drakes and a hen – on the main pond for a few hours, and finally up to three Spoonbills flying to and fro all week.

The heronry is now the focus of our interest. This year it seems to have expanded significantly both in size and number of nests. Most numerous are the Cattle Egrets, followed in turn by the Pygmy Cormorants and Little Egrets. Night Herons are rather scarce, and there are no more than one or two pairs each of Purple Heron and Squacco Heron. It is impossible to count the nests, but there appear to be very many, and I would say that 100 to 200 is a realistic estimate.

The abundant Cattle Egret has earned the photo of the week, still on the same fallen log favoured by all the herons.