Trip to Attenborough NR

27 March 2024

Afternoon

Our first visit for over 2 years. We made a first recce towards the west side of the reserve beyond the sailing lake and with all the disturbance there from large scale drainage works the chance of anything migratory was a bit thin and so we made a hasty retreat back towards the main centre, the ridge and furrow paddock and the Tower Hide.

Cetti’s Warblers everywhere, a few less Chiffchaffs and a couple of Blackcaps giving very brief introductions to their song. The main lakes held quite a few duck including a couple of pairs of Goldeneye Teal and a decent number of Shovelers. The gull islands on Clifton Pit were dominated by Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gulls, a couple of Common Gulls and a few pairs of Canada Geese. Three Oystercatchers livened things up a bit as did the Egyptian Geese dealing with a couple of Teal in no uncertain terms. Lots of common stuff but our first five Sand Martins for the year was a nice sight. No Willow Warblers though.

Great Crested Grebes seemed to be in good numbers and one member was lucky enough to see their dance briefly.

With weather obviously deteriorating and rain imminent we made for the coffee and associated bits.

46 species for the morning and LBBW are now up to 98 species for the year.