Category: Sighting

West End:- 10 pairs of Common Terns nesting, 9 pairs on rafts and a pair on Martin’s Island. 16 chicks were seen on rafts, 2 birds are still sitting as is the bird on Martin’s Island.
Whillet’s:- 2 male Reed Buntings, 10+ Whitethroats, 2 Garden Warblers collecting food, 1 Kingfisher, 1 Mandarin, 4 singing Chiffchaffs, Willow Warbler.
Painted Lady Butterfly, 2 Emperor Dragonfly, 1 Four Spotted Chaser, 2 White-legged Damselflies, 3 Blue Tail Damselflies, 200 Azure Damselfly, 2 Large Red Damselfly.

On Dam:- Little Egret frightened off by 2 people who went swimming, House Martin, 4 Common Terns.
West End:- Kingfisher perched on tern raft.

West End:- Hobby seen over Pintail Bank.

WeBS
All reservoir:- 47 Great Crested Grebe, 7 Grey Heron, 8+2y Mandarin, 56 Mallard + 1 Feral Mallard hybrid, 3 Common Buzzard, 2 Kestrel, 5 Moorhen, 5 Black-headed Gull, 2 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 6 Swift, 2 Kingfisher, 3+ Reed Warbler, 12 Whitethroat, 2 Blackcap, 5 Chiffchaff, 4 Bullfinch, 3 Reed Bunting.
Dam End:- 3 Little Grebe in lagoon, 1 Skylark, 6 House Martin, 2+2y Canada Geese, 2 Egyptian Geese, 2 Herring Gull, 1 Raven, 1 juv Starling, 8 Goldfinch, 1m Yellowhammer.
West End:-  41 Cormorant, 79 Greylag, 1 White Feral Greylag hybrid, 12 Lapwing,
24 Common Tern (10 pairs are either successfully sitting on nests or already have chicks on rafts – 15 chicks seen on rafts so far), the 11th pair seem to have decided to try and nest on Martins Island amongst the Cormorants. The 12^th pair are trying to settle on a raft; but the pair already there have chicks and they do not seem to want to share and keep chasing them off.
Song Thrush heard, 2 Nuthatch.
Whillet’s:- 1 Beautiful & 1 Banded Demoiselle, 3 White legged, 3 Large Red & 25+ Azure Damselflies, 2 Emperor & 3 Four-Spotted Chaser Dragonflies.

West End:- At least 14 Common Tern chicks seen others probably hiding; still 3 adults on eggs. A 10th pair of Common Terns were seen mating so maybe another nest to come. Moorhens nesting in bush on tern raft, 6 Gadwall; 3 juvenile Grey Wagtails on hide roof.

A satellite tagged female Osprey from Kielder Ospreys in Northumberland has returned to the UK as a 2 year old from wintering grounds in N Mauritania. She’s spent time in Sussex, and on 4 June she was over Weir Wood West End at 18.37 BST. She arrived from the West and left to the NW, fixes were every 5 minutes so she can’t have been over the reservoir for long. An image is attached, she was about 60m above the terrain when the fix was taken.
I was reminded about your work party sighting on that date.
She has a blue ring marked 7L in white on her right leg, a BTO ring on her left.
Maybe the time will enable confirmation that it was – or wasn’t – her.
Joanna Dailey
Kielder Ospreys Project

West End:- 9 Common Terns now nesting and first chick seen this morning.

WEST END: 1 Osprey flew over.

DAM END: Breeding Little Grebe in waterworks lagoon, 2 Hobby, 1 Red Kite, 1 Kestrel, 13 Common Tern, 2 LBB Gull, 4 Herring Gull, 2 BH Gull,  50 Greylag, 8 Canada Geese, 4 Egyptian Geese, 1m Grey Wagtail, 1f Reed Bunting, 1f Yellowhammer, 38 Swift, 10 House Martin.  WEST END: 1 Lapwing, 8  Common Tern sitting on nests giving probable 21 reservoir total, 1 immature GBB Gull flew over Tern rafts.

WEST END: 2m Pochard, 1 Hobby.   DAM END: 1 Red Kite flyover, 1 Cuckoo, pair of nesting Little Grebe, 3 juvenile Grey Wagtail, Mistle Thrush feeding 4 young, 2 Egyptian Geese.