Elmley Marshes - February 2010

Reporting Your Sightings

To help keep this page as up-to-date and informative as possible, please send your sightings and any pictures taken onsite (please see 'Guidelines for submissions' on the KOS Photo Gallery for details of how to resize your pics etc.) to Gordon Allison by clicking here.

The final "proper" winter month can often produce the hardest weather. Depending on conditions, influxes of Continental waterfowl can occur during a cold snap. Conversely, should the weather turn milder, then there is a decrease in the wintering populations as birds move back across the North Sea on the first leg of their northerly migrations.

By the end of the month, numbers of lapwing are noticably less and on sunny days the first signs of display can be seen. Avocet numbers are also starting to increase by the end of the month. The big tides during the month often push the last significant wader roosts of the winter onto the reserve.

Birds of prey continue to be a feature of the reserve throughout the month, although numbers tend to decrease.

28th: 2500 dunlin, 600 knot, 250 grey plover, 12 bar-tailed godwit, 220 avocet, 3 black-tailed godwit, 9 ruff, 1 peregrine

27th: 1 little stint, 8 ruff, 1 merlin

26th: 12 ruff

25th: 3 buzzard, 1m hen harrier

21st: 1 spotted redshank

20th: 4 ruff, 2 merlin, 1 peregrine, 2 grey partridge

11th: 9 pink-footed geese E

7th: 1 water pipit, 250 white-fronted geese NE (+ c.12 on the marsh), 40 brent, 1m hen harrier, 2+ peregrine, 1 merlin, 1 buzzard, 30 linnet, 1 fieldfare

6th: 1 water pipit, 1 spotted redshank, 600 black-tailed godwit, 250+ avocet, 26 Bewick's swan, 1 r-b merganser, 2 peregrine, 2 merlin, 4 buzzard, 1 short-eared owl (Minster Marsh), 1 barn owl, 25 fieldfare

5th: 32 Bewick's swan, 2 peregrine, 2 barn owl, 1 g s woodpecker, 1 green woodpecker

2nd: 20+ Bewick's swan, 600 knot, 1400 dunlin, 1 merlin, 1 peregrine, 42 brent geese

1st: 1 water pipit, 2000+ dunlin, 850+ knot, 260+ grey plover, 31 Bewick's swan, 40 brent geese, 2 peregrine, 7 redwing