Mud, Glorious Mud

Stanford reservoir is usually kept pretty full of water. This means there is little mud to attract waders and almost no chance of them breeding. This year however, there is work being done at the dam end, which means the levels have been lowered dramatically over the spring and this will continue well into the autumn.

Stanford Res low water by P Norrie

This has kept our resident birders in a continual state of frenzy, chalking up Black Winged Stilts, Greenshank, Dunlin, Ringed Plover, Grey Plover, Turnstone, Ruff, Godwits and Spotted Redshank, amongst others. Both Lapwing and Little Ringed Plover have bred successfully thus far. On Tuesday 30 May, Mick, Adam and Peter N met up to explore the possibility of ringing some of the chicks. After observing the LRP on the Leics side, Mick noticed that the mother had both chicks with her. This was a great opportunity and he successfully retrieved both. We quickly slipped rings on and released them!

LRP chicks by P Norrie

We then had a look for the four Lapwing chicks but the parent was keeping them well off shore, beyond our reach. Elsewhere we have started the Constant Effort Site sessions again. The warblers have returned but despite having a record breeding season last year, our Grasshopper warblers seem to have forsaken us, possibly due to adverse winds during the migration period. The Cetti’s on the Northants side seem to be absent too but they do seem to have survived on the Leics side, so with luck they will breed and spread back. The site can still surprise us however, and last week on CES duties we ringed an otherwise unheard of spring Spotted Flycatcher! Bring on the rarities!

Peter N